"do It Yourself" Black Housing Headlights

YoshiFD3S · 07-06-2011, 01:56 AM

I did have an existing thread on this topic, but now that I've actually done it, it seemed appropriate to post a Review/How-To Thread. ;]

[b]FIRST OFF

I am honestly [b]NOT going to recommend doing this mod to just ANYBODY. It is [b]NOT a mod for the squeemish, or the people who are afraid of making a mistake or two.

[b]Step # 1:
IF you have an oven large enough to even fit the headlights, then that needs to be your first priority. If they WON'T fit in your oven, then the ONLY way to disassemble the headlight housing itself, is to use handheld heat-gun. Doesn't have to be fancy. Mine was like $25 at LOWE's "Motorsports". Either way, I absolutely recommend having a heat gun though, quite frankly.

[b]Step # 2:
Removing the front-bumper is actually EXTREMELY easy and I did it by myself. I referred to some threads on how to do it, and I used a popcicle stick to push down the 3 tabs on both sides that the bumper basically clips into the fender. After the first time, it was easy easy easy. The headlights are attached with a total of 3 10mm bolts. Brainlessly easy. There is even a portion of the headlights that "clips" in and out of place.

[b]Step # 3:
Disassembly! Besides the obvious unscrewing of a few things and taking the bulbs out, this is probably the hardest part. IF you have an oven, then I would follow the steps suggested elsewhere regarding 6-8 minutes at 200-220F to basically heat up the very tacky black adhesive that holds the headlight housings together.

If you're like me, and the headlight WOULDN'T fit in your oven..You're going to have to heat the edges where the clear and black housings come together and pry a little at a time. The bad part is, when you pry like that, you are bending the black plastic outwards. The only real way to get it to fit back to the clear housing closely, like it was, is to basically heat it up and then press it back together by hand, or however you're able to put pressure on it as it cools. It sounds scary, but after messing up my driver's side, I took a little more time on the passenger-side, applied a little more heat, and it actually came out near-perfect.

[b]Step # 4:
Sanding! Once you've basically removed/disassembled the individual headlight pieces, this is the next step! First off, I used a 220-grit sand-paper to basically scratch up the chrome. If you press hard enough, you can remove it entirely and you'll be left with the grey-ish plastic material exposed. You can either use the 220-grit for removing the chrome entirely, or go ahead with 600-grit. Either way, you definitely want to make sure to remove as much of the chrome surface as possible. You don't have to press hard with the 600-grit. Also, in between sanding stages, I recommend using water to wash the excess particles off. The sanding process is very time consuming to do by yourself, because of course you want to be meticulous about this. The 600-grit will leave you with an incredably smooth surface though, ready for paint!

[b]Step #5:
Paint! I ended up using a "Flat Black" Paint/Primer in-one. About 3 light coats, just to make sure I got it all, and then let dry for about an hour once you're done, just to make sure the paint isn't still tacky at all. Fairly simple and self-explanatory. Just be careful not to spray on thick heavy coats where the paint would drip, or become overly "tacky".

[b]Step #6:
Reassembly! There are a few extra steps I haven't listed, that are a part of disassembling and reassembling the lights...but I'm not about to post pictures of every single screw location and "how to" on that, sorry. Essentially you just put it all back together. Besides that, you'll just want to heat up the existing adhesive using the oven/heat gun method. I suggest heating up portions at a time using the heat gun, and then pressing the housings back together a little at a time, to ensure a good seal, and that all the lines match up.

[b]NOTE
Honestly, there really isn't necessarily a NEED to purchase any kind of additional adhesive material when you're putting the 2 housings back together, but if you do end up purchasing anything....[b]DO NOT PURCHASE ANY "SILICONE" BASED PRODUCTS....I took the guy's advice at LOWE's and went with a Locktite-brand silicone-based sealant....and it was a MESS. if you are going to purchase ANY kind sealant material, make sure it is MEANT for plastic, BLACK in color, and I suggest it have kind of properties as the material that is already there holding the headlight housings together. It should basically become "tacky" with heat, but when cooled, should be somewhat "rubbery" in texture.

[b]FINAL RESULTS!

Don't mind the glare, it was like 90+ and SUNNY here in San Diego that day.

