Blacked out headlight mod on reflector housings (pics inside)

camdz

camdz

New member
You dont see this done as often on the 03-05 4runners, so I figured I would throw a few quick pics up. I did this last night, and it was a pain in my ass. I dont have a whole lot of patience though haha. Looking back, the process really is pretty easy.

Friday I will be installing LED tails and painting the "chrome" housing inside of my fog lights, so I will add more pics then.

These were taken with my phone, so the quality is lacking but Im happy with how it turned out. I dont have any close ups but the paint turned out pretty smooth. I used Krylon Fusion spray paint, and heavy duty oven off to strip the fake chrome.

Fresh out of the oven..
IMAG0357.jpg~original


After putting them on the truck and scraping all the sealant off the lenses...
IMAG0358.jpg~original

IMAG0360.jpg~original

IMAG0362.jpg~original
 
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Looks nice, it was one of the first mods I did.

Are you sure the fog lights come apart? I tried it with the tails and they don't open. All I did was make one side of the tail lights kinda flat, the lens softened before the glue did.
 
gatorose- Im not sure that the fogs come apart. Thats a good point. A buddy suggested it and we were going to give it a try.

ALLEGRO- Getting the housing off the truck was easy. Its just 4 bolts, after removing the black plastic piece above the radiator. The lower bolt is kinda hard to reach but if you pull the fender liner out a bit its not bad. Most dont put this bolt back in.

Separating the lense gave me some issues on the first try. I had read to preheat the oven to 250 and then turn it off, put housing in for 8-10 minutes, remove and pry apart. This wouldnt work for me. I followed the same steps but left the oven on at 250 and had no problem.

Putting it back together I did the same way. I sat the lense on top of the housing close to where it needed to be seated. Left it in the oven for about 9 minutes at 250, then pressed it together. One side I had to repeat once, the other side seated on the first try.

Now I just hope they are actually sealed!
 
camdz said:
gatorose- Im not sure that the fogs come apart. Thats a good point. A buddy suggested it and we were going to give it a try.
Click to expand...

Good luck with it! Just know when to quit heating if it doesn't open, I almost ruined the tail light. It was a little mis-shapen and took some coaxing to get back in, luckily I'm the only one who notices the flat side.
 
Nice JOb!....

I got mines done for several months now.....havent had time to swap them. Or maybe I am lazy.:driving:
 
Dumb question, but did you lose any brightness when you do this mod? It looks cool, but by getting rid of some of the reflective chrome, won't it be dimmer??
 
:wtf:
12guns said:
Dumb question, but did you lose any brightness when you do this mod? It looks cool, but by getting rid of some of the reflective chrome, won't it be dimmer??
Click to expand...

No, the reflectors stay chrome. The part that is painted doesn't refract any light, that's why headlights like this are available in Japan factory (I think? I know camrys have em)
 
I know the reflector stays chrome, just thought the rest of the light might also add to the brightness. Guess not, thanks for the answer.
 
I got the fog lights done today, and will post pics tomorrow. They do come apart just like the headlights for anyone that was wondering. Actually a lot easier.
 
Bump

You ever take any pics? I just ordered some '06 headlights... I'm gonna have to black those out, may as well do the fogs at the same time... if it looks good?
 
gaterose said:
Bump

You ever take any pics? I just ordered some '06 headlights... I'm gonna have to black those out, may as well do the fogs at the same time... if it looks good?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I forgot all about the pics. I put a Rola rack on it last night, and took a few pics today. They arent of the fog lights specifically but you can see the them. These are just cell phone pics, so the quality isnt the best. It adds just enough black to look good I think. Plus its one less shiny chrome piece on my truck haha.

IMAG0404.jpg~original

IMAG0405.jpg~original

IMAG0406.jpg~original


A side shot of the rack for the hell of it.
IMAG0407.jpg~original
 
I thought about a black grill, but it might be too much. I may just color match it and call it good. In the long run, I will have an aftermarket bumper (hopefully)..so that will be black too.
 
i blacked my grill. SUPER easy.
but heres a pic of the before and after.


NEWGRILL.png~original


it wasnt chrome tho. color keyed. i tihnk black makes it look more... aggressive. and the emblem isnt glued, its held on by clips.
 
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