Blacking Out Headlights, How to

Wow, I haven't visited this thread in a while, but it's almost the 2nd year anniversary of me writing this up haha. Since then I've done so many more mod's to my car.. on the exterior, interior, and sound system.. not sure when the last time I updated my gallery was. But if anyone needs help with anything I'm more than happy to help, you can contact me at spencer_hong@cox.net whenever. Taking my truck out to school next year at the University of Arizona, being blacked out I hope it wont melt (although I have a parking spot in an indoor garage).

 

I did the BHLM yesterday, it is as easy as everyone says - just have some patience allowing all for the paint to dry between coats.

I used Rustoleum Satin Black - about 5 coats (it was tough getting into some of the little corner spots). No sanding involved - just make sure they are clean before you start to paint.

I did reassemble the headlights, and then pop them back in a preheated oven for 10 minutes - to let the glue reset itself. YES, do turn the oven off!

While I had the entire facia off, I relocated the horns using the one lowest mounting bolt for the trans cooler - this way they are still up in the front bumper area for maximum volume, and they will not be seen when I do the Satoshi grill later this week. I also painted a large area of the radiator and it's support black, again with the Satoshi grill install in mind. These little things are noted in red in the pics.

I wouldn't have done this without all of the help on TW - thanks!!!

 

Can someone poast a pic of the turn signals/ DTRL's on with this mod. Im afraid that they will not be as bright without the crome backing. Thankx.

 

You keep the chrome backing. This modification only blackens the decorative chrome around the lights.

 

I think i have grown some balls now to do this so here i go to do it i will tell you the end result and post pics .... wish me good luck

 

Good luck!! You'll be fine just take your time putting everything back together. Make sure your paint is dry when you put everything back together too lol.

 

Ok so far so good for all the people chikening out of this i am telling you this is by far the hardest sounding MOD but the easiest to do it took me no more than 20 mins to take the lights out completely.... you just have to know where exactly the 4th nut is.... oven part is not that bad instead of 200 i pre heated it to 300 and set the lights in for 10 mins.... after taking it out i did not need anything to seperate the first one just easily came off the 2nd one gave me a little hard time..... the hardest part is sanding the chrome i hate sanding and that by far took the longest time..... here are some pics i am waiting for the first coat to get dry ....

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/49475-did-my-bhlm-today.html#post875489

 

Ok, i tried to do this today, but i cannot for the life of me find that stupid bolt down below and to the outside of the light. I got all the others, but if someone could post some pictures of where it is or explain in detail where it is, i would really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

Same thing with my 3rd brake light

 

Alrightey - did this mod today - took my time, too

I wanted to add a few things to this thread - as an idiot DIYer, there were a couple of seemingly simple things but yet had to look up...

#1: The third clip that secures the grille (left and right side - I used a pair of pliers to squeeze the clip and the grille easily pulled out)



#2: The dreaded 3rd bolt for the headlight! Use a 10mm wrench, give it a couple of turns and you can then use your fingers to take it out. The picture is looking up at it as I'm laying on the ground. I also took out the couple of screws that secure the plastic piece immediately in front of the tire (dunno what it's called), which allowed me to push it aside and have easier access to the third bolt.



I then took out the headlights, 10 mins @ 300F worked great, pulled them apart fairly easily and then went to work.. I lightly sanded and because I wanted the chrome left for my DRL, taped off the light and put it back in place.




I used Krylon plastic spray paint and put on 4 layers (more is always better!), waiting about 5 mins between coats. I also used q-tips to soak up pooling in the corners - they worked great.

I took out the light, removed the tape and put it back in.. turned out good!



I put the reflectors back in and then baked for about 5 mins @ 300F; I also put a strip of clear silicone on the edge of the housing to try and make sure moisture stays out. After 5 mins, it easily went back together. After the re-assembly of the headlights, I let them cool down - once cool to the touch I put the lights back in.

The finished product:



I did put the 3rd screw back in, it only took me a minute for each side, and they went in quite easily.

The completed product:



..I also did eyelids, but the clear coat wasn't dry and I f*@*&WD the clear coat on one side So, it's now drying and then I'll sand it and repaint it, let it sit overnight and will put it on tomorrow

Cheers!

 

I really want to do this mod, but am scared out of my wits about the oven part. I hear 200 degrees, 300 degrees, 325 degrees. Put them in for 5 minutes, 8 minutes, 15 minutes. Keep the oven on, turn the oven off. ARGH!!! I wish someone would nail down what temperature and time works the best.

 

Preheat oven 300. Shut OFF oven, make sure there are no rubber parts on the headlite, place something between the headlight and the oven metal shelf and leave for 9 to 10 min. Do same when reinstalling lens. DO NOT LEAVE OVEN ON WITH HEADLIGHT IN THERE, PERIOD!

I have done this mod not only only 5 Tacoma's, but a few Tundra's and a few GM cars. Above all, take your time painting and let it dry thoroughly before reassembly. Practice reinstalling the chrome body to lens before you paint it so you are familiar with the reinstall and dont scrape the paint where the lens wraps around the parking lite.

 

Hey there,

I was in same spot - then I just said F it and went for it... it's not as bad as you think. the long part is waiting for the paint to dry inbetween coats.

300-325, doesn't matter. Pre-heat the oven, and then turn it off. THEN put one headlight in there for 10-12 minutes.
This will soften up the silicone that bonds it all together. Use a towel to take it out of the oven, and start to pry at the corners using your fingers - yes it will be hot. If it doesn't seem to budge, pop it back in the oven for another 5-6-7 minutes (the oven will still be hot enough).

follow the rest of the instructions as seen on the forum here (good write up )

In my case a bunch of the stock grey silicone got all over the place, so I used a razor to trim a lot of it out of the way before reassembly. Lay in a bead of new silicone when reassembling the headlamps - repeat the oven process to help the new silicone ooze into all of the little crevices and corners.

be careful during reassembly - not to scratch your fresh paint, take your time, pop it back in a pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes, and it should be good to go.

 

Thanks guys!! Slvr_DblTaco, so you removed the old factory "glue" and put a fresh bead of silicone down before reassembling the lights?

 

Ok, I'm going to be putting in my newly painted badges and I'm thinking about starting this mod next. I'm curious though how much time this takes? A whole day? Half? I might have about a half day tomorrow morning to work on this but, without any hiccups, I'm curious just how long this should take.

 

Snyper,
yep I did remove a bunch of the old 'glue' it was hanging all over the place and obviously not going to help the seal at all, so I carved it out with a razor blade. this also helped open up that little channel a bit for the new bead of silicone.

Strange,
it took me 10- hours to do it, but I have 4 or five coats of paint on there (drying time is the killer).

 

Wow ok. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll just practice trying to get the headlights out so i know what to expect when I'm ready to start this mod. We'll see!

 

if you can, put on a coat or two and let it dry overnight.

 

I got the first light out, pulled the bulbs, and removed the torx screws. The only issue was that I broke the clips that hold the trim pieces below the lights. All I did was pull a bit to release the piece and the clips shattered. What about the rubber weather stripping on the top of the light? Can I leave that on? If I take it off how do you reapply it?