I have a black GX and after blacking out the grill the one thing that bothered me a lot was the chrome/white headlights and fog lights which really stood out. My headlights weren’t in great condition but they were good enough to make me want to try painting before spending $$ on the depos. Didn’t take too many photos of the process but it’s pretty straightforward. Here are the steps, and photos at the bottom.
Items Used:
Duplicolor Adhesion Promotor
VHT High Temp Plastic Paint - Black Satin (For the main housing)
VHT NiteShade (optional, for the amber reflector)
800 Grit Sandpaper
Butyl Tape (for resealing headlights)
1.Remove headlights and fog lights. Fog lights are super easy to remove, just one 10mm bolt.
2. Open the headlights. I followed that video, nothing special or different with the GX headlights. First I removed the main bulbs and then all the screws on the back. The fog lights have no screws to remove. Then put them in the oven at 230F for 10 minutes or so. Sounds sketchy, but the temps low enough to not cause damage and only melt the OEM seal enough to open the housing. Use a flat head screw driver and pry it open. Once you get part of it free, the rest will tear open. As soon as you get them open, put the plastic lens in trash bags so no debris gets inside them. Also be careful not to touch the inside. Don’t try to clean it either, you’ll ruin the UV coating and spend a lot of time redoing it. Keep in the trash bags until the very end when you’re ready to reassemble the headlights.
3. Tape off everything. Optional step, but I taped off the chrome circles just around the lights. Makes a big difference in the final look. I also taped off the edge of the fog lights outside chrome housing, and the inner part with the light which I left chrome.
4. Sand off the chrome, I just roughed it up a bit so the new paint will stick better. Didn’t fully remove all the chrome or anything.
5. Wipe the headlights clean with alcohol and then after it dries, spray the adhesion promoter. Then you are ready to paint! I did around 4-5 coats. Afterwards, it’s important to let it cure before you seal them back up so gases won’t cause the lights to fog up. Some people say to wait a week but I couldn’t wait that long so I did 48 hours. I hope it was long enough. Oh, I also sprayed the amber reflector with VHT nite shade to tint it a bit, but it’s optional. Mine came out very dark which was accidental, I’d recommend only doing one or two coats if you wanna be fully legal. If you don’t care, go darker.
6. Reseal the headlights and fog lights. Apply butyl tape over the old seal and then put them in the oven again at 230 for about 10-15 minutes. Some people say you can reuse the old butyl but I wouldn’t risk it as it’ll be uneven and there may be leaks. This was the hardest part for me, I had to keep putting them back in the oven while I pushed the housing together before it cooled off enough. It’s much easier when the butyl has properly melted. Afterwards just put the screws back in, reinstall, and you’re done! Overall pretty happy with how they came out. Not perfect but pretty good for a couple afternoons.
More photos below...
Items Used:
Duplicolor Adhesion Promotor
VHT High Temp Plastic Paint - Black Satin (For the main housing)
VHT NiteShade (optional, for the amber reflector)
800 Grit Sandpaper
Butyl Tape (for resealing headlights)
1.Remove headlights and fog lights. Fog lights are super easy to remove, just one 10mm bolt.
2. Open the headlights. I followed that video, nothing special or different with the GX headlights. First I removed the main bulbs and then all the screws on the back. The fog lights have no screws to remove. Then put them in the oven at 230F for 10 minutes or so. Sounds sketchy, but the temps low enough to not cause damage and only melt the OEM seal enough to open the housing. Use a flat head screw driver and pry it open. Once you get part of it free, the rest will tear open. As soon as you get them open, put the plastic lens in trash bags so no debris gets inside them. Also be careful not to touch the inside. Don’t try to clean it either, you’ll ruin the UV coating and spend a lot of time redoing it. Keep in the trash bags until the very end when you’re ready to reassemble the headlights.
3. Tape off everything. Optional step, but I taped off the chrome circles just around the lights. Makes a big difference in the final look. I also taped off the edge of the fog lights outside chrome housing, and the inner part with the light which I left chrome.
4. Sand off the chrome, I just roughed it up a bit so the new paint will stick better. Didn’t fully remove all the chrome or anything.
5. Wipe the headlights clean with alcohol and then after it dries, spray the adhesion promoter. Then you are ready to paint! I did around 4-5 coats. Afterwards, it’s important to let it cure before you seal them back up so gases won’t cause the lights to fog up. Some people say to wait a week but I couldn’t wait that long so I did 48 hours. I hope it was long enough. Oh, I also sprayed the amber reflector with VHT nite shade to tint it a bit, but it’s optional. Mine came out very dark which was accidental, I’d recommend only doing one or two coats if you wanna be fully legal. If you don’t care, go darker.
6. Reseal the headlights and fog lights. Apply butyl tape over the old seal and then put them in the oven again at 230 for about 10-15 minutes. Some people say you can reuse the old butyl but I wouldn’t risk it as it’ll be uneven and there may be leaks. This was the hardest part for me, I had to keep putting them back in the oven while I pushed the housing together before it cooled off enough. It’s much easier when the butyl has properly melted. Afterwards just put the screws back in, reinstall, and you’re done! Overall pretty happy with how they came out. Not perfect but pretty good for a couple afternoons.
More photos below...
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