Painted my headlights today

[Hvunderground845]

To pass some time I decided to paint my headlights,
Cost about $20 for black rusto paint, clear coat, small tube of silicone and toll of frog tape.

After heating up the headlights in the oven at 225 for 5-10 minutes I removed the lenses and removed all the old sealant. Taping everything off took some time, and its not perfect but good enough for me. I saw someone else on here do this and wanted mine to be different so taped it off a little different than what I've seen, but still simple.
I sprayed about 4-5 coats of black, allowing 20-30 minutes between coats, and 2 thin layers of clearcoat

Be careful when removing the tape, clean all the chrome and the lenses with windex

I used silicone to seal them back up, and ran an extra bead around the outside just to make sure they are sealed up good.

I will post a picture tomorrow when they are back on the truck.

 

[TechGuru]

Going to top it off with some SilverStar Ultra's or GE Nighthawk's or even some Philips HIR's?

 

[Hvunderground845]

 

[Hvunderground845]

Eventually I plan to get brighter bulbs. Which one would you reccomend for a nice clean bright white light? Not a big fan of blue ones

 

[TechGuru]

Eventually I plan to get brighter bulbs. Which one would you reccomend for a nice clean bright white light? Not a big fan of blue ones

Philips HIR's are going to be the brightest. They require some modifications to the bulbs to make them fit though.

http://store.candlepower.com/mohirbuba.html

http://shnu.us/HIR Trimming Stock.htm

https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=296573

But for the whitest you probably want SilverStar Ultra.

 

[Hvunderground845]

Thanks! I will make a note of this for when I'm ready to get some new bulbs

 

[morziac]

Looks pretty cool mate good job

 

[Hvunderground845]

Thank you!

 

[4FordFamily]

I did this on my 03 back in the day and installed halos while it was apart. Looks good sir!

 

[Hvunderground845]

Thanks, I wanted halos but on a tight budget so it will have to wait. Today I removed the lower valance on the bumper and the roof rack.

Not sure how I feel about the roof rack gone, but I can always put it back on, I think if I had a brush guard and a basket for the top I'd put it back on. I'll have to give it some time
Anyone know any other cheap things that can be done for performance or appearance? I plan to paint the grill and possibly the trim and rims, but think it might be too much. Suggestions?

 

[TechGuru]

Bad move removing the roof rack IMHO. It's great for mounting lights and other things to.

Put 4 HID flood lights across it. They're about $40 each on ebay.

Ever consider a grill guard or nerf bar? Put two spots on one.

 

[Hvunderground845]

I'd like to get a grill guard with some lights, and would like lights on top but think it would like strange on the stock bars, maybe if I had a basket up top. What so you reccomend for grille guard? I'm thinking a full size brush guard but not sure. Can't wait for tax return time lol first is the 3" lift, than guard and basket and lights. Not sure what else. Maybe catback depending how much I have to spend on it

 

[Hvunderground845]

With the roof mounted lights, where do you run the wiring? Did you have to drill a hole in the roof to hide the wires?

 

[BrianDye]

I personally love the look without the roof rack, but only for a street style though, it makes the truck look sleeker, but on an off road rig, I think it looks better with the rack.

 

[4FordFamily]

Thanks, I wanted halos but on a tight budget so it will have to wait. Today I removed the lower valance on the bumper and the roof rack.

Not sure how I feel about the roof rack gone, but I can always put it back on, I think if I had a brush guard and a basket for the top I'd put it back on. I'll have to give it some time
Anyone know any other cheap things that can be done for performance or appearance? I plan to paint the grill and possibly the trim and rims, but think it might be too much. Suggestions?

Paint everything that is chrome black. That's what I did on my 08

 

[rkh58]

With the roof mounted lights, where do you run the wiring? Did you have to drill a hole in the roof to hide the wires?

If you use your factory rack you can run your wires tight against the rack or even inside it. Then drill a hole in the roof under where the rack base (feet, legs, whatever their called) mounts to the roof. Then they will pretty much be concealed, seal them up good with some silicone and it will be water tight.
BTW, The headlights look real good.

 

[TechGuru]

I personally love the look without the roof rack, but only for a street style though, it makes the truck look sleeker, but on an off road rig, I think it looks better with the rack.

This is where I am confused. lol. OP seems to be going for a sleek city looks but according to the background in the photos appears to live in the country. Now he did mention a lift kit so that would be off road, city-rod he'd be looking into lowering.

BTW, OP, is this a 4x4?

 

[TechGuru]

I'd like to get a grill guard with some lights, and would like lights on top but think it would like strange on the stock bars, maybe if I had a basket up top. What so you reccomend for grille guard? I'm thinking a full size brush guard but not sure. Can't wait for tax return time lol first is the 3" lift, than guard and basket and lights. Not sure what else. Maybe catback depending how much I have to spend on it

I've only lightly looked into brush guards and nerf bars before after finding out how expensive they are.

Personally I would check junk yards first before buying new.

http://www.gorhino.com/3000-Series-StepGuard

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BTNXCW/

I personally like them without the light guards because they are not only cheaper but because they create shadows in the light.

I want to eventually get a front mounted 2 inch hitch receiver to add a removable winch which would be on it's own 2 inch compatible hitch so I could be used in the front or rear as needed (after I upgrade my rear to a 2 inch).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00076RLHC/

http://www.harborfreight.com/hitch-receiver-mount-for-winches-69106.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/9000-l...-with-automatic-load-holding-brake-62278.html

 

[Hvunderground845]

This is where I am confused. lol. OP seems to be going for a sleek city looks but according to the background in the photos appears to live in the country. Now he did mention a lift kit so that would be off road, city-rod he'd be looking into lowering.

BTW, OP, is this a 4x4?

Yes it is a 4x4, did the bwm so I can have even more control over it. I would like a more offroad look but I think I'll leave it like this until I have everything to complete the look I'm going for with it. Looking at getting the hunter brush guard which is $200, was going to just get a 3" body lift but now thinking about the btf spacers and arms. But all really just depends how much $ I end up to play around with. Still looking at different baskets but it's hard to decide on one. I feel a short one may look wrong, so would probably be getting one that has an extension piece, don't care if it covers the sunroof I rarely use it anyway

 

[TechGuru]

Yes it is a 4x4, did the bwm so I can have even more control over it. I would like a more offroad look but I think I'll leave it like this until I have everything to complete the look I'm going for with it. Looking at getting the hunter brush guard which is $200, was going to just get a 3" body lift but now thinking about the btf spacers and arms. But all really just depends how much $ I end up to play around with. Still looking at different baskets but it's hard to decide on one. I feel a short one may look wrong, so would probably be getting one that has an extension piece, don't care if it covers the sunroof I rarely use it anyway

Where did you find a full one for $200? I hope it's not thin steel at that price. Another advantage to having a good thick steel one is if you hit a deer it will help prevent damage.

You could just go with a LED light bar on the roof but they're nowhere near as bright as HID floods. I'd go with 4 to 5 100W HID floods on the roof and 2 100W HID spots on the grill guard if budget permits.