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Well, this is the 3rd time my headlights have had to come off my car....

I am so tired, annoyed, and pissed about this whole deal....

I had my EL headlights blacked out by Telly, he did a good job. I suppose we ran out of mono sealant, and/or he had to rush the job a bit because we had too many cars, but both headlights ended up getting major moisture after a car wash at Sunoco a few weeks after... Telly being the man of his words, helped me at Narc's joint to reseal... Thanks to Narc for hosting, and Telly for doing...

Rain gods did not like me, as this was done on Thanksgiving, and on Tuesday, RAIN. When we were putting the lights back on on Monday, the sealant was sticking to my fingers 'n stuff, as it wasn't fully dried yet. Telly re-sealed one side, and I re-sealed another side to speed things up.

I looked at my headlights TODAY, and well, the driver side is fogging up bad I was fortunate enough to have access to a garage today, and dropped by Home Depot and picked up some silicone sealant (didn't have the exact Mono brand that Telly uses).

Well, I braved it, sucked down my fears, and went about ripping out my driver side headlight alone, without Telly... I tried and tried... Finally got things going, but then found out that FOCK, I can't reach the single bolt beneath the headlight without a special extension. I managed to hook up two smaller extensions together, ghetto-style, and get the bolt off. Luckily I only had one side to do, otherwise I would not have attempted it.

Instead of baking the headlight, and cracking it open to wipe out all the moisture (there was ALOT), I opted to blow a hairdryer into both the H4 headlight bulb hole, and the parking light bulb hole, for about 10 minutes. Worked like a charm.

Sealed the sucker, and blow dried the sealant for like another 15 minutes until tack-free.

Once again, I would NEVER have done this, if I was not like.... 15% Telly I was there watching and helping (at times) with Telly do about.... 5-7 cars in total so far (twice on mine)... So I knew where the bolts were, how he put it all together, take it apart, etc.

I put it back into the car, worked fine.... Then came putting the bumper back on.... NOPE. Wouldn't go on.

Telly had major issues with my bumper, since I have fogs installed. So, I had to do what he did, get down and dirty, and remove the entire bumper. Well, it basically worked, but I have a small gap on driver side, could be I didn't position the headlight correctly. I'll try to fix either before the snow, or next summer. But, I learned something new, specific to my car.... The damn fogs were a beeyotch, and I figured that by pointing them towards each other, I was able to push the bumper back on without remove the buttom push pins.....(then pushing back to normal position)

I did it without Telly, but only because he did it for me twice, and was nice enough to let me hover around, annoying him all the way through all the other installs....And I figure he's just about had it with me If my headlights have condensation again, I'll need his help though!

It's raining like a beeyotch in heat now, and I drove through the rain on the highway.... I really hope I don't have to do all this again, and hope it stays dry this time...

So, in summary, do you REALLY want new headlights???? Do you REALLY need those cleared? Need those coloured??? Do you really NEED new headlights?? (If you're buying a new set, make sure to seal them up with additional sealant!!!) ... Think real hard before you do. I know alot of guys have had fog-free headlights for a long time, but for me, the Moisture Gods have it in for me........ I kinda regret wanting the blacked headlight look now.... Just praying that they don't fog up any more....

<sigh> .... No bad vibes towards Telly, I still give props to his focus and and quality of work, it's just my bad luck.

So, notes to Telly: may want to employ a hair dryer into your method to speed up the mono drying, and possibly apply more Mono after first coat to your jobs.... Or, use the hair dryer method to dry out fogged up lenses.

 
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DAMMIT!!! Fuzzy, call me right away, we'll getcha sorted. Fack dude, I wonder where it's comin in from! This whole condensation thing is a thorn in my side, but when I say that you will have fog-free lights, I mean it, so call me if they fog up, and I will fix you up.

I use a hair dryer to dry out fogged lenses, but normally I don't need it to help the MONO dry since I usually do this kinda thing in the hot summer sun, where it dries faster.

Yeah I was workin on nme3's headlights, and you know what I found, MONO, while bein my favourite to work with, shrinks a little as it dries. So if there is a spot where you had to stop squeezin the MONO tube then start again, even if there is no noticable gap, the shrinkage of the sealant eventually leaves you with like a pinhole gap that must be resealed. On your headlight, check the corner closest to the fender - it's the one most people have problems with...

 
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momo sealent? .......... regular clear silicone will do the job

 
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when mine was done my car was in the garage for like two days...

the headlight stuff was actually done indoors...
the headlight assembly was taken out, the black stuff removed, we sealed it (more like smothered it), left it overnight and then put a second of silicone on when it dried... it's very time consuming tho'

my headlights have never fogged up...it's great...

so i guess if ur unsure, put a second coat on when it dries...but make sure there is no more moisture inside before u seal...otherwise u'd be keeping it in there forever...

 
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Don't you worry Telly, you'll be the first to know if I need help with them, if they decide to fog up again....

I'm finding the silicone sealant a bit thicker during application, and maintains a harder consistency when dried than with the Mono...

And you know what? On the fender side, I think that's where I had a big hole... While I was peeling off the old Mono, I actually was able to SEE, and FEEL (when I ripped off the first layer), that the Mono wasn't even fully dried yet!! The gap was filled with lots of Mono, and the lowest section of the Mono was still white....

It looks kinda like a crappy job, since I was pressed for time, so I didn't have time to smooth out the lines of the silicone... But, if it holds, I'm happy.... Let's hope it holds on both sides...

This was meant as a bad experience on my part, just so everyone knows... Not really to discourage anyone from clearing/blacking out their headlights, or even better, letting Telly do it for them

 
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yah man telly does some good work i think the problem for me was that it was kinda humid outside when we did it so weather plays an important factor in this. ah well no prblem so far thx again telly

 
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my friend cleared mine and we didnt even put any selant on, we juss took it apart and put it back together without any silicone or anything, so far no fog. Maybe im good luck

 
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DAMN! I hope the Moisture Gods dont hate me. I have confidence in Telly!

 
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hey nitehawk, u got pm.

 
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i have the same problem. the stupid thing keeps fogging up. i took it off and applied more auto glue. but it still fogs. i need help as well.

will it fog up in the winter and damage the housing / blub/ wireing by any chance?

 
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besides the lights themselves and the sealing process, double check the rubber boot around the bulbs. i've had the rubber boot on and the connector wasn't totally tight against it and that's where the leak was..... once i took it out and reinstalled it, everything was fine after..... dunno if this is your case, but doesn't hurt to take a look if it fogs up again.

 
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sedanboy,
thanks, but i've done that like 6 times now in the past 3 months. still fogs up. i kinna regret clearing them.