DIY EK Civic Type-R Headlights - With Black Housing
Hey Guys,had a stab at this today and thought why not make a how to out of it.So here it is,with complementary pictures...
Step 1) Getting The Headlights Out
This was the trickiest part.In order for them to come out,you need to take off the grill and bumper.To get the grill off,remove the black plastic nail things on top of it,they just pop out with a flat head screw driver.Also take out the 2 on either side connected to the bumper.Go into the wheel well and strip back the plastic covering and loosen the bolt holding it on.Do this on the other side.Once the sides are loosened,remove the 2 bolts underneath the bumper.It will pop off
Then,loosen the 2 steel brackets underneath the lights.They look like steel I beams face on.Then loosen the nuts around the headlight and electrical plugs and it will pop out.Keep all the nuts and bolts safe,dont lose any!
Step 2 - Taking The Headlight Apart
As we want to spray the inner chrome housing of the headlight we need to take it out.To do this,either,get a heat gun and run around the edge where the 2 halves are sealed or put it in an oven at 160-180 Celcius for 3-5 mins.Once the seal is warm/hot,begin to pull it apart.This can be very hard as the sealent is very strong.There are clips located all around it,try and flip these up a bit to ease the taking it apart.When it begins to seperate,have a knife or blade handy to cut the strings of glue that appear when its pulled apart.
Once the 2 halves are apart,its time to get out the chrome housing.It is held into place by 2 screw,only a screw driver with a hexagonal head can take these out,they are very very small.
Once they are seperated,you should have this...
Step 3 - Spraying The Chrome Housing
Once the chrome part is out,give it a quick clean.
Then,get a scotchbright pad and begin to rub the surface.The chrome will scratch off very easily.Make sure you do this thoroughly,getting into all the wee corners etc as it will make adhesion better with the plastic primer you will apply next.
Once everything is dulled down,mask off the side light indicator reflector part.
Now,prime the housing.I gave it 2 coats of plastic primer from halfords.Does the trick.
Once the primer is dry,its time to apply the black paint.I used gloss black from halfords.You can use matt black if you wish but i opted for a nice shiny look inside.
I applied 3 coats,then after this I applied 3 coats of lacquer.You dont have to lacquer it,but again,i wanted it to be nice and shiny.
Once all your spraying has been done,remove the masking and you should be left with this...
Step 4 - Re-Sealing The Headlight
Now its time for the heat gun or oven again.Put the chrome housing back into the headlight and tighten the tiny screws.Pre-heat your oven to 160-180 degrees.Place the 2 halves of the headlight together,tighten them together and put it in the oven,its a tight fit! Then 5 mins later,take it out with gloves as its hot.The sealent should have went all gooey.Tighten the 2 halves together and force it shut with your hands,applying alot of force.Re-applying the clips round the side.Some of mine melted so had to make do lol.
Now,get some silicon sealer and with the nozzle,go round the edge,filling it in.This is just to make sure it is sealed proper,cuz if it is'nt,air will get in and steam up the headlight.
Here is the finished product...
Took me upwards of half a day to do,as i ran out of paint and taking the bumper off etc (which is the most time consuming part) If you have trouble taking the bumper off,go down to a local garage and get them to do it for you.Thats what i did.
Not a bad job overall,saves me buying the real thing for £200 +
Good luck!
Hey Guys,had a stab at this today and thought why not make a how to out of it.So here it is,with complementary pictures...
Step 1) Getting The Headlights Out
This was the trickiest part.In order for them to come out,you need to take off the grill and bumper.To get the grill off,remove the black plastic nail things on top of it,they just pop out with a flat head screw driver.Also take out the 2 on either side connected to the bumper.Go into the wheel well and strip back the plastic covering and loosen the bolt holding it on.Do this on the other side.Once the sides are loosened,remove the 2 bolts underneath the bumper.It will pop off
Then,loosen the 2 steel brackets underneath the lights.They look like steel I beams face on.Then loosen the nuts around the headlight and electrical plugs and it will pop out.Keep all the nuts and bolts safe,dont lose any!
Step 2 - Taking The Headlight Apart
As we want to spray the inner chrome housing of the headlight we need to take it out.To do this,either,get a heat gun and run around the edge where the 2 halves are sealed or put it in an oven at 160-180 Celcius for 3-5 mins.Once the seal is warm/hot,begin to pull it apart.This can be very hard as the sealent is very strong.There are clips located all around it,try and flip these up a bit to ease the taking it apart.When it begins to seperate,have a knife or blade handy to cut the strings of glue that appear when its pulled apart.
Once the 2 halves are apart,its time to get out the chrome housing.It is held into place by 2 screw,only a screw driver with a hexagonal head can take these out,they are very very small.
Once they are seperated,you should have this...
Step 3 - Spraying The Chrome Housing
Once the chrome part is out,give it a quick clean.
Then,get a scotchbright pad and begin to rub the surface.The chrome will scratch off very easily.Make sure you do this thoroughly,getting into all the wee corners etc as it will make adhesion better with the plastic primer you will apply next.
Once everything is dulled down,mask off the side light indicator reflector part.
Now,prime the housing.I gave it 2 coats of plastic primer from halfords.Does the trick.
Once the primer is dry,its time to apply the black paint.I used gloss black from halfords.You can use matt black if you wish but i opted for a nice shiny look inside.
I applied 3 coats,then after this I applied 3 coats of lacquer.You dont have to lacquer it,but again,i wanted it to be nice and shiny.
Once all your spraying has been done,remove the masking and you should be left with this...
Step 4 - Re-Sealing The Headlight
Now its time for the heat gun or oven again.Put the chrome housing back into the headlight and tighten the tiny screws.Pre-heat your oven to 160-180 degrees.Place the 2 halves of the headlight together,tighten them together and put it in the oven,its a tight fit! Then 5 mins later,take it out with gloves as its hot.The sealent should have went all gooey.Tighten the 2 halves together and force it shut with your hands,applying alot of force.Re-applying the clips round the side.Some of mine melted so had to make do lol.
Now,get some silicon sealer and with the nozzle,go round the edge,filling it in.This is just to make sure it is sealed proper,cuz if it is'nt,air will get in and steam up the headlight.
Here is the finished product...
Took me upwards of half a day to do,as i ran out of paint and taking the bumper off etc (which is the most time consuming part) If you have trouble taking the bumper off,go down to a local garage and get them to do it for you.Thats what i did.
Not a bad job overall,saves me buying the real thing for £200 +
Good luck!
