MURDOCK

Ok so on Saturday morning I did a blackout on my OEM headlights.
I followed the steppes In the DIY posted on this sight everything went fine and the end product looked great!
A few hours after I had completed it I started to notice a small amount of condensation inside. I thought it might just clear up after a day but it only got worse by Sunday night it was moist enough in there too keep tree frogs in
So I decided to reseal it when I split it open I cleaned all the water up and made it nice and dry I made sure to use lots of silicon this time I even wrapped it in electrical tap along the seam to make sure. I wake up this morning and find more condensation inside the headlights
my car is parked in the gararge were it is warm and dry.
The only conculsion that I can make is that the Silicon that I am using is acrylic based and as it dries is evaporating water vapor inside the housing.
To try and remedy this I have pulled the bulb socket to allow it to breath and a place for the vapor to exit.
I will wait till it fully dries and cures which could take days then I will put the socket back in. I will repost my results later.

Is this normal or has anyone had this problem? If so how did things work out.

_unclejuice

iTrader: (8)

when i did mine i didnt reseal them after i blacked them out. i figured the original sealant would suffice. i was wrong. i went to the store and grabbed some GE kitchen & bath silicone. resealed them and havent had a problem since.

1sykcivic

iTrader: (8)

use GOOP

burke420

iTrader: (4)

or any black silicone that you can pickup from a local parts store... shouldnt be more than $5.. mine did that for like a year... till i got around to re-0sealing them...

_unclejuice

iTrader: (8)

dont use black. use clear. common sense should explain why.

MURDOCK

I'll give it time to dry out and if it does just leave it if the problem continues I will try the above mentioned products.

Thanks!

boxcarracer

iTrader: (13)

do it all over again and use clear silicone u shouldnt skip that DIY step im 100% it was on their atleast the one i saw and yes use clear

MidnightCivic

iTrader: (11)

Same thing happened to one of my headlights a few days after i blacked them out but then again it was raining hard over here for days. I used the same thing to re seal them which was gasket silicone it smells funky but it works great. BTW i didint open up the headlights just used a blow dryer and the sun.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

you gotta completely seal the outside with silicone black or clear works fine and let them air out. you could still have trapped water inside. most headlight have vents anyway so over time the fogging should go away on its own provided no new water gets in.

_unclejuice

iTrader: (8)

i wouldnt reccomend smearing silicone on the outside of the headlight. when you have it apart, one of the piece has a channel where it fits together. as long as you have a nice even bead in that channel, youll be fine. if you go overboard with the silicone, youll regret it later. plus its going to look like ****.

MURDOCK

My headlights have now been sitting in the sun for five hours I also pulled the bulb socket to let it air out the condensation is gone but I will leave the socket out for a few days until the silicone dries.

My theory is that as the silicon dries it releases what moister it has into the headlight housing this must be true because I am 100% sure the seal is air tight.

beadebaserr

iTrader: (7)

there was probably just moisture inside still. mine fogged up right after I did them, so I let them fog for a couple days, pulled the bulb out and put a hair dryer in there and got rid of all the moisture, reinstalled the bulbs and no fogging after that.

Ussel28

yeh the 100% silicone works the best have had no problems with it

TurismoDreamin

iTrader: (1)

I recently blackout out my headlights. I had the same problem too. Man, you're gonna have to take the whole thing out and redo it again. When I took mine out, I tilted the headlights and found that there was a lot more water in it than I thought because the cup full that was in there was under the reflective part that I couldn't see.

I did this. I reopened it up, poured out all the water, used a blow dryer to get to the smaller areas, then resealed them with a little more sealant than I used last time. I let it sit for a day and a half and then after that, I followed the edges with electrical tape. After this, it never fogged up, not even slightly. Now I can spray my headlights forever at the car wash and never get a drop of water in my headlights...

MURDOCK

I think this info is important and should be included in the DIY basically I think I did not need to redo the whole thing and ended up taking them apart and redoing them for nothing.

It seams like patience is needed to allow them to air out and for the silicone to dry.

DaddyFatSacks

That's why I don't mess with my headlights. I think there is certain things you sould mess with on a cra and definatly things you should not mess with. Plus my car is blue and I don't like the way blue looks with blacked out headlights.

boxcarracer

iTrader: (13)

i dont know about all this info going around .....i just blacked them out ....and sealed them with silicone....i didnt have any moisture at all O_O before or after install silly 7thgeners

DaMadScientist

iTrader: (10)

there is alot of different information being thrown around, ive done atleast 5 DIY blacked out headlights including RHCP0801 and it has never fogged on me at all, this is what you do

when you are ready to reseal them, spread a little bead of GE Clear Windows & Door Silicone II, why that one in particular you may be wondering, its because its mold and mildew resistance, doesnt shrink or crack, its permanently flexible and its water tight

you want to spread it all across the seam where the headlight lens will sit, you might get a little bit of an overflow when you put the two together, you are going to put the clips back on, and the secret is, put it back in the oven.

Putting it back into the oven heats up the stock OEM silicone and silicone you put in, making them mix and creating a water tight bond, it also warms up all the silicone so it can fill in any air passages that might have been created, i leave it in at 235 degrees for about 10 minutes

beadebaserr

iTrader: (7)

one of the most important things in this thread.

MURDOCK

**** it I'm gonna just throw some god damned tree frogs in there and make a little rain forest out of them so if you see a civic driving around with moss growing inside the headlights and frogs jumping around in there it's motha ****ing MURDOCK bitch!

cg95660

iTrader: (3)

LOL naw man use 3m window sealant (which is black) it never dries and looks just like the stock stuff. Up until my accident my blk out oem's looked as good as the day I did them about a year ago.

MURDOCK

I'm starting to think that the weather might play a factor also and if you seal them while the humidity is high that might affect them

but yea that 3m stuff sounds like it's a good idea too

cg95660

iTrader: (3)

I dunno i did mine in the summer and I used alcohol to clean the inside afer I touched it accidentally. You have to be careful with the 3m stuff but it works just like the oem crap....that is if you have a 01-03 if so you do not need an oven.

DaMadScientist

iTrader: (10)

if your headlight fogs up, you can also put it in the oven and the heat will make the condensation and water evaporate, plus its not humid in a oven

MURDOCK

Ok guys I just got back from the pet store with two frogs and a slamander.
right now I'm setting up the hummidifier were the turn signal socket is.
Luckily there is still a lot of condensation in the headlights so I figure a can keep this little terrarium going at least a few months.
Do you think that if I use the headlights the frogs and my salamander (I call him Nicky) will get fried?

ryox82

iTrader: (4)

That just cracked me up man....i have nothing useful to add. Oh wiat maybe I do. Another way to get moisture out if you are lazy, those little bags of silicon ***** that come with electronics will clear a fogged up light over night. Then you can bake them and use them over and over again.

MURDOCK

Thanks I might just try that

X0DuZz

iTrader: (3)

lol black silicone is bad...i remember the first time i got the original sealent on my headlights ...geezzzz that was the worst ever.... if you get some black sealent on your clothes... goodluck on that

speedfoos

iTrader: (17)

MURDOCK, did you get rid of the frogs when you bought your new headlights? Poor little buggers.

Sorry to bump this, but I'm researching the BO DIY stuff...

Nates02EX

iTrader: (2)

Hey FYI I used the bags of silica too that come in just about anything, i.e. shoes, electronics, etc. They havent fogged up on me since.