Finishing Off

4. Finishing the retrofit.

(This includes covering all the empty spaces, re-sealing the Headlamp assembly, etc.)



Now that you put things back together, you need to make sure that the projector units are properly covered with an opaque material, or things'l look unfinished and ugly. Only the projector's lenses should be visible outside. I'd suggest you to use your own creativity here and not just follow mine, cos my solution maynot be suitable for everyone.


I used clear packing tape to wrap around the projectors in this way, in several layers:







I then used black gloss paint and painted all over the packing tape usin g a normal paint-brush and let it dry throughly. This's how it looked after painting:










I don't know if it's safe enough, but I just wanted to finish my project soon and could think of only this solution. It's been 2yrs since I've been using this retrofit, and nothing melted or burned as yet..I'm using 60w halogen bulbs. I'd suggest you to think of better, non-flammable solutions.

After this, I put the completed units(two) in the assemblies, fastened the base onto the OEM beam-adjustment bolts, and resealed the assembly.


RESEALING:

For resealing, you can just press the headlamp lens back into its place while simultaneously heating at the sealing seams. Keep applying force while pressing the lens and asselmbly together and do not let go until everything cools down. Letting go while things are still hot will make the lens pop out a bit as the sealant still doesnt et strong and solid when it's hot.


For those who're adventurous and find that the stock OEM sealant left in the seams isn't enough to seal properly, you can use something called as "Butyl Rubber Sealant". It's usually used for waterproofing purposes. You might try your local hardware stores for this stuff. Just put it into the seams, and follow the same method of heating and pressing the lens simultaneously.

Butyl rubber sealant is also available as "Butyl Rubber Tape" sometimes, which looks like this:







I advice you not to use Silicone based sealants, as they're not re-heatable. They're permanent sealants, meaning you cannot service your headlights later if you have any problems. Plus, they tend to crack and wear out over time due to the extreme conditions, causing scenarious where re-sealing is necessary yet almost impossible. Use only hot melt adhesives like the OEM sealant or Butyl Rubber Sealant. Never use hot-melt glue as it's not reliable enough, cannot withstand the extreme conditions, and needs higher temperature to loosen up.