I have a 2000 Civic Ex and I want OEM black housing headlights... no replicas. I've got alot of other things going on with the car and I dont want to spend the money that OEM CTR headlights require. I have searched and searched for the past few hours on this stuff. I have found a few good DIY's for painting my OEM headlights. What would you guys recommend? Is it as easy as the diy's make it look?

Should I do the diy black housing project on me OEM headlights or should I buy some that some one else has alredy put the time into or should I save up and buy some OEM CTR headlights?

 

the DIY way is tricky don't believe all the pics its not as easy as it looks when you do it you have to be quick about it because when you bake your headlight in the oven to soften the glue that holds the housing and lens on you have a matter of minutes till it hardens then you run into the chance of burning a hole through the headlight itself if your not careful so honestly if you can find someone who has done it already and is selling the lights then go for it or buy like you said but best of luck with it man

 

oops forgot to add... when you do it to spray paint it you have to bake it twice to soften the glue and split them apart and to soften the glue to mold the two back together

 

The replicas are basically what you're meaning to make. There are replicas out there that have a similar color to the CTR lights, but generally speaking they're the same thing you'll be making at home.

I'd personally just stick with OEM lights and clean them up. I wouldn't try to paint them or anything. It's hard enough finding clean '96-'98 headlights. Oh, and if your lenses are already foggy, black paint will only make them look worse.

 

I agree with NOFX - I definitely would keep them OEM and just try to buff or polish them so they look like new if they're foggy or something. Of course there are some cars that could pull off black housing headlights or CTR headlights, but a good amount of the time they don't look too hot.

Just my opinion.

 

deff. agree with NOFX & mattyz if there foggy and faded alittle just get some really fine grit sandpaper scuff the surface then put a good polish on them

 

Or autozone, and I'm sure all the other auto stores, sell a headlight restoration kit that has everything you need to restore foggy headlights and its not too expensive