DUredFX476

alright guys so i just registered here but i have been looking here for answers and ideas for about six months. this is a great forum and i am glad to finally be apart of it. i tried the painted headlights mod last night and i followed the instructions based on quite a few members intructions but to no luck was i able to actually pry the lens from the housing of my 05 fx4's headlights. i baked em in the oven at 275 for about 10 minutes and i had no luck after trying for several hours. has anybody had is problem? maybe im just not prying in the right spots i used a knife, butter knife, flat head screwdrive and no luck. can anyone help? thanks

XPerties

Dude when I tell you this mod is the biggest PITA I mean it. I did 275 for about 5-6 min, pry from a corner then put back in. The headlight should be hot enough that it kind burns your hands but not burn burn, if that makes sense.

It's just a matter of heat, pry hard, heat again, pry again...over and over again.

Mod (Ret.)

While this has worked for a few folks here, some have had bad luck too. One guy left his in too long and melted his clear lenses. He posted a pic, and we all had a short laugh; he did not think it was so funny though.

If I remember the post (instructions), I think the temp was higher; the time you mention is correct. I will not guess as to what the oven temp was, as I don't want to be wrong and have you ruin your assemblies.

The other issue will be reassembly. You'll want to clean off all the old sealer (a pain), then use a decent bead of silicone to reseal. Caution on getting this part right, as the lenses will fog, ruining your painted efforts/work.

And you don't want to rush out and buy the $80.00 to $100.00 sets off EBay; they too fog up.

Perhaps those with success will post their tips on getting it right.

jdjam

I had one light apart after heating it up twice. The passenger side about had me ready to give up. I reheated it about 5 times. There was a lot more black goop on that one. Cleaning this stuff out is very important before putting it back together. It will be slightly out of shape from the heat and you need all the channel room you can get so the clips on the housing and the lens line back up perfectly. Like it was never opened. I did 250 deg for about 10 min each time. I also used some cheap gloves with rubber grips. Helps with the heat and provides some grip. I only used a screwdriver to get the first corner started. Tough mod but the lights look a lot better.

XPerties

The temp was not higher, that's how people got spiders in their lens (small cracks) and I was very successful.


To DUredFX476 - Just do short burst of heat continuous which will help keep the silicone heated up. One major tip is when you get them apart and you are ready to put them back together, use straps to insure they keep a good seal after you reapply your silicone:

DUredFX476

Thanks for all the help. i will try these tips whenever i can gather a LITTLE more patience. lol