Guest exceed Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 Mods please make this a sticky if you feel its comprehensive enough. Welcome all, i thought i would make this guide as i went along refurbing my j spec headlights. This guide would have been really useful had someone created it before me so i thought i would share the experience if anyone else is looking to do the same. First off start off with taking the headlights out via the 2 bolts and 2 nuts. once they are out, take out all of the screws etc from the back inc any wiring looms prior to putting into the oven. I put my oven on hot ( about 200degs) and left the headlight in for about 5 mins or until it was touch hot then i used a screw driver to prise apart the lense from the body and it comes away eventually, you need a lot of patience and elbow grease. once they are apart you can take out the insert via a single screw and you will end up with three pieces like so now its time to mask off the rings if you so wish, but before i did this I wiped everything over with prep wipes to get a clean surface then let it dry. i didnt bother sanding anything down as i used plastic primer like so i did 3 coats of primer to make a sound base for the vht paint, i used plasticote satin black, 3 layers of black. the before and after look whilst the paint is drying get hold of your lens and cleaning product, i used autosol but there are other on the market i cleaned both surfaces twice and it came up very very well. i found that most of the grime and contamination was on the outside so dont be surprised if you need more coats on the outside. once everything is done, i put the painted cover back into the lense and laid the lense back on the body. then it was back into the oven top get that sealant hot to bind back together. take out and push the lense back in place making sure you get a good seal around the edges. once that is done i re-attached the fog wiring loom and screws into the back and also the clips around the edges. at this point i put an added bead of clear silicone around the edges of the lights, i think black silicone would have been best though. now its time to re install them back onto the car, stand back and admire your handy work hope this helps Si Made it a bit easier to read hopefully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 just done mine! wish i had used a heat gun! in less than 2 minutes at 200 degress in the over, the bottom of the light melted and warped theres now a hole in it, bummers. I did say to go for 120 max Anything higher is just asking for trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edd_t Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I did say to go for 120 max Anything higher is just asking for trouble. trust me to not read past post 1 the lense came off really easily no elbow grease needed surprise surprise! lol its ok, a bit of cutting and sanding and it all fits back together luckily im using this headlight as an air intake rather than just refurbing it so it will only be on the car about once a year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martini Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Mods please make this a sticky if you feel its comprehensive enough. Welcome all, i thought i would make this guide as i went along refurbing my j spec headlights. This guide would have been really useful had someone created it before me so i thought i would share the experience if anyone else is looking to do the same. First off start off with taking the headlights out via the 2 bolts and 2 nuts. http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/si706/DSC02342.jpg Any chance of a new photo? /vbb/images/smilies/bbcode_oops.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Decat man Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Excellent guide did mine an mixed Muigars plastic polish with autosol blindin result they come up like new.. both products from Halfords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supra-ireland Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Just wanted to add my thanks Si. I refurbed my lights today. Excellent guide. After giving my plastic lens about 3 goings over with glass cleaner I had a go at them using Autoglym Metal Polish. I couldn't believe how good it brought them up. Here's a before and after pic. They're not the best but enought to get an idea. http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/8029/head1v.jpg http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/4020/head2m.jpg Thanks again Si... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JS2004 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 gonna be trying this veryyyy soon. looks like a great write up =) will nip to halfrauds on clough rd and get the stuff in, week off work coming up.. perfectly timed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) Here is a pic of the lights. I was just going to paint the lenses if you get me. http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt331/ClaireRZ-S/PICT0321.jpg http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt331/ClaireRZ-S/PICT0322.jpg http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt331/ClaireRZ-S/PICT0323.jpg http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt331/ClaireRZ-S/PICT0320.jpg What lights are these? Are the chrome surroundings on the mainbeam standard? As I have J-spec pre-facelift and j-spec facelift and neither have that...? Are they U.K spec by any chance? Cheers. Also, Thanks for the write up. It saved me £120 as I was going to get mine sent away to be done. And it wasn't untill I took them apart did I realise I had facelift headlights lol after I bought the paint too. Ohh well I shall spray my pre-facelift and sell them Edited August 23, 2009 by Lurch (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Anyone got any idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhatB Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Just wanted to say I did the refurb last weekend and the results were great I would post up pictures, but I don't think the camera pictures do it justice. And I know people have asked about the temperature before so I will say I put mine in at 110 degrees centigrade in a pre heated fan oven for 10 mins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Anyone got any idea? Doesn't sound like you have facelifts bud. Facelifts have chrome rings as standard. It sounds as if the "facelift" ones you have are in fact pre-facelifts that have been painted. One of the most attractive features of facelifts are the chrome rings, its basically the whole point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaireRZ-S Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Sorry for the delay lurch, Mine are facelifts i got the chrome rings painted because all of them were rusted so there wasn't much i could to tbh. Does anyone know if i can clean the outside without splitting them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Have you tried some plastix claire? Thats really good stuff for taking off the yellow. You have to work it really hard, a polisher would make short work of it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 O right. They dont look like they've been split as they are very yellow (well they were until I refurbed them). Must have done them when they were newish. I cleaned mine with turtle wax glass cleaner (for plastic aswell it says on the pot). Then I polished them with compound to get them smooth as they were very scratched. But just try the cleaning part first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 I just refurbed mine... Old: New: Or maybe with the eye brows back on, what do you think?? Got a set of chrome ones to refurb now. Going to spray them black but keep the chrome rings, then decide what set would look better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Chrome rings always look better, surprised you didn't give that a try in the first place. Its easy to paint chrome rings black but not easy to go vice versa. Eyebrows be-gone Need to sort out that front end, its seen some action eh lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaireRZ-S Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Have you tried some plastix claire? Thats really good stuff for taking off the yellow. You have to work it really hard, a polisher would make short work of it though. No Scott will try some of that where will i get it halfords? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Possibly, i just bought it from ebay. My local autoparts has it as well though so i dare say any car accessories shop would have it in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Chrome rings always look better, surprised you didn't give that a try in the first place. Its easy to paint chrome rings black but not easy to go vice versa. Eyebrows be-gone Need to sort out that front end, its seen some action eh lol. Well I bought all the spray paint before realising that my spare ones were black inside lol. Plus what ever ones I dont use I can sell as refurbed. I know the front end is bad. Want to repair and spray the splitter black and highten the front as its lower than the back I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJMKIV Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Anyone have the pictures that Supra_si started this thread with? They seem to have been deleted from photobucket. Wanted to try to refurb my headlights the coming weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supra_si Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 sj ive just clicked on the pic links, they all seem to work fine barr the first one. have you tried the other links as they are still on my photobucket account? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Strike Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 err, may be being stupid, i cant find bopth of the bolts to detach the lights from the car, found one ok. the other is hidden from my eyes. anyone got a pic or description of where its located, it annoyed me when i tried this morning, lol its too hot too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 2.5-3 inches below the one you have undone and slightly towards the inside of the wing, maybe half an inch further in. If you can't see get a hold of a torch, they are both clearly visible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraJames Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Having a go at this but any ideas how you remove the electronic beam height controller thing..? dont really want to put it in the oven with this still attached lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Nothing will happen as long as you don't go nuts with the temps. I did my UK's no bother at 120deg c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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