Modifying Stock Headlights on MK3 Jetta

[20jetta98]

I was wondering if anyone ever took the stock headlights apart and painted them like the e-codes u can buy for the jetta??? if so can u please guide me on how to do it without ruining the headlights?

[leftside]

Yes, it's been done. FYI It's super difficult to get the lenses off the MKIII Jetta headlights. The OEM sealant is some form of silicone adhesive. Heat helps, but not much.
There are some DIY's floating around. Pretty sure there's one in the MKIII DIY/FAQ thread

[20jetta98]

I looked and couldn't find anything. I'm afraid to melt the back of the headlight hence its Damn plastic... Any suggestions?

[sk8too]

you need to work on your searching ability. took me 2 seconds

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/7...eyheadligh.pdf

[20jetta98]

thanks alot dude... im deff gona do that tomorrow!!!

[20jetta98]

Not much to paint on the gti headlights hopefully there's better results for the jetta lights... With there was a write up for jetta lights.. thanks guys.

[20jetta98]

i tired yesterday doing my headlights and put the temp up to 250 degrees and still couldnt get the adhesive to separate the light... idk if i have to put the temp higher or what..? please help...

[BooglesMcGee]

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...&highlight=DIY

Here ya go

Edit: I remember reading on some other DIY that instead of masking off the entire reflective area, you should use as little tape as possible and just tape some cut out paper to it. Also, put the tape on a sweatshirt or something a few times to make it less sticky, less chance of pealing off the reflective paint. One more thing, don't paint the top and bottom of the reflective area like the DIY did, it will make the already poor light output on the stock NAs even worse.

[20jetta98]

thanks dude i appreciate it.... yea i put the temp up higher and after 250 i didnt feel comfortable unless i had spare headlights u know... thanks again.

[20jetta98]

isnt it being at 350 a little too much and might start to melt the back plastic??? did u leave the oven door open or close it for the duration?

[BooglesMcGee]

I haven't tried it yet, but I'm planing to soon. I'm not sure if you should close the oven door or not, but I'm guessing you would, because the DIY says to leave it in for only 5 min, so I guess that's just enough to loosen the seal, but not long enough to warp the plastic.

[20jetta98]

idk i think ima try it on sun.. i just dont wana ruin my headlights and be screwed u know... when do u plan on doing urs... id like to know how urs comes out...

[BooglesMcGee]

Next month maybe. I'm going to wait till it warms up a little so I can go to the pick apart and pick up a cheap 2nd set to do it to. I'm so paranoid about screwing up that whenever I modify a stock part, I buy another to do it to.

[20jetta98]

Deff a great idea... I'm just so tight with money right now its not even funny.. so idk.. see what happens.

[tykiers]

joey mod is all u need to know, and there are alot of construction materials u can use to seal it back up after that are better than silicone, ex. pl premium

[20jetta98]

hey boogles it does work... just takes time with the adhesive separating... takes about 45 min or a little more to get it separated then u have to wait for it to cool down to clean the old crap off...