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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,291
Hard-core CEG'er
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OP
Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,291 |
At least I think it's new. I was tooling around on a Celica board and came across a headlight painting HOWTO that I thought might work for us. 
1) Get the parents out of the house as you don't want them to know what you are putting in the oven;
2) Remove the headlight casing from your car (I don't have specific instructions - sorry - but it should be easy to do). Be sure to remove the bulb!!;
3) Preheat your oven to 250 degrees after placing tin foil on the bottom rack (the rack should be located at the very bottom slot);
4) Remove any nuts, bolts, and screws from the border of the casing;
5) Place your headlight casing inside the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes
6) After the timer goes off, remove the casing using garden gloves (it'll be a little warm...);
7) Take a flat tipped screwdriver and pry up the little plastic "clips", sliding your screwdriver beyond that clip into the joint between the casing and the lens. The adhesive will be very soft and pliable
8) Pry and slide your screwdriver a little bit down, continue until you see it starting to come apart.
9) Then, increase your angle of prying to drive the two pieces apart;
10) When you see enough to get your fingers in the opening, use your hands to seperate the pieces. You may hear a "pop". That may be the yellow reflector coming off, or it could be a tab that wasn't opened. Nevertheless, the pieces won't be damaged. After the lens cools down, you might want to take the opportunity to clean and polish the inside;
11) IF YOU ENCOUNTER ANY STRONG RESISTANCE, check to see that there aren't any nuts or bolts still connected;
12) To get the reflector out of the black plastic base, pry off the plastic cylindrical cover for the headlight adjustment screw. Loosen both nuts to take off the reflector.
To reassemble:
1) Do everything backward, including the oven part - you need to get that adhesive pliable again. Make sure you ask your body shop if 250 degrees will harm the paint (I doubt it). YOU CAN PUT THE TWO PIECES TOGETHER AS BEST YOU CAN AND THEN MERGE THEM TOGETHER AFTER THEY COME OUT;
2) I would seriously consider using clear adhesive like Liquid Nails Clear Seal to make sure you have an airtight seal all around.
3) Reinstall, and be sure to re-aim your headlights.
4) Check the oven for any residual damage (there should be none!!) and cook your parents a nice meal - never telling them what you did...
Whaddya think? Would cooking our headlights destroy them? I have a feeling the Contique lenses are probably the crappiest things on the market, which is why I wanted to swing it by the "pros" 
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,291
Hard-core CEG'er
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OP
Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,291 |
Here's an example of the finished result: 
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 3,335
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 3,335 |
I tried it when I painted mine but it failed.  I broke out the mighty Dremil and had them apart really quick. 
· Jon Miconi
· Coming Soon!
· 01 Cougar
· 98 V70R
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 17,248
CEG road warrior
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CEG road warrior
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 17,248 |
DO NOT BAKE YOUR HEADLIGHTS!!!! I tried that and got those "spiderwebs" 
Hector
2003 Rally Red Mitsubishi Evolution VIII
257HP/259TQ
2005 Lapis Blue Mazda 6s
RET: 00 Cabernet Red Ford Contour Zetec ATX SUPERCHARGED
160HP/141TQ
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 361
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 361 |
wow what a bad paint job all together on that celica!!!!!! Headlights look cool, but damn there are 4 different colors of white on that car! 
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 7,025
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 7,025 |
one of the local guys here in michigan, actually boiled his headlights in hot water and pulled them apart.
Jim Hahn
1996 T-Red Contour SE Reborn 4/6/04
3.0L swap and Arizona Dyno Chip Turbo Kit
364 whp, 410 wtq @ 4,700 rpm
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 2,241
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 2,241 |
Originally posted by beyondloadedSE:
one of the local guys here in michigan, actually boiled his headlights in hot water and pulled them apart.
on a tour?!
-Matt
"Pain heals, chicks dig scars, and glory lasts forever!"
will do/pay just about anything for the following parts:
CF sunroof glass replacement
OEM CF trunk
Non OEM style cf or fiberglass hood not the cf1 design
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 4,970
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 4,970 |
Originally posted by beyondloadedSE:
one of the local guys here in michigan, actually boiled his headlights in hot water and pulled them apart.
lol.....Contour Eye Soup 
2005 Ford F150 SuperCab FX4
1964 Chevrolet Impala SS
1998 CSVT: 354HP/328TQ @ 10 psi, now gone
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,291
Hard-core CEG'er
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OP
Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,291 |
Originally posted by Escort1991:
wow what a bad paint job all together on that celica!!!!!! Headlights look cool, but damn there are 4 different colors of white on that car!
I agree - the paint matching could've been better. That's going to be the real difficulty if I do this on the Celica. I think it looks nice, but matching that Super White paint on the car will be very, very hard.
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,529
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,529 |
Originally posted by beyondloadedSE:
one of the local guys here in michigan, actually boiled his headlights in hot water and pulled them apart.
Hmmmmm... Yet to try that one!! 
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