The flat black really does look AWESOME in person, and looks EVEN better as the sun starts to set, and especially when I turn on my 8000k HID's. heehee.... ^.^;;

I ended up deciding to paint the chrome piece that the amber reflector is attached to. I am definitely pleased with that decision. It adds a more "opaque" look to the orange, and actually makes it stand out rather nicely.

I did have some second thoughts about whether or not I should have chromed the DRL-housing portion...but since I have the DRL delete kit, it worked out for me. I might try picking up some LED ~6000k bulbs for DRL's and remove the DRL-delete kit to see how that looks, but for now, I think I made the right decision.

I did make some mistakes up along the edges of the housings on my driver's side a little bit, which was the first light...but by the time I got to the passenger side, everything came out near-perfect. If I had to do it all again, I certainly could, and in a lot less time too with even better results. :P lol

[b]CONCLUSION
Overall...I absolutely would [b]NOT recommend this modification to anyone who would not at least consider themselves "handy" with tools, is squeemish about making mistakes and possibly damaging the lights, or is uncomfortble with having to improvise. The whole process itself is definitely NOT for the "faint of heart". If you take your time though, then it is very possible to do this modification with no problems, and in a much more reasonable amount of time, then it took me to do it. hehe Hopefully this quick write-up will help provide some details at least on how to go about this, and what to expect.

For me though, it was a learning experience worth trying...and overall I am happy. I created something very unique with my own hands, and I'm proud of that.

In the end it came down to [b]$50 in materials and a total of about [b]12 hours VS. spending [b]$500. I enjoyed the learning experience, and I learned a lot...so I'm content. I like that by doing it yourself, you also have the freedom to paint/not paint whichever parts you choose too. I definitely went with a more "unique" look from all of the headlight styles I've seen out there, and from what I know is out there, I know that there isn't one like mine. I like being original and different...if you guys didn't already know that.

In the end..to all of the "I don't think I could/would do that." folks....Yes, I agree with you, then. DON'T DO IT!

You're better off just BUYING the ~$500 'official' black-housing headlights and be done with it. Then sell your OEM headlights on eBay to recoup some of that cost. As a side-note, the 'offficial' black-housing lights found online have the actual headlight trimming black and projector housings are black...but the DRL housing, and turn signal housings are chrome. Don't get me wrong, I love them...but I am more pleased with how UNIQUE my lights are, in comparison. :]

I think I've realized after doing everything to my car by myself, that I really enjoy doing my OWN work on my cars. More pride in it, I say...even if you do make a few mistakes along the way. Battle scars! lol That's just MY attitude, I guess. :]

Tell you what though, if you guys wanna see just how bad@$$ these lights REALLY look now, I'll have to take some evening pics with my 8000k HID's on. hehe ^.^;;

Anyways...Thanks for your time guys. I hope you enjoy the pics,

- Mike

2.0Turbo · 07-06-2011, 08:46 AM

Brilliant write up Yoshi - thanks for taking the time to do it.

I did the headlight mod on my Tacoma truck and it took me about 4 - 5 hours, but then again the headlights came out with little effort. Hyundai seems to have gone a bit far to try and remove parts from the car - trying to get the front grille off so I can change the emblem has proven a task and a half, I need to pick up a tiny phillips to remove those four pesky screws. I'm having a garage built here in a month, so once that's done, I will, without a doubt, tackle it - especially now that I have this awesome writeup to follow

HarborGrey · 07-06-2011, 09:56 AM

Yoshi..you're an amazing member of this board. I always dig reading your posts.

my biggest fear with this mod...is my headlight assembly would end up smelling like meat loaf. (that was an oven joke...I'll wait here... 2....3...4....)

I was thinking.....there's so many great DIY projects so carefully listed...that it would be a shame not to have a DIY section or WiKi section here on this board..and quite frankly..I don't know if there is one. Mods.... what say you?

2.0Turbo · 07-06-2011, 10:39 AM

QUOTE (HarborGrey @ Jul 6 2011, 10:56 AM)

Quote:

Yoshi..you're an amazing member of this board. I always dig reading your posts.

my biggest fear with this mod...is my headlight assembly would end up smelling like meat loaf. (that was an oven joke...I'll wait here... 2....3...4....)

