my 03
my 03

it's an old pic, i have yellow fogs on there now. plan on blacking out my headlights this weekend, got new rims (15inch black 5 spoke) just waiting to get tires, and i plan on getting a cf hood and trunk and a lip as well, first i'm redoing my suspension though, probably get some tein s tech's and tokico blues
Re: my 03
just to add on to this post - i went ahead and bought the stuff to blackout my headlights and i figured that since they'll be pulled apart i was going to clean the inside of the lens, any suggestions on what to use? i figured if they weren't dirty then i'd just leave them alone but if they are should i use windex or something of that sort?
Re: my 03
do NOT use windex. i have heard of absolute nightmares after people used windex on the outside. ive seen people say that after they used it and had their headlights on for a while it created almost like a burned yellowish tinge on it. i cant even imagine the bad luck you could have if you used it on the inside. i have never experienced it myself and i remember using windex 2 or 3 times on the outside surface of the headlights as i would clean the outsides of my windows. i never had any problems with it after that, but since then i have never done it just to be safe.
realistically you should not even bother touching anything inside of there since there shouldnt be any dirt or crap in there at all. the thing is more or less sealed shut and the only access into it is through the bulb area which is always covered up as well except when you change a bulb. i was thinking the same as you about giving it a clean inside when i did my headlight clearing but once i opened it up i was like wow thats clean. id say dont touch anything at all, youd do more damage than good. thats not even mentioning the oil from your hands that may contaminate something in there too. just be careful with that stuff.
realistically you should not even bother touching anything inside of there since there shouldnt be any dirt or crap in there at all. the thing is more or less sealed shut and the only access into it is through the bulb area which is always covered up as well except when you change a bulb. i was thinking the same as you about giving it a clean inside when i did my headlight clearing but once i opened it up i was like wow thats clean. id say dont touch anything at all, youd do more damage than good. thats not even mentioning the oil from your hands that may contaminate something in there too. just be careful with that stuff.
Re: my 03
^word, i kinda thought that over the years with the the bulbs on and burning it would leave some kind of hazing or something on it, but you're right about it though now that i think about it more, thanks man
Joined: Sep 2002
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Re: my 03
inside the lens is very fragile and even wiping it with a cloth will scratch it badly. leave it alone or spray with compressed air if its dusty, but thats it. the outside you can just use some meguiars plastx to shine it up if theres some haze.
Re: my 03
almost done...just waitin for the paint to dry. since all the bulbs are disconnected im gonna run to checkers and pick up some new ones while the paint is drying, one of my parking lights is out so might as well replace it along with all the others while i can
Re: my 03
on the first one i taped off the lens and blacked it out and then decided to clear the second one out and black it out, liked how that looked so i did it do the first one too. well, once i finished i then put the amber lens back on and i liked how it looked, i know by painting the chrome on my parking light and turn signals will reduce the output but i liked how it looked alot and did that, it got dark out by time they were put back together and ready to install so i'll do that tomorrow in the a.m. sometime, if anyone wants to see pics let me know and i'll get some up
Re: my 03
anyone know of a good plastic polish? didn't realize how hazy the outside of my headlights were until i pulled them apart, gearbox said earlier in this post to use meguire's plastx polish, will that get rid of the hazing?
Re: my 03


here they are, all done, i finished them off with meguirs headlight restoration kit and then gave the car a quick wash before i took the pics, all in all i'm very happy with the results and even happier that i just saved $150 bucks on what i would have spent online for blacked out headlights, so with the money i saved i ordered some tein s-tech's, lookin to redo my suspension here pretty soon, all i need now are some struts
Re: my 03
yea ive done it, and using widex on headlights was a big mistake
Re: my 03
Could you elaborate on this product a bit? I have never heard of it before, but it sounds interesting. My headlights are pretty much sandblasted from stones and other debris over the years, so I'm wondering if there is a product to repair this.
Oh, and good job on the headlights...looks killer. Exact same way I did mine as well.
Oh, and good job on the headlights...looks killer. Exact same way I did mine as well.
Re: my 03
dude that product is great! it was $25 at checkers, i comes with plastx, and microfiber towel and a buffing pad that attaches to an electric drill. just put a nickel size drop of plastx on the buffer and go to work, then buff it with the microfiber towel and your hand...it worked great! before my lights had a yellow tint to them with haze and now they're clear again. i highly recomend this product to anyone, especially if the headlights haven't had a good buffing since you bought the car, like me
Last edited by fiend; Mar 15, 2009 at 05:41 PM. Reason: typo
Re: my 03
for small chips you might be able to lightly wet sand it starting with a 2000 grit working up to an 8000 grit then use the plastx, thats what we do at work on the canopy's, but with a different kind of compound/polish that comes with the kit (not the meguire's, the one at my work)
Re: my 03
hey fiend, can you explain exactly (and step by step please, im new when it comes to moding my car) how you blacked out your headlights?? I would like to do that exact same thing, hopefully I can get my headlights to look like those you have! like them a lot.
