I've been contemplating doing this for quite some time & this past weekend I finally put my fears aside!

I opened up my headlight this past weekend & tinted (smoked out) the amber strips. I used the heat-gun method to open the headlight & some awesome instructions from Toykilla to get the job done. Here are some pics of the process & end result:

Kudos to Toykilla for the instructions that worked to a "T" (no pun intended...). Comments are welcomed!

BTW....I'm new to upload images, so I hope it worked. Please excuses me if there are no images on this post.......

 

Well I guess my uploads worked...so here are some more pics......

 

And finally some of the end result on my Z.......

I have a few more shots if anyone wants to see more. I'll take a few night shots also if requested.........

Solo

 

wow! Those look GREAT!!!!!

 

Nice Job! I commend anyone who's gutsy enough to work on their lights

 

me too.

 

thats sweet,the tint strip looks good with your car..

 

Thanks for the comments. It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I used a heat gun to heat up the seams for about 30 minutes each headlight to get them open. I was worried that I would melt something by putting them in the oven. All-in-all the most tedious part was having to take them off & put them back on in 90+ degree weather!

 

HOT!!!!! I want to get those LED strips but then have it smoked like yours!! VERY great job I give you credit to...I had mine out when I was doing my Street Glow Strobes and chickened out!!! I think they would look great on my silverstone with my carbon fiber hood!

 

I haven't seen the LED strips for inside the headlight, but Ares is working on some smoke LED reflectors for me. He is going to customized them for me so that I can hook them up to my turn signals & the LED's will flash along with the turn signal in the headlight. I have silver EVO bulbs so its going to look mad sick with the amber LED's when they light up!

I'll have to take some pics of them once I get & install them. After that, its time for some new 19" wheels!!!

 

LMAO you stole my idea! I'm doing that to my headlights today, but I am also blacking out the headlight housing. Looks nice, glad to know it looks good before I do it.

 

Good luck with you black-out project. I wanted to black out my headlight too, but getting the strips right was nerve-racking enough for me!

 

That looks awesome I give you props for doing it yourself. Sometimes the litlle details(that take some hard work) make the biggest differences. It matches perfect with your paint.

 

Looks sweet! Doesn't look too hard after seeing those pictures, although I don't think I'll brave such a mod at this time

 

Thanks guys! I have to say it wasn't that difficult at all. It took me about 6-7 hours overall (bumper-off to bumper-back-on) & thats with some goofing with my brother & my best friends who came over to help. You definitely need someone to help with the opening of the headlight.

I used a heat gun on low heat setting for 15 minutes around the seams. I kept tracing out the seams slowly, making sure I didn't melt the outer plastic. Then I removed the screws to see if the adhesive had begun to melt Then I heated again (same way) on low for another 15 minutes. Then my helpers & I pulled the headlight open, using the heat gun to soften the adhesive in tough areas. We pulled those puppies apart SLOWLY to make sure we didn't crack the housing any. The top of the headlight was pretty tricky & found it easier to open the headlight from the bottom & then slide the top part of the lens out of the housing. Once we took everything apart, tinted, & re-assembled, we reheated the adhesive on the high setting to melt it quickly. Once the adhesive was pretty shiny, we pushed it back together, again heating trouble areas that didn't want to re-seal. Once it was back together, we used some black silicone adhesive around the seams to weather/water proof it. I only did one coat of adhesive, but I wish I would have done two as I had some small condensation in one headlight the next day when I pressure-washed the car. The condensation went away within a couple of hours in my parking garage. I'll more than likely put another layer on when I install my LED sidemarkers just for safe measure.

If you decide to open them, just remember to be patient & take your time. Its worth the long process in the end!