Progress on my Q45 retrofit
01-24-10, 01:22 AM
#1
Progress on my Q45 retrofit
This project is taking a bit longer than I had anticipated. Don't they always?
Anyhow, tonight I removed the driver's side headlight housing and popped it in the oven for 10 mins @ 200 degrees F.
Click on any of the pictures to see them larger at Flickr.
Lights opened up and reflector and bowl removed:
Hazy lenses... I'll polish these last:
Removed the amber from the turn signal:
Q45 projector:
I polished the chrome bezel ring for the front of the projectors. The one on the right is polished, the one on the left is not.
Q45 projector bowls all cleaned up.
Bare housing (note the dark color)
Lexus reflector being painted. When I pulled the headlamp apart some of the glue got into the reflector and it's impossible to remove. Instead of trying to clean up the mess, I'm just repainting the whole thing with chrome paint. I'm actually glad this happened because it appears that the "green-ish" tint of the headlight comes from the reflector, not the lens. So by painting it I'm getting rid of the green (never liked it anyways; always preferred the chrome/silver from 98-00)
Q45 housing being painted to match
Painted Q45 housing
I also painted the LuxuryMods shield to match since they are just bare metal. Comparison of shield painted (botton) and unpainted (top):
Glass had some scratches and silicone stuck on it. I used some 2000 grit sandpaper to clean it up.
Q45 projector painted, cleaned and reassembled:
LuxuryMods retrofit brackets mounted:
Ready to be installed!
That's it for tonight. Tomorrow morning I'll mount the projector into the GS housing and put the lens back on.
Update: More progress on post #22
Anyhow, tonight I removed the driver's side headlight housing and popped it in the oven for 10 mins @ 200 degrees F.
Click on any of the pictures to see them larger at Flickr.
Lights opened up and reflector and bowl removed:
Hazy lenses... I'll polish these last:
Removed the amber from the turn signal:
Q45 projector:
I polished the chrome bezel ring for the front of the projectors. The one on the right is polished, the one on the left is not.
Q45 projector bowls all cleaned up.
Bare housing (note the dark color)
Lexus reflector being painted. When I pulled the headlamp apart some of the glue got into the reflector and it's impossible to remove. Instead of trying to clean up the mess, I'm just repainting the whole thing with chrome paint. I'm actually glad this happened because it appears that the "green-ish" tint of the headlight comes from the reflector, not the lens. So by painting it I'm getting rid of the green (never liked it anyways; always preferred the chrome/silver from 98-00)
Q45 housing being painted to match
Painted Q45 housing
I also painted the LuxuryMods shield to match since they are just bare metal. Comparison of shield painted (botton) and unpainted (top):
Glass had some scratches and silicone stuck on it. I used some 2000 grit sandpaper to clean it up.
Q45 projector painted, cleaned and reassembled:
LuxuryMods retrofit brackets mounted:
Ready to be installed!
That's it for tonight. Tomorrow morning I'll mount the projector into the GS housing and put the lens back on.
Update: More progress on post #22
Last edited by audax; 01-24-10 at 03:03 PM. Reason: Spelling :)
