I will start off by saying this is a relatively easy task, but some of us may need a little help.
First you need to remove the headlights from your car
I then borrowed an exacto knife and cut the silicone like so, make sure the end of the blade goes all the way through
Once I got all the way through and around the lens popped off, some may need to make a few passes, my first one was easy, the other one took a little time
You are left with this, windex it good, clean it very well
I did not take a masking off picture but I borrowed one from Jay Van.... Great Guy, he masked off the bottom portion, i chose not too
Once masked off using 3M Blue Painters Tape (leaves the cleanest lines), make a few light passes with your choice of color, semi gloss or flat finish. I chose a semi gloss trim paint by krylon (usually any will work)
it should turn out something like this
After I painted each light I set the oven to 200 Degrees and baked them for about 8-10 minutes to dry the paint, this worked VERY well. (Better then I expected) (smell warning, the actual housing and paint emit a nasty odor, use a fan and open window)
If you notice some areas that need touching up after tape removal, I used a black sharpie which actually worked well to clean up some of the edges...
My ALMOST finished product
Next I actually exacto'd all old silicone off, some say keep it on, I chose to remove all of it to create a nice clean new seal. I used black silicone sealant
Cut off a small hole to create a nice deep bead, and then cut off more of the tip to create a larger bead to fill the gap
My finished product
I am glad they came out well, better then I expected.
Thanks to everyone who helped and to jay Van for the borrowed photo
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Sunday, November 16, 2008 5:46 PM
LE61T PTE6262 Powered 
Nice write-up on the subject. It's really not hard but its good to have these kind of things.
Few things I'll comment on.
Cutting the silicone - Makes it easy to reseal if you just cut nice and leave all the old silicone there. don't need to apply a lot of silicone. Just a bead to seal in the spot you cut between the old silicone and sandwich it together when you put the lens back on the housing
(I know I told you this in your thread but figured be nice to keep in the "How-to" thread as well)
Masking - Using 3M Blue Fine-line tape first around where you masking will give you a nice clean and sharp line, unlike regular masking tape could leave a fuzzy edge.
Also be careful with what type of tape you use. I'd recommend the blue painters tape because it doesn't have alot of glue resin to make a strong stick. Some headlights while peeling your masking off could possibly(Its happened to me) pull or chip off the chrome coating on the headlight. So be careful
Color to use to Paint - For those using the production aftermarket black corner lenses, Flat-black matches them best. If you use semi-gloss your painted headlights will be more reflective then your corners and for those who care for those sort of things its important.
Silicone Application - Nothing but a little appearance tip for those who are picky about small things. After you apply your silicone bead and put the lens on, a nice touch is to take your finger(not a bad idea to have a nitrile glove or something similar on) and run it across the bead. This does a few things, Removes excess silicone, presses the silicone into the joint your sealing pushing out and inconsistency in your bead, and also gives it a nice clean look.
Nice write-up Phil
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Sunday, November 16, 2008 5:32 PM
thanks, I forgot to add to use blue 3m painters tape
LE61T PTE6262 Powered
well fine-line is different then painters tape, painters tape is mentioned in there. I just wanted to mention to use the fine-line as well for your outer edge of masking. then use painters tape on top the fine-line and cover up everything else you want to cover with the painters. fine-line is also known as pin-stripe tape. its thin blue plastic tape, leaves a nice crisp line and it is a little easier to mess with in small areas. 1/8" is very nice for working with curves(we use it a lot in graphics and airbrushing) and the 1/4" is good as well, but a little harder to make small curves with.
3M Blue Fine-line Tape
3M Blue Painter's Tape
did no know there was a difference, lol my bad
LE61T PTE6262 Powered
nice write-up,
now if someone would make one for black corners too lol
now stick them on the car i wanna know if they fog seein all the sil was removed. stephen how did yours hold up keeping the sil in tact?
I had no problems with mine if u cut it smooth and nice it just squeezes and pushes the silicone out that isn't needed for the seal and then i just took my finger and smoothed it out on top and it sealed nice.. that was maybe 2 years ago though. last i knew they were still holding up fine.. at least before i sold it last summer.
Just curious... did you notice any difference in the brightness of the headlights after painting the bottom portion black. In other words, were they any dimmer?
ERIC
idk yet... cause the car has no power.. just doing random things right now.. doing a swap
LE61T PTE6262 Powered
Could the cap over the bulb be painted also? From the looks of it, it wouldn't be a problem and also make it look alot cooler.
Thanks for writing this up, I am going to do this real soon but I am torn about doing the bottum. So I am really interested in seeing how these look lighted up, any time line on when you will be able to turn them on? This same process should work for the corners too right?
PSN ID: Phatchance249
I did some searching and may have found my answer, so I thought I would share it. Hope this helps those with the same question I had.
I found these headlights
here, it looks like the bottom half is painted. The page says they are DOT / SAE Compliant, so they must light up well enough to be legal.
Before (regular headlights I assume)
After (their lights)
PSN ID: Phatchance249
Shawn McKenzie wrote:This same process should work for the corners too right?
no. the corners are a different story. they aren't designed the same way but would great if they were. it can be done just not as easily.
____________________________________________________________________________
my carDomain updated 8/2/08 Boosted at B-day!
I see that, bummer. I take it the only way to get those appart is to heat them and hope the glue lets go before things melt/warp. Anyone know where I can find black corner lights? Aplusperformance.com doesn't have them any more, their site changed since the last time I visited.
PSN ID: Phatchance249
Nube question, how do you get the black mounting things off the headlight housing?
PSN ID: Phatchance249
Yes, I'm also interested in the last question. How you get the black frame off the lamp body? Any especial procces or tool? Would appreciate if you answer that too.
Thanks.
just yank.. ball and socket type design
LE61T PTE6262 Powered
Thanks a lot Qwibby, fast response. Then I will try.
On your corners... did you paint the outside of the housing or open up the corner and paint the inside of the housing? What paint did you use for the Corners? I have black corners but I am liking the look of the amber corners though.
I'm looking for an LS SPORT LIP KIT! If you have one EMAIL ME!!!
THANKS
JIM
I hope that made sense!!!
I'm looking for an LS SPORT LIP KIT! If you have one EMAIL ME!!!
THANKS
JIM
There was another post somewhere about a transparant paint on summit that the people who have done it used on the orange corners.
PSN ID: Phatchance249
i used a blow dryer to heat my 00-02 lights up and slowly popped them apart with flat screw drivers found some chevy emblems online printed them the size i wanted taped off my entire light and then traced the chevy emblems where i wanted them and left them the chrome backing also left just a chrome circle around the bulb and the cover for it is black gives it the projector look!! also did my corners in same way just they are more fragile and cut chevy emblems into them as well it looks amazing!!!
