hmmm.......wonder if I should color match mine matchstick red.
#1
Hi all,
I have been asked several times exactly how I did my Joey mod on my Jetta headlamps. I got tired of explaining things to so many people, so I decided to write this DIY for all of you curious minds.
This is the second time I am performing Joey Mod on my headlamps and I am getting very very good at it. It is my second time because I received new headlamps from vdubbun with almost new lenses so I had to replace the headlamps..
I assume no responsibility with this DIY. This write-up is designed to be just a mere guide. Use it at your own risk and feel free to make any diversions from the DIY you like!
With that being said, lets begin:
TOOLS AND MATERIALS NEEDED:
1. A can of black spray paint. I recommed one that has enamel (glossy) and not flat black, but this is entirely your prefference. I have seen people color matching their headlamps to the rest of the car.
2. Glad's Press-And-Seal Wrap
3. Some tape and newspapers
4. Exacto knife
5. All weather outdoor clear silicone sealant!
6. Empty oven
STEP 1 Removal:
*Take off the front grill.
*Take off the front bumper.
*Take off the headlamps.STEP 2 Heating the headlamps:
*Take off the bulbs.
*Take off all bulb covers.
*Take off the two (per headlight) rubber drain hoses.
*Take off the 4 (per headlight) metal retaining clips that hold the lens to the headlamp assembly.
*Preheat your oven to 170-200 degrees Fahrenheit.
*When the light in your oven turns off, open the oven and put your headlamps on the grill.
*Make sure your lenses are NOT touching any part of the oven. It is easier to do one headlamp at a time!
*Keep the headlamps inside for 60-90 seconds MAXIMUM! The goal here is NOT to bake them but to simply warm them enough so that the black seal between the lens and the assembly softens.
*Take your headlamp out of the oven and carefully start prying off the lens from the assembly. TAKE YOUR TIME! Do not rush things.
*Once you take off the first lens, put your other headlamp in the oven and repeat the procedure. Remember, preheated oven, not more than 90 seconds!Here is how the headlamp looks like without the lens:
STEP 3 Proper Masking:
*Cut a piece of Glad's Press-And-Seal wrap enough to cover in excess the front blinker light. *Press on the wrap making sure you are covering the whole glassy part of the blinker:
*CAREFULLY, run the exacto knife between the plastic housing and the actual blinker lens thus cutting the excess wrap:
*Remove the excess wrap by slowly pulling on it:
*Repeat the same procedure for the foglights. If you don't have forglights like me, the exacto knife trick still works. You just have to be little more carefull.
*Here is how your masked little lights should look like:
Now for the main reflector:
*Cut another piece of press-and-seal wrap, again bigger than the area that your are covering:
*Press on the edges of the reflector:
*Try not to kink or overlap the press-and-seal wrap!
*Instead of cutting the excess away, simply fold it towards the center of the reflector. Use tape to hold the excess wrap in place.*Check all edges on the reflector! You will mess things up if there is even a single hole in the masking!
STEP 4 Painting
*Shake your spray paint can for about a minute.
*Test the can somewhere safe..
*Make one pass trying to cover all the little nooks and crevices.
*Let dry for about 5 minutes.
*Apply another coat.
*Wait another 5 minutes.Now you can make as many coats as you feel like. I was happy with two. That way I made sure I covered all the hard to get to parts and at the same time there were no paint runs.
*Finally, let your headlamp dry for about 2-3 hours.
*Remove the Glad's Press-And-Seal wrap.STEP 5 Reassembling :
*After you made sure the paint is well cured, assemble your headlamps.
*Apply silicone on all the edges between the lens and the housing.
*Let the silicone cure for 30 minutes.
*Press on the lenses and put back the 4 metal retaining clips!
*Reassemble everything back.
*Don't forget the little drain hoses. They should be pointing down, to the bottom of the headlamp.Here is the final result:
STEP 6 Enjoy your work :
After reinstalling your headlamps, bumber and grill, grab some dark beer and enjoy your work!
Here is how my Jetka looks like after installing new headlamps (freshly joey modded) and being washed:
Modified by vasillalov at 8:14 PM 8-30-2004
#2
hmmm.......wonder if I should color match mine matchstick red.
#3
glad press and seal now thats a good idea
Water + Sugar + Purple = Grape Drank
#4
Quote, originally posted by JettaGT8V80 » glad press and seal now thats a good idea
That was the only way I can make sure that none of the silver reflective coating gets pealed off. Painter's tape seemed little too strong!
