Just to give an opinion on the opposite side of the spectrum, you might want to PM TrueBlissCustoms. If I remember correctly, he is not a fan of VHT Night Shades. Tons of people have used Night Shades with plenty of success, but he might have a more educated reason for not using it... Just something to think about before you dive into the project.
Side note: Here are eviltwins' instructions for headlights.
Originally Posted by EvilTwins
1. Cleverly place Sale flyers for 50% off at Macys all over the house taking care to make the sale date and the date you want to do your project the same. To a female a sale at Macys is like crack to a crack head, irresistible.
2. Remove the headlights and all non plastic items from the housings. This includes rubber grommets from the main headlight socket, the small piece of black tape like substance from attached to the back of the housing slightly offset from the main headlight socket. Remove all three screws from the back of the housing. There are two on the top of the housing and one on the lower outside edge, and of course remove all bulbs.
3. Lock the Doors…..In case she comes home early
4. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees and remove all but one oven rack. Place that rack on the bottom most position. While you are waiting for the oven to heat up cut a piece of card board about the size of the oven rack. You will place your headlight assembly on this so the rack doesn’t leave marks in the light assy.
5. Once the oven is heated place one headlight assembly inside the oven and set your timer for ten (10) minutes. To prevent any possibility of overheating the assembly I turned the oven off when the assembly was inside.
6. Remove the housing using gloves. I used a pair of leather work gloves to handle the assembly. Right after you remove the housing set the oven to pre-heat again as you will loose about 20 to 30 degrees over the ten minute bake and you will have to put the housing back in again. (I will explain)
7. Using a couple of screw drivers, the wider the better, start prying the lens away from the backing. I started on the bottom of the light first and worked my way around the outside. This process is similar to dismounting a tire using tire irons. THIS IS NOT EASY, you have to take your time and work in small increments. DO NOT OVER STRESS THE LENS as it may crack as a result. I pried mostly on the backing as this did deform a bit but regained its original shape without issue.
8. You will only get about two or three inches of separation before the glue will cool off and you will have to put it back in for another cook session. I had to do this process about four or five times per housing.
9. Once both housings are apart you still need to remove the remainder of the bonding agent. If you don’t have a heat gun you will have to keep doing the ten minute cookers till you remove it all and have only a clean channel in the backing left. The heat gun is much faster for this process so if you don’t have one try to borrow one for the project.
10. Once all of the adhesive is gone remove the amber lens and chrome bezel from the backing.
11. As for paint you can do one of two processes. On my first housing I used a scotch bright pad and roughed up the surface, applied an adhesion promoter (Dupli-color), and painted the bezel with a semi-gloss enamel. On the second bezel I skipped the scotch bright step and the over all result was slightly better. The adhesion promoter works well for providing a nice chemical bond. I got my paint and adhesion promoter at Auto-Zone.
12. I did the same steps on the amber lens to make them black.
13. Once the paint was completely dry I re-assembled the bezel and reattached it to the lens. I was careful to clean all surfaces prior to reassembly as any fingerprints or particles will be sealed in for good.
14. I then purchased a tube of black RTV silicone and placed a generous bead along the channel located in the backing. Press the assembly together. Once together I used a tie down to keep pressure on the assembly. Not too much as it will cause the lens to flex and when you remove the tie down it will flex back, possibly causing a seal leak.
15. I used the tie down for about an hour then removed it once the silicone dried to the touch. I then used three pieces of blue painters tape to secure the lens overnight.
16. The next morning I applied another bead of silicone along the seam and let it set for about two hours. I then reinstalled the rubber light grommets, screws, and tape.
17. Reinstall the housings and buy the wife flowers cuz she will be pissed about locking her out. This process took me about six hours alone, probably could have gotten it done faster with a second set of hands.
I hope this helps and I will certainly answer any questions.