I was thinking.....there's so many great DIY projects so carefully listed...that it would be a shame not to have a DIY section or WiKi section here on this board..and quite frankly..I don't know if there is one. Mods.... what say you?

Yeah.. a Sonata Mods subforum - now you're cooking with solar power!

I was scared of baking my headlights as well, but as long as you use the temp suggested and don't leave them in there longer than suggested, you'll be fine! ...else, you can justify ordering the black ones with LEDs - WIN/WIN the way I see it

YoshiFD3S · 07-06-2011, 07:06 PM

- [b]IMPORTANT NOTE -

So, I didn't realize this until last night when I was driving the car at night for the first time, but here are 2 important things to know.

1.) There is a 12mm adjustment screw that by turning clockwise/counter-clockwise, will adjust the HEIGHT of the projector's light output. You can access this screw/bolt without removing the lights. It is easy to find, once you look.
- During the reassembly, I had apparently adjusted them WAY too low, so driving home from work was a bit scary last night. Once I got home though, it took only minutes to re-adjust each light.

2.) By having painted the DRL/high-beam housings flat-black, my high-beams are in fact USELESS. As such, I can see now why the 'official' black-housing lights have the projector lens housing black, which makes no different in the light output....but they kept the DRL/high-beam and also the turn signal housing portions chrome.

Basically, there is a total of 4 major pieces + the piece behind the reflector, that make up the internals of the headlight.

1 - The turn-signal housing at the top, just in front of the reflector.
2 - The projector lens outer housing that encompasses the projector lens, but doesn't provide any additional light output by means of reflection off the chrome.
3 - The DRL/high-beam housing, which (side note) is actually screwed into the physical projector lens/housing itself. If you disassemble the clear from the black headlight housings themselves, you'll see this.
4 - The "trim" piece, which basically fills in the spaces around all of the housings, and provides some of the stylish curves seen within the headlight itself.

- If I were to make a recommendation to you guys who would still consider doing this modification, it would be that you [b]leave the DRL/low-beam housings chrome, and possibly even the turn signal housings. Essentially, then you can make the decision to paint or not paint the projector lens housing black. If you do, then you basically have lights identical to the ~$500 ones, with the exception of the amber reflector VS. clear reflector.
[/quote]

b_real45 · 07-06-2011, 07:29 PM

I was going to mention those points earlier but didn't want to make it sound like I was crapping on your thread.

Never paint reflector housings.. anything around it is fine, but not the actual reflector part!

ddcombs25 · 07-06-2011, 08:50 PM

those came out great. been waiting for you to finish this mod. im waiting for the weather to be steady without the chance of rain, so i can complete this mod. i already have a practice light i picked up from the junkyard and ive had a heat gun for a min. job well done my friend. ill be doing this fairly soon, b/c i just cant see me forking out the $500 for those aftermarket ones. and yea i figured painting the housing on the highbeams would render them useless. i will paint the projector housing because it wont have any effects on the light output. thnx for the info and the write up.

YoshiFD3S · 07-06-2011, 08:50 PM

QUOTE (b_real45 @ Jul 6 2011, 04:29 PM)

Quote:

I was going to mention those points earlier but didn't want to make it sound like I was crapping on your thread.

Never paint reflector housings.. anything around it is fine, but not the actual reflector part!

Oh well. Lesson learned.

With the HID's, I never used my high-beams anyways.

I guess you could say my headlights really ARE custom.

lol

mjperk · 01-17-2013, 01:39 PM

I've been thinking about doing this mod using some black Plasti-Dip I have. I looked at their site and they say it's been tested to +200 degrees, but doesn't say exactly. The guides I' have found say to put the headlight in the oven at 265 degrees for around 7 minutes to dis/reassemble. I'm concerned that after I spray the housing and am attaching the clear plastic cover back on that I'll bake the Plasti-Dip too much and ruin it. Any thoughts on this? Would Plasti-Dip even be durable for long term use? I don't want it to crackle and peel off in a year after being out in the sun. I'm not sure how UV resistant it is.