Re: my 03
step 1: pop your hood, lol
2-remove 2 screws (phillips head) that connect your bumper to the fender (one in each wheel well)
3-pop the plastic things (sorry can't think of what to call them at the time) right above your grill (theres 4 of them) then there are a couple (i think 6, can't remember) underneath your bumper; the plastic guard underneath is connected to the bumper; then your bumper should come right off
4-using a 10mm socket, remove 2 bolts, (one on top and one on bottom of headlight), repeat for opposite headlight as well
5-using a phillips head, remove the the screw on the fender side thats screwed into the headlight, repeat for opposite side as well
6-slowly remove the headlight assembly and disconnect your lights, (3 seperate harness's on each one)
7-preheat the oven to 225 and put your headlights in for 5 minutes (one at a time, that's all that will fit) after it's done preheating
8-using a flat tip screwdriver, pop off the 5 metal tabs then slide the screwdriver in between the lens into the seal, i did that half way around the light to break the seal then used my fingers to pull the rest apart
9-using a T15 apex (i got mine at lowe's) and remove the 2 screws holding in the chrome piece
10-slowly slide the chrome piece out careful as not to scratch it
11-tape off amber lens or pull it out, (i pulled mine out) then paint it black (i did 3 coats) then reassemble with or without the amber lens put back in (i put mine back in, obviously lol)
12-stick it back in the oven at same temp. for 5 minutes to let the sealant get soft and sticky again
13-(this step is optional, i did this just to be on the safe side as to not get any moisture build up in the headlight over time) using bath and kitchen silicone (the kind that drys clear) reseal the headlights
14-repeat steps 1-10 in reverse order
sorry if this is confusing at all, i've never explained anything like this online, if you need anything cleared up let me know and i'll do my best. and fyi, the bath and kitchen silicone will come out white but will dry clear and it takes a while to dry, after i sealed mine i put them back in the oven at 225 for about 10 minutes then let them dry overnight. i left mine out overnight cause when i was done it was too dark to put them back in so i did it that next morning, good luck man!
2-remove 2 screws (phillips head) that connect your bumper to the fender (one in each wheel well)
3-pop the plastic things (sorry can't think of what to call them at the time) right above your grill (theres 4 of them) then there are a couple (i think 6, can't remember) underneath your bumper; the plastic guard underneath is connected to the bumper; then your bumper should come right off
4-using a 10mm socket, remove 2 bolts, (one on top and one on bottom of headlight), repeat for opposite headlight as well
5-using a phillips head, remove the the screw on the fender side thats screwed into the headlight, repeat for opposite side as well
6-slowly remove the headlight assembly and disconnect your lights, (3 seperate harness's on each one)
7-preheat the oven to 225 and put your headlights in for 5 minutes (one at a time, that's all that will fit) after it's done preheating
8-using a flat tip screwdriver, pop off the 5 metal tabs then slide the screwdriver in between the lens into the seal, i did that half way around the light to break the seal then used my fingers to pull the rest apart
9-using a T15 apex (i got mine at lowe's) and remove the 2 screws holding in the chrome piece
10-slowly slide the chrome piece out careful as not to scratch it
11-tape off amber lens or pull it out, (i pulled mine out) then paint it black (i did 3 coats) then reassemble with or without the amber lens put back in (i put mine back in, obviously lol)
12-stick it back in the oven at same temp. for 5 minutes to let the sealant get soft and sticky again
13-(this step is optional, i did this just to be on the safe side as to not get any moisture build up in the headlight over time) using bath and kitchen silicone (the kind that drys clear) reseal the headlights
14-repeat steps 1-10 in reverse order
sorry if this is confusing at all, i've never explained anything like this online, if you need anything cleared up let me know and i'll do my best. and fyi, the bath and kitchen silicone will come out white but will dry clear and it takes a while to dry, after i sealed mine i put them back in the oven at 225 for about 10 minutes then let them dry overnight. i left mine out overnight cause when i was done it was too dark to put them back in so i did it that next morning, good luck man!
Re: my 03
Thanks a lot man! ill definitely try to do this when I have some free time. Have you ever seen any headlights blacked out with the same kind of paper used on windows?? (I don't know the specific word to name it, im from Panama and english is my second language)
Re: my 03
by window paper do you mean window tint? it's what is used to darken or "blackout" the windows, and i have heard of people using that, only problem is is that it's done on the outside of headlight leaving it vulnerable for road grit and debree to hit it and scrape it off and mess it all up
Re: my 03
JLcivic, do NOT tint your headlights. do not do anything to the plastic lens, you will not be able to see anything at night. if you want to black it out, do it the same way fiend did and thats about all. fiend, looks good though. i still think you should have taken that amber piece out. it would look mean without it...




