so last summer i followed the how to for painting stock head lights and they came out real nice! but ever since about 2 weeks after i first did them they started leaking... nothing too major ... but i notice it! lol so i resealed again doing a bead on the outside edge this was a temp fix now my condensation is back again... just wondering what my next step should be ...

The first time i sealed them i used automotive goop... (i think that is my problem)

the second time i used an all weather silicon from mono ultra...

I am thinking i am going to have to start over and use something else to seal...

any suggestions what to use to seal them this time and also any ideas how to get all the silicon that is on them now off.... Thanks!

 

I used the permatex RTV silicone when i did mine. I also suggest when resealing them firmly press it together by hand and then wrap rubber bands around them while applying pressure Once you have the rubber bands holding them together tightly place them back in the oven for a couple of minutes. This way all of the previous sealant will also melt again. After you have left them in for about 5 min take them out and let the cool. DO NOT take the rubber bands off until they are fully cooled. Once cooled remove the bands and install in car.

 

Thanks for the reply didn't realize heat would loosen up silicon guess its worth a shot! any other thoughts?

 

same thing happened to me!!!

ill have to do the same...

 

Sorry, off topic but important

Who's ass is that in your avatar....I must see a larger pic of that

 

i believe it clearly says to use silicone, dont know why you used goop? whatever that is.

 

Who's ass is that in your avatar....I must see a larger pic of that
X2.

 

(sorry about the late reply...) goop is an purpose sealer i use for like everything... never ever had a problem before now... however i have a question i need answered i was just getting to doing this today just got the lights out of the car as my know it all car guy neighbour comes by and says that headlights aren't supposed to be 100% sealed... he said that all lights have a breathing hole somewheres to all condinsation to be let out because if not as the humidity goes up and down so does the humidity in the lights and you avoid condinsation ... i have no idea if this is right but i had never heard it before and right now n e thing is worth a shot because i am inspecting these things like mad right now and dont see n e thing at all... could it be the rubber at the back of the light that isn't sealed (sorry for teh long post i just dont want to have to deal with these lights n e more... lol)..

thanks

Chris

 

I'd say that more than likely the ventilation is in the back of the headlight assembly and not in the front or else rain water could get in and destroy the light, so I doubt that removing the lens is affecting that.

 

thanks for the reply i did so more searching... (i am stripping out the old sealer now so i got lots of time...lol ... ) i found that this is an issue big time on the taurus they say that they drill 2 little holes at the bottom to all drainage... i'm not about to drill my lights but its interesting then other people are their forums say yah that will work buy then you get dirt kicked up in ur lights... eww... so not going to risk that... guess i can just get as much of the old stuff out and try again...

 

When I did mine I took alot of time (about 2 hours) cleaning out the old sealant and getting as much as possible. When I put them back together I used clear RTV silicone and some heat to soften what factory sealant was still there, then used masking tape and pressure to hold the lens in place until the silicone dried. I haven't had any leaking issues, but if I drive my car for more than like an hour and a half, I get a SMALL line of fog at the very bottom of the lens. Other than that, no probs at all. But make sure u use an RTV style all weather silicone. It's flexible so during hot/cold changes it can deal with the plastic shinking and expanding and is basically glue and sealant at the same time. My suggestion is when you put them back together this time, put something heavy on top of the light while it dries to help ensure a good seal and that the lens stays seated and doesn't try to push back out as the silicone dries and expands.

 

i bought bungee cords this time around to apply pressure hopefully that is enough the silicon i got from Canadian Tire (they had no RTV silicon) is all weather window and door i assume that is good enough but am unsure...

 

I dunno man, I've always heard to use the rtv stuff, but I think you should be ok with that too.

 

time will tell i guess... lol unfortunatly that is all i can do is keep trying... just frustrating... ahh now i remember why i hated doing these... my blisters are comming back again! lol

i guess i ahve one more question how thick a bead of the silicon did you use around the outside edge ?

 

You dont' need to use a thick bead really, just clip the headlight back together, and let it dry. Then what i did was ran a big enough bead to fill the gaps and went around it with my finger to smooth it out and fill in any air bubble spots. Kinda the same way you would caulk a shower liner or somethin

 

Well lets see what they look like???????

 

that def would be helpful lol but thanks for all the help so far... i think im about half way geting my first light apart again... n man my fingers hurt... you think the stock stuff is hard to get off! try goop...

 

Did you bake it in the oven first? Or are you using a hair dryer to keep the stuff hot? Cuz that makes it come apart sooo much easier

 

GE Commercial Grade Silicone = the shiznit

 

got as much as i could carefully with an exacto knife (i know i was super careful) now the first light is in the oven and the 2nd is on my lap with the knife again :P

this time my silicon is 100% silicon from GE so lets hope ur right :P

 

one thing to consider, you might actually be making too good of a seal trapping water vapor into the housing, wait until a dry day to reseal, and do it after blowing down the light with a hair dryer

 

lol first light is almost apart again and the 2nd is underway good thought i considdered this aswell as i didnt see n e areas that looked weak... the last time i had a leak I CAKED it with silicon... lol but yah i will def make sure they are 100% dry before they go back in the car i was thinkin about drying them in a sperate room with the de-hymidifier going think that would make a difference ?

 

after one hell of a long day they are done and sealed again... just waiting for the silicon to dry... wish me luck...

 

I use 3M 5200 if something must not leak and doesnt need to come apart.