07-06-2011, 01:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
YoshiFD3S Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: San Diego, CA 2011 Sonata 2.0T Limited 1994 Mazda RX-7 w/ 2JZ Swap 2004 Mazda RX-8 Posts: 1,396	I did have an existing thread on this topic, but now that I've actually done it, it seemed appropriate to post a Review/How-To Thread. ;] [b]FIRST OFF I am honestly [b]NOT going to recommend doing this mod to just ANYBODY. It is [b]NOT a mod for the squeemish, or the people who are afraid of making a mistake or two. [b]Step # 1: IF you have an oven large enough to even fit the headlights, then that needs to be your first priority. If they WON'T fit in your oven, then the ONLY way to disassemble the headlight housing itself, is to use handheld heat-gun. Doesn't have to be fancy. Mine was like $25 at LOWE's "Motorsports". Either way, I absolutely recommend having a heat gun though, quite frankly. [b]Step # 2: Removing the front-bumper is actually EXTREMELY easy and I did it by myself. I referred to some threads on how to do it, and I used a popcicle stick to push down the 3 tabs on both sides that the bumper basically clips into the fender. After the first time, it was easy easy easy. The headlights are attached with a total of 3 10mm bolts. Brainlessly easy. There is even a portion of the headlights that "clips" in and out of place. [b]Step # 3: Disassembly! Besides the obvious unscrewing of a few things and taking the bulbs out, this is probably the hardest part. IF you have an oven, then I would follow the steps suggested elsewhere regarding 6-8 minutes at 200-220F to basically heat up the very tacky black adhesive that holds the headlight housings together. If you're like me, and the headlight WOULDN'T fit in your oven..You're going to have to heat the edges where the clear and black housings come together and pry a little at a time. The bad part is, when you pry like that, you are bending the black plastic outwards. The only real way to get it to fit back to the clear housing closely, like it was, is to basically heat it up and then press it back together by hand, or however you're able to put pressure on it as it cools. It sounds scary, but after messing up my driver's side, I took a little more time on the passenger-side, applied a little more heat, and it actually came out near-perfect. [b]Step # 4: Sanding! Once you've basically removed/disassembled the individual headlight pieces, this is the next step! First off, I used a 220-grit sand-paper to basically scratch up the chrome. If you press hard enough, you can remove it entirely and you'll be left with the grey-ish plastic material exposed. You can either use the 220-grit for removing the chrome entirely, or go ahead with 600-grit. Either way, you definitely want to make sure to remove as much of the chrome surface as possible. You don't have to press hard with the 600-grit. Also, in between sanding stages, I recommend using water to wash the excess particles off. The sanding process is very time consuming to do by yourself, because of course you want to be meticulous about this. The 600-grit will leave you with an incredably smooth surface though, ready for paint! [b]Step #5: Paint! I ended up using a "Flat Black" Paint/Primer in-one. About 3 light coats, just to make sure I got it all, and then let dry for about an hour once you're done, just to make sure the paint isn't still tacky at all. Fairly simple and self-explanatory. Just be careful not to spray on thick heavy coats where the paint would drip, or become overly "tacky". [b]Step #6: Reassembly! There are a few extra steps I haven't listed, that are a part of disassembling and reassembling the lights...but I'm not about to post pictures of every single screw location and "how to" on that, sorry. Essentially you just put it all back together. Besides that, you'll just want to heat up the existing adhesive using the oven/heat gun method. I suggest heating up portions at a time using the heat gun, and then pressing the housings back together a little at a time, to ensure a good seal, and that all the lines match up. [b]NOTE Honestly, there really isn't necessarily a NEED to purchase any kind of additional adhesive material when you're putting the 2 housings back together, but if you do end up purchasing anything....