Here is a how to darken your own headlights guide some may call it cheap some may think its good, especially if they don't make headlights for your truck like mine.

(P.S) This can also be used to take out the ORANGE reflectors out "for that clear headlight look"

here we go,

steps:
1. take your headlight off
3. put your oven on about 210(15minutes)
4. MAKE SURE YOU take all of the BULBS out
5. put headlight inside oven for about 10 minutes(drink a beer) to soften the glue up
6. Take headlight out*CAUTION ITS HOT*
7. use two butter knives(what i used) and pry the glue off that might take a while be careful so you don't crack the headlight
8. now that you have the cover off you can either darken the housings or if you are just taking out the orange reflectors
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9. Putting it back together get some strong glue like PLASTIC EPOXY(DO NOT USE HOT GLUE) it will be very ugly and when it gets hot it melts and you will lose a headlight cover

here are some pictures of mine i found this first one online just to show the stove



now i primer them


first coat of flat matte black

all panted and ready to dry in the sun


now put back on the truck



still bright



Enjoy guys took me about 5 hours total to do it right but its worth it(mainly waiting) but came out good i like it so that's all that matters.

 

Couple of notes: 450* is way too hot. 210*F-250*F is my recommended range, whether using aftermarket glue or Ford's OEM PermaSeal for 8-15 minutes, checking periodically.

 

true ill change it i stuck mine at 450 to get it hotttttt

 

Are the lenses painted as well?

Great write up! Definitely a good one regardless of what headlights you have.

 

yes mine are but i dont suggest it though makes the headlight kind of ugly you cant tell mine in pictures but to the eye you can tell kind of a blur i would just paint the chrome housing and call it a day

 

Why do they look so hazy? It it just a bad picture?

- NCSU

 

before i actually did this mod i put a light coat of lense paint on it, then trying to take it off after i did the mod and it didnt work out too well so i had to sand it and clear coat it to make it look some what stock. but if you did this on yours lets say then you wouldnt have that hazy look obviously

 

I really don't see the point in painting the inside housing if you painted the lenses. I also wouldn't have painted the bulb refector either. I just did mine last week and I recommend the oven on or around 240 degrees for no more than 10 minutes.

 

sounds like you need to make YOUR OWN WRITE UP doesn't it?... I light coated my lens a little bit it wasn't noticeable up close only from far away it looked darker like an illusion, 2) i didn't want to sit there sanding and restoring the lenses when im doing a front end swap, 3, i rarely ever drive my truck at night only when we cruise or go to car meets so visibility isnt a problem even at night i see perfect everything lights up, yes the 12k's are very very blue but surprisingly my worry was i wouldn't be able to see, and it was fine when it was all done.

also you putting yours on 240 me putting mine on 450 he putting his on 210 is all personal preference, mine didnt melt or damage so tome its fine.. also the housing on the blinkers i wanted to paint them but as far as the one for the main bulbs if you look in the pictures. it IS NOT painted

 

Man, someone has a sensitive side. Well I guess if the oven temp is just a recommendation then my recommendation is not to copy this method on blacking out your headlights

 

Most ABS plastics (including our headlights) have a melting point ~360*F.

 

It doesn't even have to melt, just softening it enough to warp it or change its shape will happen at higher temperatures. Higher the temperature, the less time it takes to warp.

But I guess its different for everybody. I did 250 for 6-7 minutes it worked perfect.

 

Alright, everyone here had me really concerned about getting the lights apart. It was trivial! I set my oven to 285, baked the light until the glued edge hit 230 degrees (17 minutes), pried back a tab, put a screwdriver on the clear tab, grabbed the back of the light and pushed. It just peeled back in less than 60 seconds!!! (An IR thermometer to measure the temperatures was nice!

No cutting the lip, no cracking, no slow prying, just one good pull to start and work around!

UPDATE: Just opened my other light. Similar experience. It took a little more prying on the corner to get it started, but was able to pull it apart with my hands as well. I do notice a little crazing on the inside of the clear lens. I don't know if it is there before baking. I doubt I will see it once installed. (Has anyone else noticed this?)

Next Update: The lights in my '99 ford have crazing on the inside of the lens as well (way, way worse than my '09 F150). Perhaps this is just a sign if a Ford light aging. My '05 Honda doesn't have this. I never noticed it when the reflector was behind the acrylic. I doubt that I will notice it after a week or so. (It just looks like the light is slightly dirty, which it almost always is anyways.)

Next Update: Upon closer inspection, the crazing is on the outside. I may use the 3M kit (or similar) to remove. I don't really want to remove the UV coating, so I may just leave it alone. I definitely would tape an insulator to the top of the lens (like a few sheets of cloth) if doing this again.

 

I just use a heat gun...

 

Awesome!