How To: headlight black out for P5!

xswimordiex

Member
:
2002 MP5
well i dunno how many how to's of this there is but not on this site really, so i thought i'd try one out.

so you wanna black out your headlights? i did too. first you're gonna need some equipment. all you're gonna need is a 8mm socket, 10mm socket, screwdriver(flat and phillips), an oven, and some paint. i used this kinda paint
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it's Rustoleum hi temp flat black barbeque paint. make sure you get a high temp paint...you dont want those catching fire! dunno if it gets hot enough, but just to be safe.

ok so to get the headlights off you have to take off the bumper. it's pretty straightforward but there's some tricky parts. unbolt the mudguards on the bottom and the two 10mm bolts attaching it to the undercarriage. then get up under the fender well and unbolt the two 10mm bolts attaching it to the fenders. unscrew the screws along the top of the bumper grill area. now before you try to pull off the bumper make sure you push in the little tabs under the outer part of the headlight, you can push em down with a thin flathead screwdriver. it looks like this close up...
july4th0702sa.jpg

and it's located right here on the headlight
july4th0750jf.jpg


so the bumper should come right off after that. don't worry about taking all the fog light and turn light stuff off, you can just rest the bumper right in front of the car like so....
july4th0779vg.jpg


so after that is off you can start unbolting the headlights. there are three 10mm bolts holding it to the frame. before you pull it off though take off the bumper support brackets from the bumper support beam. otherwise it'll be tough to get the lights out. that thing looks like this...
july4th0761nv.jpg


make sure you unplug all the lights first! then the headlight should come right out!
ok next step, getting the light ready for the ez bake oven. the oven heats the urethane or whatever it is that holds the lens on, and makes it easy to take apart.
you dont need to take too much off just the rubber thing that goes around the low beam and that thing with the tab that holds the bumper on i mentioned earlier. also take out this little screw...
july4th0696tz.jpg

that screw holds in that side of the lens, so easy to take it off while it's still cool.
ok it's ready!
get your oven to 200, shouldn't take long. get a cookie sheet and put a small towel on it, and put your headlight on that. then just plop it in the oven for 10 minutes
july4th0661by.jpg


after the 10 minutes is up pull it out (wear gloves! mecanix or the home depot ones i have, cuz the light will be hot!) now to get the light apart just use some flathead screwdrivers and gently pry it loose from the tabs and apart from the housing. be patient here or you'll put some dents in the housing. so once that's completely off, you just have to unscrew the two screws holding the bezel onto the lens.

now comes the long part. sanding. i used a foam 150 grit pad to get the majority and then a scotch brite to get those fun little spots that are hard to get to.
july4th0644bj.jpg


so once the lights are all nice and scuffed and smooth, make sure they are clean. then you paint them! i put a few coats. just make sure it's all coated and not to paint too fast or you'll make it run. and let the paint dry a little inbetween coats. then place em in the sun but out of wind for like 30 minutes or so if using the rustoleum
july4th0609hm.jpg


so once they are dry enough to touch, put em back into the lens and screw em back on. then place them back on the bezel and push em as far as they'll go and put them back into the oven at 200degrees for like 5 minutes. take em out and push the lens all the way on. here's me pushing...
july4th0673ut.jpg

make sure it's sealed all the way around like this!
july4th0684cm.jpg

aint that pretty.

so after that you just put everything back on. dont forget that small screw that holds the edge of the lens on. and make sure you dont have spare parts and then take pictures to show everyone!
july4th0807xt.jpg


so all in all it took about a total of 4 hours or so cuz i had food halfway through. but i am very pleased with the results. hope you guys enjoy!

ps. i'm not responsible for anyone blowing up houses, cars, or any bad stuff like that. this is how i did it. you can copy me if you want.
 
somebody please move this to the How-To section. i need this in the future thanks!!!
 
Thanks for posting the how-to. The other one kept getting taken away for drama reasons un-known to me.

Be careful of the clip on the side of the headlight holding the bumper, i snapped one of mine when i did this.
 
what they should do is move it to the how-to section then lock it so no one does any of those dramatic stuff....
mountjonas said:
Thanks for posting the how-to. The other one kept getting taken away for drama reasons un-known to me.
 
Whoo hooo! I was just looking for this the other day. (alright)
 
yea i thought i'd post it here so all the p5'ers could see it first. maybe a mod could move it for me, i dont think i can.
 
on second thought. leave it here for us P5ers only. heh heh heh. (first)
 
(redp5) Yup definately think it will add 5-10 whp. Plus the extra weight of the paint will help w/traction!!!
 
someday im gonna do that one....... i did the same thing to my fogs.....doesnt look to bad....i think i have a pic somewhere

as you can see blacked out and still not to bad...imo
 

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you DO NOT have to use high temp paint. the original sticky used a regular semi-gloss black and this is what ive found looks best. not too dull or glossy, but just right.
 
Good write up. A few suggestions; the old how-to had more pics of the bumper removal. Some peope might have problems with that. And secondly, you mentioned that you took off the metal clips after you heated up the light. I took mine off first, much easier when its still cold and you dont have to worry about messing up the hot plastic.
 
One more little thing. DO NOT hold the part you are painting by the little screw attachment!! That damn thing broke on me just now. Have some super glue handy if you break it. Easy fix. Easier to just not make my mistake.
 
alrighty, I got some 60 grit sand paper...would this be too rough to use or should I just go out and get some 150 grit like the write up recommends..also anyone have a how to with pics of taking off the bumper, im prolly going to do this next week but I dont wanna break the bumper tab things! if you got pics plz help
 

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