[b]DO NOT PURCHASE ANY "SILICONE" BASED PRODUCTS....I took the guy's advice at LOWE's and went with a Locktite-brand silicone-based sealant....and it was a MESS. if you are going to purchase ANY kind sealant material, make sure it is MEANT for plastic, BLACK in color, and I suggest it have kind of properties as the material that is already there holding the headlight housings together. It should basically become "tacky" with heat, but when cooled, should be somewhat "rubbery" in texture. [b]FINAL RESULTS! Don't mind the glare, it was like 90+ and SUNNY here in San Diego that day. The flat black really does look AWESOME in person, and looks EVEN better as the sun starts to set, and especially when I turn on my 8000k HID's. heehee.... ^.^;; I ended up deciding to paint the chrome piece that the amber reflector is attached to. I am definitely pleased with that decision. It adds a more "opaque" look to the orange, and actually makes it stand out rather nicely. I did have some second thoughts about whether or not I should have chromed the DRL-housing portion...but since I have the DRL delete kit, it worked out for me. I might try picking up some LED ~6000k bulbs for DRL's and remove the DRL-delete kit to see how that looks, but for now, I think I made the right decision. I did make some mistakes up along the edges of the housings on my driver's side a little bit, which was the first light...but by the time I got to the passenger side, everything came out near-perfect. If I had to do it all again, I certainly could, and in a lot less time too with even better results. :P lol [b]CONCLUSION Overall...I absolutely would [b]NOT recommend this modification to anyone who would not at least consider themselves "handy" with tools, is squeemish about making mistakes and possibly damaging the lights, or is uncomfortble with having to improvise. The whole process itself is definitely NOT for the "faint of heart". If you take your time though, then it is very possible to do this modification with no problems, and in a much more reasonable amount of time, then it took me to do it. hehe Hopefully this quick write-up will help provide some details at least on how to go about this, and what to expect. For me though, it was a learning experience worth trying...and overall I am happy. I created something very unique with my own hands, and I'm proud of that. In the end it came down to [b]$50 in materials and a total of about [b]12 hours VS. spending [b]$500. I enjoyed the learning experience, and I learned a lot...so I'm content. I like that by doing it yourself, you also have the freedom to paint/not paint whichever parts you choose too. I definitely went with a more "unique" look from all of the headlight styles I've seen out there, and from what I know is out there, I know that there isn't one like mine. I like being original and different...if you guys didn't already know that. In the end..to all of the "I don't think I could/would do that." folks....Yes, I agree with you, then. DON'T DO IT! You're better off just BUYING the ~$500 'official' black-housing headlights and be done with it. Then sell your OEM headlights on eBay to recoup some of that cost. As a side-note, the 'offficial' black-housing lights found online have the actual headlight trimming black and projector housings are black...but the DRL housing, and turn signal housings are chrome. Don't get me wrong, I love them...but I am more pleased with how UNIQUE my lights are, in comparison. :] I think I've realized after doing everything to my car by myself, that I really enjoy doing my OWN work on my cars. More pride in it, I say...even if you do make a few mistakes along the way. Battle scars! lol That's just MY attitude, I guess. :] Tell you what though, if you guys wanna see just how bad@$$ these lights REALLY look now, I'll have to take some evening pics with my 8000k HID's on. hehe ^.^;; Anyways...Thanks for your time guys. I hope you enjoy the pics, - Mike __________________ * DAILY DRIVER: 2013 Cadillac ATS 2.0T - Not gonna stay stock for long! Stay tuned! WEEKEND CAR: 1994 RX-7 w/ 2JZ Swap - 3+ Year Project and still going... * FAMILY CAR: 2011 Sonata 2.0T - 300+hp/30+MPG FTW. My 2JZ RX-7 BUILD THREAD

