GS - 2nd Gen (1998-2005) Discussion about the second generation GS300, GS400 and GS430 (1998 - 2005)

Painted headlights?

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Old 11-21-10, 03:10 PM
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98Gs4001UZ
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Default Painted headlights?

Ive been thinking about take my head lights and painting them. I have a silver gs400 and was thinking of painting them silver to match, or black is also an option i was considering. If anyone has done this and can tell me how difficult it is to take the apart and maybe has some picture to share. That would be greatly appreciated.
Old 11-21-10, 03:17 PM
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lexusscturbo
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Baking is the proper way
Old 11-21-10, 03:25 PM
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What temp and how long do I leave them in for and what do you use to adhere the lense back to the housing?
Old 11-21-10, 03:30 PM
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Heat the oven up to about 225* (let it preheat for about 15 minutes)...then turn it off..put the headlight on a baking ray backside to the bottom (with spoons wooden holding it up(so the light doesn't touch the pan) then leave it in for about 10 minutes with the oven off)....pull it out and you should be able to pry it apart, if you need a bit more give use a heatgun to heat the sealant while prying it apart...To reseal repeat the same thing with the lights apart then smush the 2 halves together..Add RTV sealant as needed.
Old 11-21-10, 03:32 PM
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Ok awesome. Thanks for all your help.
Old 11-21-10, 03:34 PM
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SorrGwa
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i baked mine around 220F, and threw it in for 15mins, tested out the glue to see if it was soft enough, and threw it back in twice for another 5-10mins.

the low temp but not too low temp, will keep the glue soft enough to seperate, while not being high enough to melt anything.

what you will be painting is the chrome bezel that sits sandwiched in the headlights. its held in place with a few tabs in glue and one single silver screw (u cant miss it, one screw hole in the middle between the 2 circles of the bezel)

since your car is silver, i suggest going either something dark to contrast it, or something like a dark dirty silver, as painting it a bright silver wont make it look any different than leaving it chrome.
Old 11-21-10, 03:57 PM
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Tamiya has a good gunmetal spray color
Old 11-21-10, 04:16 PM
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Yeah good point on the bright silver. Gunmetal is a good choice. Wish I had some pictures to look at to see what it will look like.
Old 11-21-10, 06:34 PM
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Mr Jokster
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I just did a write up for this

I baked them for 10 minutes at 250* (not shutting oven off). After 10 minutes and sitting directly on a cookie pan, I was able to pull the lenses apart in seconds

Just read the first part of this thread on how to pull them apart

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gs-...s-bracket.html
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