Hey bigdaddy, Al here. Thanks for the compliments on the headlights. It was a pain in the ass, but well worth it, never mind the $300 i saved on not buying Harley lights. Bought them off a guy in London (Ontario) up here for $100 cdn.
PREPPING
First preheated the oven to 250 degrees, i put them on a oven stone baking sheet, because i didn't want to use a piece of cardboard like everyone else was doing. Before you place the light in the oven, clean the light good, take out all light bulbs and remove all rubber seals.
THE OVEN AND PRYING THEM APART
Placed one light in the oven with the oven still on at 250 degrees. I baked it for 10 minutes (and no longer) pulled it out and started working away at the seal. I found that running a flat headed screwdriver along underneath the trim got it going. Then i grabbed a my metal ruler that was thin but rigid enough that it wouldn't bend, and began to pry it apart enough so i can get my fingers in there to do the rest. Start at the top corner above the signal light and worked my across the top and then down the right side. As soon as you feel the light cooling off and that the light starts stiffening up, put them back in the oven for another 8 or 9 minutes. I put the first light back in the oven 4 times in total, and the second light only 3 times. You'll get become smarter as the job continues.
CLEANING EXCESS SEALANT
Now that the light is now separated you now have to work on getting the rest of the sealant off the lens and out of the channel on the backing. I found heating the lens for 5 minutes is enough to rub the sealant off, don't scrap it off, for fear of scratching them. I found taking the sealant out of the channel (groves) on the backing was just a pain. Keep the backing in the oven for 8 minutes at a time. Pull on the sealant slowly and heat it with a hair dryer on the piece your pulling on. If you pull on it quick combined with it not heated up, you'll take little pieces out at a time. Clean all pieces let them cool, and grab a beer.
MASKING AND SANDING
First i masked off the light reflectors and the side reflector, if you want to have the signal light match the main headlight trim like i did, tape the face of the signal ring, and just run a piece of tape on the outside edge only (about a 1/4") And for the side light, i need it to show like a OEM lights, law up here. Tape that area but back off the edge about a 1/4" so paint that little grove the reflector sits in. Now for sanding i used 600 grit and i made sure all the chrome i was painting was sanded off, don't worry about the little groves at the bottom to much, just sand the top of those groves till the chrome is gone, the paint will still stick to it. I used about 4 sheets in total.
PAINTING
First i vacuumed the dust off them, then wiped down with a damp cloth, then let dry. As for the paint i was told to use a paint that stands up to heat. I bought a engine enamel low gloss black paint. Apply 3 thin coats, make sure to get in them tight corners and all the edges. Try to keep the can moving so the paint doesn't build up and run on you. My paint said 10 minutes between coats. Also make sure no wind is in the area, because the last thing you want is a hair or piece of dust showing up on your hard work. Let them dry overnight before reassembling the lights back together.
REASSEMBLE AND RESEAL
Clean and vacuum all parts before resealing, anything left behind, like dust, fingerprints, will be magnified 10 times when your light are on at night. The sealant i used was black RTV silicone (gasket maker) from Loctite. First i put the lens and the lights back together (2 screws) and snapped the backing back on to see how everything was going to fit. Take the backing off, and get the sealant ready, don't cut the sealant end to big, because the groove isn't all that big to fill. Start filling the grove on the backing, don't put to much or to little. I found filling the channel between 1/2 to 2/3rds was about right. Now assemble them together snap all clips in place. Put a little pressure all round, then wipe off any excess if any. I went over board and used electrical tape and strapped the unites together. Let them sit for a whole day.
REINSTALL
Take off tape slowly (if you used tape) wipe off any excess sealant or dirt and clean well. Reinstall rubber seals and light bulbs. I waxed my lights before i reinstalled them to help protect them. Now put them on the truck, grab a beer sit in the snowbank and enjoy!
Hope this helps anyone, and thanks to all on here for there tips on this also. Cheers Al