07-06-2011, 08:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
2.0Turbo Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: NS, Canada Drives 2011 Sonata 2.0T Limited and 2012 Kia Sorento SX Posts: 324	Brilliant write up Yoshi - thanks for taking the time to do it. I did the headlight mod on my Tacoma truck and it took me about 4 - 5 hours, but then again the headlights came out with little effort. Hyundai seems to have gone a bit far to try and remove parts from the car - trying to get the front grille off so I can change the emblem has proven a task and a half, I need to pick up a tiny phillips to remove those four pesky screws. I'm having a garage built here in a month, so once that's done, I will, without a doubt, tackle it - especially now that I have this awesome writeup to follow __________________ Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things.

07-06-2011, 07:06 PM	#5 (permalink)
YoshiFD3S Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: San Diego, CA 2011 Sonata 2.0T Limited 1994 Mazda RX-7 w/ 2JZ Swap 2004 Mazda RX-8 Posts: 1,396	- [b]IMPORTANT NOTE - So, I didn't realize this until last night when I was driving the car at night for the first time, but here are 2 important things to know. 1.) There is a 12mm adjustment screw that by turning clockwise/counter-clockwise, will adjust the HEIGHT of the projector's light output. You can access this screw/bolt without removing the lights. It is easy to find, once you look. - During the reassembly, I had apparently adjusted them WAY too low, so driving home from work was a bit scary last night. Once I got home though, it took only minutes to re-adjust each light. 2.) By having painted the DRL/high-beam housings flat-black, my high-beams are in fact USELESS. As such, I can see now why the 'official' black-housing lights have the projector lens housing black, which makes no different in the light output....but they kept the DRL/high-beam and also the turn signal housing portions chrome. Basically, there is a total of 4 major pieces + the piece behind the reflector, that make up the internals of the headlight. 1 - The turn-signal housing at the top, just in front of the reflector. 2 - The projector lens outer housing that encompasses the projector lens, but doesn't provide any additional light output by means of reflection off the chrome. 3 - The DRL/high-beam housing, which (side note) is actually screwed into the physical projector lens/housing itself. If you disassemble the clear from the black headlight housings themselves, you'll see this. 4 - The "trim" piece, which basically fills in the spaces around all of the housings, and provides some of the stylish curves seen within the headlight itself. - If I were to make a recommendation to you guys who would still consider doing this modification, it would be that you [b]leave the DRL/low-beam housings chrome, and possibly even the turn signal housings. Essentially, then you can make the decision to paint or not paint the projector lens housing black. If you do, then you basically have lights identical to the ~$500 ones, with the exception of the amber reflector VS. clear reflector. [/quote] __________________ * DAILY DRIVER: 2013 Cadillac ATS 2.0T - Not gonna stay stock for long! Stay tuned! WEEKEND CAR: 1994 RX-7 w/ 2JZ Swap - 3+ Year Project and still going... * FAMILY CAR: 2011 Sonata 2.0T - 300+hp/30+MPG FTW. My 2JZ RX-7 BUILD THREAD

07-06-2011, 07:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
b_real45 Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 57	I was going to mention those points earlier but didn't want to make it sound like I was crapping on your thread. Never paint reflector housings.. anything around it is fine, but not the actual reflector part! __________________ 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE Harbor Gray

07-06-2011, 09:56 AM	#3 (permalink)
HarborGrey Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: South Florida 2011 Sonata Limited, 2.0T Posts: 917	Yoshi..you're an amazing member of this board. I always dig reading your posts. my biggest fear with this mod...is my headlight assembly would end up smelling like meat loaf. (that was an oven joke...I'll wait here... 2....3...4....) I was thinking.....there's so many great DIY projects so carefully listed...that it would be a shame not to have a DIY section or WiKi section here on this board..and quite frankly..I don't know if there is one. Mods.... what say you?

07-06-2011, 08:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
ddcombs25 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: st louis Posts: 106	those came out great. been waiting for you to finish this mod. im waiting for the weather to be steady without the chance of rain, so i can complete this mod. i already have a practice light i picked up from the junkyard and ive had a heat gun for a min. job well done my friend. ill be doing this fairly soon, b/c i just cant see me forking out the $500 for those aftermarket ones. and yea i figured painting the housing on the highbeams would render them useless. i will paint the projector housing because it wont have any effects on the light output. thnx for the info and the write up.

01-17-2013, 01:39 PM	#9 (permalink)
mjperk Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Des Moines, Iowa 2011 Sonata GLS MT Posts: 36	I've been thinking about doing this mod using some black Plasti-Dip I have. I looked at their site and they say it's been tested to +200 degrees, but doesn't say exactly. The guides I' have found say to put the headlight in the oven at 265 degrees for around 7 minutes to dis/reassemble. I'm concerned that after I spray the housing and am attaching the clear plastic cover back on that I'll bake the Plasti-Dip too much and ruin it. Any thoughts on this? Would Plasti-Dip even be durable for long term use? I don't want it to crackle and peel off in a year after being out in the sun. I'm not sure how UV resistant it is.

Remove Advertisements Sponsored Links
Hyundai Forums Advertisement

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)