I used a hair dryer because it took less than 5 minutes to open each housing with it. The oven thing would work too, but the hair dryer worked amazingly.

 

Have any of you painted your stock housings rather than buying aftermarket housings? I have a black 06 STX and really want to black out my headlights like the HD ones are...but I don't want to spend the extra money on aftermarket housings if I don't have to. Trying to do this on the smallest budget possible. Any adverse effects of painting the stock housing?

 

do a search and im sure you will turn up numerous results on this subject. lol people have been doing this for a LONG time now so im sure theres a few how-to's. i bought ebay ones so i could get a clear reflector and they are much easier than oem ones. you can do your oem ones but there a bitch to get apart. the main thing to do is reseal them the best you can to prevent moisture. if you can succesfully do that, you will have better quality than cheap ebay ones for about 20-25 bucks.

 

I guess I should have worded my question better. I'm more concerned with the heat from the projector reacting to the painted housing. Like will it effect it at all or will I be ok. I'm going to leave the reflector dome chrome but I want to paint everything else inside the housing black to match the truck more.

 

to my knowledge nobody has had any problems with this type of thing. the most common type of paint used is krylon fusion for plastics. matt from theretrofitsource.com said that krylon fusion for plastics will hold up fine on the headlight bowl and shroud even with hid projectors so im sure it will be fine away from the headlight bulb.

 

So just a little unclear about what you are saying...When buying a second set of lights you wouldn't get the exact same style as the OEM housings? (2004) I'm ordering with mini morimotos to put in my stocks but not if youre saying it will still be fuzzy

 

The Ford OEM lights will work perfectly fine, just take a bit more effort to pry them apart. With aftermarket headlights like the clear-corner version I used, they are easier to get open.

 

Ok good deal. I placed an order for them. I need brighter lights but I didn't want the ricer look AT ALL. Ill try to take pictures of the process. thanks for all the info guys

 

Black housings write-up:
Start by taking the clear plastic off of the black housing. Very easy to do with aftermarkets, a hair dryer and a very little bit of heat will do the trick.





After you take the lens off, get as much of the old adhesive out of the crack as you can so your new adhesive will seal better.



Now drill, or cut a small notch to fit the two wires for the projector's Hi/Lo function.





Aim and fit the projector into the opening:



Use adhesive sealant to permanently fix the projector to the cone. This will ensure that it doesn't bounce or shake on the road.

Now fit the adapter plate. This makes the aiming a breeze, it practically aims it for you and leaves a minimal amount of play. So make final adjustments rotationally.





Bulb holder and screws installed and sealed.

Mount and adjust the shroud to your liking:


Finally reinstall the lenses and that's it.
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That's pretty much it. Just make sure to aim the projectors before you reinstall the lenses. Put your bulbs in and voila!

I know this is a "10 minute crash course" explanation, but the install is really that simple. Just look at what you have, and put it in. If you have any questions just let me know. I wont take the pix down, so no more worries.

-SZ-