Nissan dealers carry the correct bulb, ~$5.00 each:



I used some chrome paint on my amber bulbs to hide the color. When the lights turn on they glow very orange, but when they're off you can barely see any color. The paint is called Alclad Chrome, and can be found in most good hobby shops. The only downside is that it is usually sold in a bottle and it must be airbrushed, you can't brush it on. Alclad just released a spray can version, but I haven't tried it yet and it's pretty expensive.





Here are some links:

http://www.njipms.org/Reviews/Alclad2/alclad2.htm

Spray Can

 

Does anyone make LED ones that are clear when off and amber when on?

 

I cleared my lights 6 months ago and the sharpie thing worked and still works as good as when i first did it. If you go the naked clear look (no diffuser) what you can do it paint most of it silver and leave a little bit of it exposed so that the bulb doesnt stick out like a sore thumb.

 

On the subject of the bulbs. If amber bulbs are installed with smoked diffusers, will the amber bulb show through the smoked diffuser or do they still need a light coat of silver as mentioned in a previous post? Also I started the clearing process last night, following the directions from Rick's site..everthing went smoothly. My next step is the "baking" and I am at odds about removing the ballast before the bake. Any thoughts on removing or not removing the ballasts for the "bake" Also thanks to all the members who replied to this post about the bulb question.....

 

I didnt remove the ballast, felt it was too much of a pain in the butt.

 

We just got done doing this at a tech day. Because you have to bake the headlights in an oven at 225 degrees for at least 25 minutes (that can't be good for those components), we thought it best to remove the ballast and all the bulbs.

You need a special tamper resistant Torx #25 or #20 bit to remove the bulb cover. (This is not a regular torx screw, it has a post in the center that prevents a regular torx bit from entering the torx slot.) Turn the bulb cover about 45 degrees and then pop it off. Remember NOT to touch the glass part of the bulbs unless you're wearing clean gloves, the oils in your skin can cause problems with the longevity of the bulbs. It's probably best just to handle the bulbs from the back end, which is pretty easy to do.

Then it's four 10 mm bolts to detach the ballast from the headlight. With the ballast off you need a small Phillips screwdriver to remove the ground strap from the ballast. Then you reach in and detach the main wire from the ballast to the bulb connection by turning it 90 degrees and pulling it off. You have to snake this wire out of the headlight and the ground wire stays attached to the housing. At this point you can remove the bulbs. The main bulb has two wire bales holding it in, the blinker bulb has one wire bale holding it in, and the high beam is a twist and fit with a rubber weather cover. All of the bulb connections have special nipples and slots so that the only fit correctly one way, just examine the slots and bulbs and match them up for re-installation. That being said anything can be forced, but if you're having to force it you should re-examine your technique.

We were most successful with cooking the headlights for 25 minutes at 225 degrees. This was trial and error after the first headlight had been cooked for 20 minutes, then trying to separate it (unsuccessfully), cooking it for 5 more minutes then trying to separate it (unsuccessfully), cooking it for 5 more minutes and then separating it successfully. The second headlight was cooked for 25 minutes and separated on the first try.

Make sure you have a place to set the headlight down when you take it out of the oven. And be prepared with about 3 people to aid with separating the clear lens from the housing. Everybody should have leather gloves, towels, or oven mitts on. Those babies are hot, and the heat can sneak through even heavy leather gloves, so be careful.

Time is of the essence as the sealant that holds the lens to the housing begins to set up as it cools. A coupla large flat blade screwdrivers or putty blades should be readiliy availabe. Also as soon as the pieces are separted you should remove as much as the old sealant as you can while it's still warm.

I'm sure that there are some other tips that you'll be able to offer after you do this, but those are the main ones I remember from this weekend.

Oh yeah legal or NOT we just stayed with the OEM clear bulbs.

 

Stealth Auto is currently in production of the 7440 type bulb, I have been playing phone tag with the owner but when I get a hold of him I will ask him about availability of the bulbs and I will post it.

 

I ordered amber bulbs from lightlens.com and spray painted with silver Rustoleum high-temp (1200 degrees F for barbeques etc). I sprayed too thick first time ( dim lights) so got new amber bulbs at Pep Boys, went really light on the silver paint, & reinstalled, fine now. BTW, I didn't know until yesterday that to replace these 2 bulbs you can access from the wheel well by removing a few fasteners ( pretty easy compared to removing the bumper etc.).

 

Has anyone who has cleared there headlights expiring getting smudges of sealant on the headlight lens? No matter how careful I ended up with the lens smudged with Peratex or the factory sealant. I used rubbing alcohol with a soft cloth, but it was very time consuming....any suggestions other than being more careful? I have one more light to clear this evening..

 

Previous post, experienced, not "expiring"