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DIY Joey Mod headlights mk4

43K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  CavCorso 
#1 ·
Taken from www.vwvortex.com


TOOLS AND MATERIALS NEEDED:
1. A can of black spray paint. I recommed one that has enamel (glossy) and not flat black, but this is entirely your prefference. I have seen people color matching their headlamps to the rest of the car.
2. Glad's Press-And-Seal Wrap
3. Some tape and newspapers
4. Exacto knife
5. All weather outdoor clear silicone sealant!
6. Empty oven

STEP 1 Removal:
*Take off the front grill.
*Take off the front bumper.
*Take off the headlamps.
STEP 2 Heating the headlamps:
*Take off the bulbs.
*Take off all bulb covers.
*Take off the two (per headlight) rubber drain hoses.
*Take off the 4 (per headlight) metal retaining clips that hold the lens to the headlamp assembly.
*Preheat your oven to 170-200 degrees Fahrenheit.
*When the light in your oven turns off, open the oven and put your headlamps on the grill.
*Make sure your lenses are NOT touching any part of the oven. It is easier to do one headlamp at a time!
*Keep the headlamps inside for 60-90 seconds MAXIMUM! The goal here is NOT to bake them but to simply warm them enough so that the black seal between the lens and the assembly softens.
*Take your headlamp out of the oven and carefully start prying off the lens from the assembly. TAKE YOUR TIME! Do not rush things.
*Once you take off the first lens, put your other headlamp in the oven and repeat the procedure. Remember, preheated oven, not more than 90 seconds!
Here is how the headlamp looks like without the lens:

STEP 3 Proper Masking:
*Cut a piece of Glad's Press-And-Seal wrap enough to cover in excess the front blinker light. *Press on the wrap making sure you are covering the whole glassy part of the blinker:


*CAREFULLY, run the exacto knife between the plastic housing and the actual blinker lens thus cutting the excess wrap:


*Remove the excess wrap by slowly pulling on it:


*Repeat the same procedure for the foglights. If you don't have forglights like me, the exacto knife trick still works. You just have to be little more carefull.
*Here is how your masked little lights should look like:

Now for the main reflector:
*Cut another piece of press-and-seal wrap, again bigger than the area that your are covering:


*Press on the edges of the reflector:

*Try not to kink or overlap the press-and-seal wrap!
*Instead of cutting the excess away, simply fold it towards the center of the reflector. Use tape to hold the excess wrap in place.
*Check all edges on the reflector! You will mess things up if there is even a single hole in the masking!
STEP 4 Painting
:

*Shake your spray paint can for about a minute.
*Test the can somewhere safe..
*Make one pass trying to cover all the little nooks and crevices.
*Let dry for about 5 minutes.
*Apply another coat.
*Wait another 5 minutes.
Now you can make as many coats as you feel like. I was happy with two. That way I made sure I covered all the hard to get to parts and at the same time there were no paint runs.
*Finally, let your headlamp dry for about 2-3 hours.
*Remove the Glad's Press-And-Seal wrap.
STEP 5 Reassembling :
*After you made sure the paint is well cured, assemble your headlamps.
*Apply silicone on all the edges between the lens and the housing.
*Let the silicone cure for 30 minutes.
*Press on the lenses and put back the 4 metal retaining clips!
*Reassemble everything back.
*Don't forget the little drain hoses. They should be pointing down, to the bottom of the headlamp.
Here is the final result:


STEP 6 Enjoy your work :
After reinstalling your headlamps, bumber and grill, grab some dark beer and enjoy your work!
Here is how my Jetka looks like after installing new headlamps (freshly joey modded) and being washed:
 
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#3 ·
If you can find a different color lens, sure you can. BUT, it may not be legal, idk about that part though. I think the blinker has to be distinguishable from the headlight so the clear fog lens may not be a good choice.
 
#5 ·
You will not lose any brightness in the headlight since you are only painting the chrome housing that doesn't reflect the light. And you can buy stock replacements that are factory done like this also, only doing it yourself saves lost of money.
Tnic: For changing out the amber turn signal bulb, at least in Canada I am pretty sure it only has to blink orange, you can put the clear fog lens on as long as you didn't want to have like a blue turn signal, that is illegal. If anyone knows otherwise though please correct me, but I am pretty sure on that
 
#13 ·
yeah the side repeaters are really to take out, just barely pry them with a screwdriver, no need for tape unless you're really worried about it. The bumper lights aren't too hard to take out either tho, they are spring loaded so all you need to do is push them in at the front of the lens and use a screwdriver to push them forward from the back till the tabs slide out, they both go back in the same way.
 
#15 ·
I recently did this mod and just wanted to add that while you should leave your headlights in for a MAX of 90 seconds as suggested, I had to bake mine twice each. So I baked one, pryed it partly open, then baked it another 90 seconds to soften the caulk once again and was able to get the lens cover fully off at that point.

Another tip- the old caulk is a HUGE pain to clean out of the groove. Do it BEFORE you paint. And don't skip that step or you'll end up with a bad seal on your beautiful reassembled lights and they'll end up needing more work when water gets in.

Also, the creator of the DIY on Vortex used no primer, but I had half a spray can of Kilz sitting around so I did prime. Worth the time if you ask me- it only needs 15 min to dry and will ensure that the paint sticks over time.

I had a few spots where paint got under the Press 'N Seal a bit. I used a bit of Goo Gone on a Q-tip to get those spots. I've seen nail polish remover suggested too. just don't rub too hard or you'll take the reflective finish off.

Here's mine finished:

 
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