Black Head Light Mod.

[docindahouze]

Any of you Gen 5 or 6 guys ever consider doing or has anyone done the BHLM like us Tacoma guys? I think it would look good on all color camry's. If the way they are made and put together is the same, then it should be pretty easy to do. i was looking at some pics on ebay, and it seems like it could be possible. maybe one of you guys will try it in the future. it's pretty involved work. you have to put the light in the oven and some painting afterward.

looks something like this afterward. this is mine:







Yours will like these Halo After market lights because they show the parts that you paint black. but they will be your good quality OEM Headlights

[CamrySExxx]

yea i think they should've had the black headlights for the gen6 SE's like they did for the gen5... i think it would've looked better

[Mistabullet]

What do they use to get that flat black finish?

[docindahouze]

Basically most of guys use the rattle can. Krylon fusion paints in a can. bonds to plastic. most of us used the glossy black, but it doesn really look all the glossy.

docindahouze... Your Taco looks sweet! Some days I wish I had bought one, but I still love my Camry!

[cdtran]

I actually just saw these on ebay, and am thinking about using them for my retro, but for 300, I can just get a set of oem new ones for 40 more.

[RodMillenFan]

I'm considering buying a Gen6 SE, and I agree that the black-out look of the Gen5 SE was distinctive. The Gen6 SE lights are darker, but it's not quite the same.

I like the way the halo lights above look in the area of the black-out, but the halo doesn't interest me. For those who have done headlight work themselves, a couple questions:

1. Was the headlight disassembly difficult? My Gen3 lights are held together with clips, but I believe they are also sealed. Is this true for Gen6 lights?
2. If you paint the chrome areas, how are you masking off the areas not to be painted? Simple masking tape?
3. What about priming and/or sanding the chrome to improve paint adhesion?

Mind you, I don't know that my wife will allow me to customize a brand new car... she isn't happy about customizing our current SE's for that matter. I'm just curious.

Thanks!

[docindahouze]

good question Rod. On our 05+Tacomas, the headlights are held together with some kind of caulk. we put ours in the oven (there is a procedure) to heat up the glue and then pry them apart. Most of us just scuffed the chrome bits and then sprayed with Krylon fusion. when putting back together, we take an extra measure and put a bead of silicone around the seams to prevent any moisture from getting in afterwards.

[cdtran]

toyota headlights are fairly easy to take apart unlike some gm headlights. just heat them up and pull apart. The gen3's were clips and glue, but were very simple to take apart. I can't wait to take the gen 6 apart though.

anytime you paint anything, it would be a good idea to give the surface a light sanding to ensure the paint sticks.

Just get a seperate set of housings and mod those. Then when your wife's away, swap them in, and when she notices a difference, just say "isn't that how it came from the dealer?" <-that might work...

[cdtran]

Originally Posted by docindahouze

... we take an extra measure and put a bead of silicone around the seams to prevent any moisture from getting in afterwards.

silicone is good, but if you plan on reopening your headlights, this is a pain. 3m window weld is better or most if not all retrofitters use Nissan OEM rubber butyl sealer

[eighty5iv]

i like the look of those actually and i have seen pics of a few 07 camry's with the blackhousing. i think it was netforcer's camry that was one of them and it looks great on his car cause its silver. and if you were to retrofit them like cdtran is maybe planning to do than it would make a nice addition to any camry. but i have two major concerns about those though. first concern is the quality of it since it is an ebay item and i never heard of revotec before and dont know if their products are of quality and the second is since i own a black 07 the blackhousing may be too much and wonder if they offer the oem chrome housing as an option?

[geoff5093]

I've always wanted to do it, but I was never sure what paint I should use, since it gets pretty hot and I want one that doesnt look cheesey.

You say that you just sprayed it on, so did you tape up the areas that you didnt want painted? Would you think it would be easier to use a brush to paint the areas instead?

[RodMillenFan]

Originally Posted by geoff5093

I've always wanted to do it, but I was never sure what paint I should use, since it gets pretty hot and I want one that doesnt look cheesey.

You say that you just sprayed it on, so did you tape up the areas that you didnt want painted? Would you think it would be easier to use a brush to paint the areas instead?

BRUSH!?

Okay, so maybe I'm the only one who can remember the days of painting Testors model kits and having the paint look godawwwful!!

I should hope the spray approach is the way to go...

[RodMillenFan]

Originally Posted by cdtran

toyota headlights are fairly easy to take apart unlike some gm headlights. just heat them up and pull apart. The gen3's were clips and glue, but were very simple to take apart. I can't wait to take the gen 6 apart though.

anytime you paint anything, it would be a good idea to give the surface a light sanding to ensure the paint sticks.

Just get a seperate set of housings and mod those. Then when your wife's away, swap them in, and when she notices a difference, just say "isn't that how it came from the dealer?" <-that might work...

You obviously haven't met my wife. She's sharp as a tack and I couldn't pull that over on her. Keep in mind, this will be her car, too, so she'll be fiercely protective of it. That's probably a good thing, though.

[Epsilon]

My little brother is currently working on this type of project with my spare headlight. I'll let you know how it goes.