Hi folks,
So I want to paint the headlights interior such as in this thread.
It didn't work out well yet. I ran into some troubles the original author didn't seem to have. I believe the factory sealant for the light assembly is not the same as in 2011. Looking at the pics in the original thread, the old sealeant seems darker and stickier than mine, which doesn't soften very well in the oven. To remove the lens as in the previous picture, I cranked the heat to 200F and while it worked, the lens cracked I guess because the sealant wasn't soft enough. And I think the former even deformed a little bit from heat. I'll have to buy a new one. I then painted the chrome part, tossed everything back in the oven, but I can't seem to be able to put them back together. Again, the sealant is way not enough soft for that.
Besides the dremel, would anyone have a better idea on how to remove the old sealant? Also, at room temperature is it supposed a little soft? Because mine is as hard as the bottom plastic part. With enough strength, I can get it to crack. Here is a picture:
By the way, I found an easier way to remove the chrome and prepare the surface for paint. You just rub it with acetone. It gets all the chrome away and it attacks the plastic just enough to make it not slick so that paint adheres to it! It's much easier and speedier than sanding the thing down and I suspect it does a better job than the spray product used to make paint adhere to plastic, which I didn't have on hand. In the following picture, I used this technique in the middle. On the left, I didn't remove the chrome. I then sprayed paint on both sections and tried to scratch it with my nails. On the left, we can see that the paint can be removed easily, but in the middle it holds firmly.
To finish off, here is the first painted chrome part. I did leave a little chrome around the reflector, such as the cones for the actual lights on the front parts.
So I want to paint the headlights interior such as in this thread.
It didn't work out well yet. I ran into some troubles the original author didn't seem to have. I believe the factory sealant for the light assembly is not the same as in 2011. Looking at the pics in the original thread, the old sealeant seems darker and stickier than mine, which doesn't soften very well in the oven. To remove the lens as in the previous picture, I cranked the heat to 200F and while it worked, the lens cracked I guess because the sealant wasn't soft enough. And I think the former even deformed a little bit from heat. I'll have to buy a new one. I then painted the chrome part, tossed everything back in the oven, but I can't seem to be able to put them back together. Again, the sealant is way not enough soft for that.
Besides the dremel, would anyone have a better idea on how to remove the old sealant? Also, at room temperature is it supposed a little soft? Because mine is as hard as the bottom plastic part. With enough strength, I can get it to crack. Here is a picture:
By the way, I found an easier way to remove the chrome and prepare the surface for paint. You just rub it with acetone. It gets all the chrome away and it attacks the plastic just enough to make it not slick so that paint adheres to it! It's much easier and speedier than sanding the thing down and I suspect it does a better job than the spray product used to make paint adhere to plastic, which I didn't have on hand. In the following picture, I used this technique in the middle. On the left, I didn't remove the chrome. I then sprayed paint on both sections and tried to scratch it with my nails. On the left, we can see that the paint can be removed easily, but in the middle it holds firmly.
To finish off, here is the first painted chrome part. I did leave a little chrome around the reflector, such as the cones for the actual lights on the front parts.
