Follow up from my DIY tails thread. JDM headlights go for around $600 for us evo owners, instead of paying that price i did it myself for less than 20 bucks!
headlights in stock form:
First step:
Put on a pair of vinyl gloves and start taking out bulbs…foglight bulb, hibeam bulb, Hid bulb they all come off…fog and hi beam turn to the left and pull out …with caution. HID bulb…with your phillips remove screw, turn cap counterclockwise and remove cap…remove harness that says “LOCK” , undo clip holding hid bulb down …remove bulb carefully and store in a safe dirt free place(i put my bulbs in a tupaware container) NOw, remove all the other goodies on the headlight…city light bulb, indicator bulb harnesses, ballast …disconnect ground from ballast. headlight should be ready for cooking. All that should remain on headlight is projector glass, HID levelling motor, ground for ballast and thats it…nothing else can come off with ease.
2nd step:
Preheat your oven to 225F, place a damp towel over the cookie sheet, then put the headlight face down on the cookie sheet. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, make sure the headlight doesnt touch the sides of the oven.
3rd step:
Once its done baking its the fun part. Grab your flat head and start prying the headlight apart, don’t stab the headlight!! Work your way between it and pry (another set of hands here is golden) if not just keep at it. A blow dryer on hot helps break down the existing silicone for easier removal. Just because you have a section free don’t try and force the headlight apart!! Work your way around nicely, once you have seperated the headlight from lense grab the main chrome piece and also the other chrome piece still attatched by 3 phillips screws. Remove screws and get ready to sand. First remove the orange reflector (it comes out) you don’t have to break anything, just look at it and see how it works.
4th step:
Time to sand and paint. I sanded the chrome pieces with 400 grit and sprayed them satin black with 2 even coats. For the turn signal portion of the lens, i used tamiya clear orange with 4 light coats to get the designated depth of the color.
pic of the headlight apart and both parts painted:
5th and final step:
reassemble everything and youre good to go, the finished result:
FINISHED:
