Has anyone baked and sealed Headlights?
12-16-2011, 11:57 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Has anyone baked and sealed Headlights?
Water leaked in a little bit into my passenger headlight and need help on baking and resealing it, has anyone done it before? would help if we can meet up some time!
02-01-2012, 12:51 PM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: vancouver wa
Posts: 905
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bump, I want to know if anyone has done this as well. Im going to pull my bumper off soon to change it, and when I do I want to open my head lights and remove the amber diffusers. I've never baked/sealed headlights and dont want to screw it up. Ill buy lunch for anyone wanting to help.
02-01-2012, 02:03 PM
#3
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,195
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
it is an easy project and you shouldnt have hesitation in taking it on yourself as long as you take your time. here is how i have always gone about it.
1. preheat oven to 250F
2. remove all screws from the headlight housing and rubber. you have a limited time on how hot the glue will stay, so these prep steps need to be taken ahead of time.
3. place headlight on backing tray
4. let it bake between 8-12 minutes.
5. use heat safe gloves the headlight will be very hot to handle. use a flat head to start proping around the edges. be gentle where the tabs meet the housing to ensure you dont break any of the tabs.
6. you should be able the housing away from the lens since the glue has been softened. if any spot ends up cooling too fast for you before you get to it, you can use a heat gun, or a blow dryer to assist in reheating the spot. leave as much of the oem glue possible still around the edges, but making sure it doesnt smear on your lens where it will be visible, the glue will assist in putting it back together.
7. once it is disassembled do whatever steps inside the housing that you want to complete. removing the diffuser, painting the housing, etc etc
8. now reassemble the housing to the lens, it wont want to close complete because the glue is now hard and dried out. press it as tightly as possible, reinstall the screws back in and it will help seal the headlight.
9. preheat the oven again back to 250F
10. place the headlight back into the oven, the oem glue will now melt and rebond. after about 8-12 minutes pull it out and push them as tight as possible. allow the glue to dry back up. to ensure that the seal is good, i would recommend going around the whole mating service with some black waterproof silicone adhesive.
I havent done any in quite some time, however those were the steps i took and havent had any issues before. good luck!
1. preheat oven to 250F
2. remove all screws from the headlight housing and rubber. you have a limited time on how hot the glue will stay, so these prep steps need to be taken ahead of time.
3. place headlight on backing tray
4. let it bake between 8-12 minutes.
5. use heat safe gloves the headlight will be very hot to handle. use a flat head to start proping around the edges. be gentle where the tabs meet the housing to ensure you dont break any of the tabs.
6. you should be able the housing away from the lens since the glue has been softened. if any spot ends up cooling too fast for you before you get to it, you can use a heat gun, or a blow dryer to assist in reheating the spot. leave as much of the oem glue possible still around the edges, but making sure it doesnt smear on your lens where it will be visible, the glue will assist in putting it back together.
7. once it is disassembled do whatever steps inside the housing that you want to complete. removing the diffuser, painting the housing, etc etc
8. now reassemble the housing to the lens, it wont want to close complete because the glue is now hard and dried out. press it as tightly as possible, reinstall the screws back in and it will help seal the headlight.
9. preheat the oven again back to 250F
10. place the headlight back into the oven, the oem glue will now melt and rebond. after about 8-12 minutes pull it out and push them as tight as possible. allow the glue to dry back up. to ensure that the seal is good, i would recommend going around the whole mating service with some black waterproof silicone adhesive.
I havent done any in quite some time, however those were the steps i took and havent had any issues before. good luck!
02-01-2012, 04:29 PM
#5
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: vancouver wa
Posts: 905
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ive heard that you should remove all the original sealant and replace it with something else. And also while searching I read not to use the black silicon as it wouldnt bond with the OEM sealant(also the reason for removing all the OEM sealant). Sorry if thats completely incorrect. I've searched quite a bit and theres a lot of conflicting info on this mod, thats why I was hoping someone around here had done it already on some s2000 lights,successfully.
02-01-2012, 04:43 PM
#6
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 7,195
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
yah right Ira, these are just how my ghetto garage style process has been over the years. i dont take any responsibility in the instructions and person assumes at their own risk 
i probably should start putting that disclaimer in there too. i have done it at least a dozen times over the years. from clearing headlights, to retro fitting projectors into cars, and painting housings etc. you may find better instructions and details pics elsewhere, this has just been my own personal experience. the steps i outlined are because of small difficulties i found occured over the different attempts. for example if you clean the whole surface, and you mate the lens back together, you would have to be very precise with your new sealant so it doesnt drip in or out of the housing. i have done that in the past and what i found is it is still too goopy when you mate them together and seeps into the lens area. might just be my fat fingers and lack or precision though anyways post some pics when you do them 
i probably should start putting that disclaimer in there too. i have done it at least a dozen times over the years. from clearing headlights, to retro fitting projectors into cars, and painting housings etc. you may find better instructions and details pics elsewhere, this has just been my own personal experience. the steps i outlined are because of small difficulties i found occured over the different attempts. for example if you clean the whole surface, and you mate the lens back together, you would have to be very precise with your new sealant so it doesnt drip in or out of the housing. i have done that in the past and what i found is it is still too goopy when you mate them together and seeps into the lens area. might just be my fat fingers and lack or precision though anyways post some pics when you do them
02-01-2012, 06:54 PM
#7
I peeled off the old and resealed with twice as much sealant,it looks kinda messy around the edge of the lens but its all hidden once the headlights are installed. These are the instuctions I used when I opened mine up. http://www.ricks2k.com/info/instructions/diffuser.pdf