I just installed these and they look amazing!
#5
awesome work- looks easy as hell too::copies and pastes to microsoft word::
#7
yea that blue painters tape took off some of my chrome reflector crap. So i ruined a nice set of headlights and ended up ordering some ecodes anyway.i wish i never would have tried the joey mod.
Bump for a good idea.
#8
I used the Glad press and seal as well, however, I got a LITTLE bit of over spray in the reflective piece (still enough to make me mad) If I was to do it again Id use the glad everywhere and then use painters tape on the tight sections
#9
Quote, originally posted by southshore1.8t » I used the Glad press and seal as well, however, I got a LITTLE bit of over spray in the reflective piece There is a fix for that! I ran into the same problem when I was doing my first set of lights! Simply take an earbud and dip it into fingernail polish remover! It works like a charm!
#10
Good write up! I might have to try this here soonE
#11
Quote, originally posted by Eric@AtLastImports » Good write up! I might have to try this here soon E
same here
#12
Covering up the lights suggestion:What worked for me is finding a circular cap from a can of bug spray. It fit perfectly inside the circular lights to cover them up while painting.
great thread.
#13
Quote, originally posted by vasillalov » That was the only way I can make sure that none of the silver reflective coating gets pealed off. Painter's tape seemed little too strong! I just installed these and they look amazing!
yeah im gonna do mine but i have no idea when im nto good with tape and i knwo i would mess it up so the press and seal is a good idea
Water + Sugar + Purple = Grape Drank
#16
Added to my favoriteGonna do it during winter time, Thx Man i wanst sure how to proceed
F the Habs
GO HALAK, GO BLUES
#17
so just regular spray paint? You dont need anything special, or Primer?E
#18
Quote, originally posted by Eric@AtLastImports » so just regular spray paint? You dont need anything special, or Primer? E
No need of primer since the inside of your headlamps is VERY clean and spot free. I used $1.79 outdoor paint spray with enamel from WalMart in both sets of headlamps that I did and it works excellent. You won't need clearcoat either since there is nothing to scratch or blemish the pain (once you reseal the headlights)
#20
for my golf i used a compass & cut out cardboard templetes and put them in where the lights are so that i wouldnt take off any of the chrome paint... worked great for me
#21
Nope,
regular outdoor black paint. I simply picked one that has enamel in it so it would look glossy rather than flat black.Just pick your favourite can of spray paint from Walmart.
#23
doing mine tonight, and ill post pics tomorow.
E
#24
Iv'e seen this a million times and have always wondered, doesn't the heat form the bulb warp/bubble or discolor the paint?
#25
Quote, originally posted by GTI-VRT » Iv'e seen this a million times and have always wondered, doesn't the heat form the bulb warp/bubble or discolor the paint? Nope, no problem. Don't forget that:
1. You are not painting the reflectors themselves.
2. The reflectors already have a silver paint on them which had to be sprayed on!
3. The headlamps can breathe through the 4 little drain hoses that they have (2 per headlamp).So really I don't think that you will be damaging the paint. At least there are no recorded complaints about it!
#26
I got flat black paint, and its going on my Silverstone GTi.....hope it looks good..
E
#28
Hey, is there a way to switch out those ugly amber turn signal lenses? My sister just got a Jetta and hers came with the clear signal lenses on her headlights. I noticed when i dissassembled my headlight, behind it (after i removed that plastic cover to reach the bulbs) there is some sort of screw and harness holding that amber lense in place. So, is it possible for me to switch, kinda like just unscrew on and screw on the other?
#31
I too would like to know.. hoping to attempt this joey mod friday and would like to know if it's possible to replace the signal lens inside the housing. please let us know..
#32
Quote, originally posted by phattbam » I too would like to know.. hoping to attempt this joey mod friday and would like to know if it's possible to replace the signal lens inside the housing. please let us know.. Yes, I believe it is possible because the lense does not appear to be glued. However, on the Jetta headlamps, you will find it overly tedious as you need to take apart the entire assembly. There are some bolts inside that are almost impossible to reach. You will definitely need a flexible screwdriver of some kind.
Also, have you found a replacement lens? I have not see anybody offering this item.
#34
Tint the turn signal (VHT nightshades) and paint over the chrome dummy lense...
Makes it a bit more original.
#35
I Love your car. Nice and suddle, but noticably different. One of my favs.
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