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:
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: