EVO X HID HEADLAMP BLACK-OUT HOW TO:
So it was a humid 95 degree day here in Pittsburgh and it's too hot to do much. So I decided I would black out my HID headlights before I swapped them out with my halogens on my GSR. There are a few write-ups on here on how this is done, but none are very detailed. Below is a how-to which began around 11am this morning and will finish tomorrow morning after these are popped back in the oven to reseal….

Tools Required
      Performix Plastidip Spray Can ~ $8 from Home Depot VHT Night Shades ~ $6 from Pep Boys **optional** Philips Head Screw driver & Flat Head Screw driver 10mm socket using ¼” ratchet0 Home Oven, Cookie Sheet, Moist Towel, Gloves Clamps to hold together when resealing 1) Remove every wiring harness and connector on the rear of the headlight unit. These are all highlighted in green boxes. The ballast itself does NOT get removed from the bottom; it will be fine in the oven. Just disconnect the cable running to it. The metal bracket that holds your main harnesses gets removed entirely, it’s held on with two screws. Also remove the screws on the front of the headlight and also the big metal clip using a flat head screw driver carefully.

2) Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Once preheated, place your headlamp on the moist towel that is sitting on your cookie sheet. Set your timer for 30 minutes. Others have tried 20-25 minutes. This is simply not enough, you’ll end up putting it back in anyways, so just leave it in for 30 and you’ll be perfect.

3) When the 30 minutes is up, put on your gloves and carry the headlight to your work area. The next 5 minutes is critical because the sealant hardens very quickly. Be careful pulling the black tabs away from the clear plastic housing. Below is what yours should look like if it comes apart successfully.

4) The next steps simply involve removing the “chrome” plastic pieces because this is what we are going to paint. Below is the turn signal reflector removed as well as the bottom black “tray piece”.

Here is another photo with all the “chrome trim” pieces removed.

The toughest piece to remove is the large shroud that surrounds the projector. This can be removed by locating these two bolts on the back of the headlight. Use the 10mm socket to back these out of the areas they are screwed into. Once they are backed out (they do NOT come out of the unit), give the chrome housing a small tug to remove it from the metal nub - this is the headlight leveling mechanism.

Here are all of the pieces removed…

5) Set up your paint area/cardboard box haha. I first masked off my side reflector because I wanted to give it some NightShades treatment. Be careful as doing this may not pass inspection.

Here are all 4 pieces in addition to the side reflector that I intend on painting.

The following are photos of my progress in painting each. This spanned over a 2 hour period and I applied 3 coats of the Plastidip to each, one coat of Nightshades to the reflector and the clear plastic housing to the parking light.

Photo 1: DRL Reflector Photo 2: Projector shroud Photo 3: Side reflector masked for Plastidip Photo 4: Parking light plastic housing coated in Nightshades (used a nail to keep it upright) Photo 5: DRL reflector piece Photo 6: All pieces combined on the box for a final coat

6) Applying several coats (I suggest 3) and when everything is dry, you can screw the parts back together into the headlight housing using the same procedure in removing them.

Here the main black tray is inserted over top and screwed down securely. You can see my crappy halogens in the background. Almost there…

You can see the tinted side reflector installed here.

Below is the clear plastic cover resting on top. I’m going to let everything dry overnight because of the crazy humidity we had today, however total time spent letting this cure should only be 4 hours or so. You want to put the screws back into the outside of the housing and place back into your oven for about 10 minutes at the same 200 degrees. Remove from the oven, tighten your screws some more. Place back in the oven again for 10 more minutes, and give those screws one final turn without cracking the plastic. Don’t forget the metal clip as well. All silicon should seal nicely and there shouldn’t be any issues with moisture getting inside.

7) Once everything is back together and out of the oven, you can reconnect your wiring harnesses and snap them into place where they once were. Screw the metal bracket back on the back. 8) Install the headlights back onto your vehicle and secure using the 4 bolts you put aside safely. 9) Plug in the two harnesses and enjoy your “Factory Looking” black housing HID headlights!

If you would like any higher resolution photos or assistance with this procedure, Send a PM to “pghdsm” on EvolutionM.net

Thank you!

Brett