KAOS_3.0
Hard-core CEG'er
yeah, so when I drilled the holes for the strobes in the headlights, it suddenly became appearent that when you drill a hole in something, shavings fall into it 
:doh: dur de dur
so since one of the lights already had mad condensation in it, I decided to go ahead and open them up. it was really easy actually, 12-15 minutes at 200 does the trick just fine, no need to use the crazy temps they suggest in the how-too thread.
it took two bakes per light, one for the top half, and another for the bottom. the lights are kinda hot when the come out, but handleable. just don't touch the metal mounting bracket.
you have to tear them down some before baking, but all that is explained in the how too. basically remove all the t-10 screws, light retainers, and rubber parts. not hard.
after they are open, scrape off the silver "eye liner" on the back edge of the light (unless you have a white or sil-fro, then it's fine silver) this is the hardest part of the whole thing. then paint that black. I brushed on model paint, as it is easier to controll were the paint goes. paint the back side, were the silver was. this also smoothes out the sanded/scraped surface.
I chose to tape off the marker reflector section of the bezel, and popped out the reflectors to put back after paint. would have been nice to have clear reflectors on hand, but this was a one the fly decision based on a dumb mistake.
paint the bezel with whatever you want. I think anodized paints would look pretty cool, and I might do a set in the futurs, since any old junkyard housings will donate good bezels.
I used gloss black engine enamel this time, as it's what I had laying around. it looks better than flat black in my opinion.
the lay a bead of glue in the seal groove on the back of the housing. i used bath tub caulk because, once again, it's what I had on hand, and this was not thought out. it's mold proof 100% silicone, and claims to be good to 400 degrees, so it should be fine. it's white though, which made assymbly a little harder than it would be with black.
after the glueing, screw the bezel in, install the reflector (if you are) and squeeze the lense on. then shove it back in the oven for a few minutes (3-5?) just to warm it up so verything will line back up well. then squeeze iut together the rest of the way, anf clamp it together. wait 30 minutes for the glue to solidify, and then if you need to polish the lenses. I used super fine steel wool to remove the oxidation, then polished them out with a mr.clean magic earaser. after that I polished them with cleaner wax and a highspeed polisher. this seems to work well for me.
then put'em in!!!
heres pictures:
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
on a side note, I find it racist that we call them "hightowers" :lol:
Carey Mahoney: You didn't hit the brakes.
Moses Hightower: You didn't tell me to.
Moses Hightower: I was a florist.
Carey Mahoney: A florist?
Moses Hightower: Yeah, you know, flowers and shiz.
:doh: dur de durso since one of the lights already had mad condensation in it, I decided to go ahead and open them up. it was really easy actually, 12-15 minutes at 200 does the trick just fine, no need to use the crazy temps they suggest in the how-too thread.
it took two bakes per light, one for the top half, and another for the bottom. the lights are kinda hot when the come out, but handleable. just don't touch the metal mounting bracket.
you have to tear them down some before baking, but all that is explained in the how too. basically remove all the t-10 screws, light retainers, and rubber parts. not hard.
after they are open, scrape off the silver "eye liner" on the back edge of the light (unless you have a white or sil-fro, then it's fine silver) this is the hardest part of the whole thing. then paint that black. I brushed on model paint, as it is easier to controll were the paint goes. paint the back side, were the silver was. this also smoothes out the sanded/scraped surface.
I chose to tape off the marker reflector section of the bezel, and popped out the reflectors to put back after paint. would have been nice to have clear reflectors on hand, but this was a one the fly decision based on a dumb mistake.
paint the bezel with whatever you want. I think anodized paints would look pretty cool, and I might do a set in the futurs, since any old junkyard housings will donate good bezels.
I used gloss black engine enamel this time, as it's what I had laying around. it looks better than flat black in my opinion.
the lay a bead of glue in the seal groove on the back of the housing. i used bath tub caulk because, once again, it's what I had on hand, and this was not thought out. it's mold proof 100% silicone, and claims to be good to 400 degrees, so it should be fine. it's white though, which made assymbly a little harder than it would be with black.
after the glueing, screw the bezel in, install the reflector (if you are) and squeeze the lense on. then shove it back in the oven for a few minutes (3-5?) just to warm it up so verything will line back up well. then squeeze iut together the rest of the way, anf clamp it together. wait 30 minutes for the glue to solidify, and then if you need to polish the lenses. I used super fine steel wool to remove the oxidation, then polished them out with a mr.clean magic earaser. after that I polished them with cleaner wax and a highspeed polisher. this seems to work well for me.
then put'em in!!!
heres pictures:
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
Shot with Canon PowerShot SD400 at 2008-11-14
on a side note, I find it racist that we call them "hightowers" :lol:
Carey Mahoney: You didn't hit the brakes.
Moses Hightower: You didn't tell me to.
Moses Hightower: I was a florist.
Carey Mahoney: A florist?
Moses Hightower: Yeah, you know, flowers and shiz.
