[N54King]

Hey guys,

I'm currently in the process of doing an amber delete on my e90 headlights thought i'd share with the community since there isn't much on this topic. To open them up I used a heatgun and pryed the lenses off. Still not 100% set on what i'm going to do to them, all i know is the ugly amber is going. I'll start taking some better photos to post and share as this progresses, hope this helps some people out and gives them a better idea of the job. Enjoy.

[K19BMW]

I have been thinking of doing this but Im just worried that I wont be able to seal it up 100% and it will get moisture in it

[N54King]

Originally Posted by K19BMW

I have been thinking of doing this but Im just worried that I wont be able to seal it up 100% and it will get moisture in it

I was worried about this to at first .. Aslong as you take your time and triple check everything on reassembly i'm positive it shouldn't be a problem with proper sealant and lens alignment.

[Casca]

I did this for my other cars headlights. Problems I had before was bubbles because I didn't really have a good vacuum pump to degas everything fast. Now I do. Am considering doing a retrofit on my original OEM holagen headlights to have projectors, angel eyes and be badass. Or just buy Magnille headlights for $500ish a side and some very minor retrofit with those.

Not sure the clear reflectors on my Depos will transfer over or if I can find clear ones. If I have to, guess I will make a mould and cast some clear ones.....so long as all my stuff to do it is still good lol




Basically, I made a box big enough to hold the reflector and mould. I press clay on the bottem of the box, put my reflector on top of the clay and seal around the reflector with the clay to form one side of the mould. I then pour the mix for the mould on top of the reflector. Let it completely set for a day or so....forget how long. Once set, I remove the clay from the other side and rebuild the box if needed. And then make a moulding of the other half of the reflector.



Once both halves of the mould is done, I fill up a half of the mould with my clear cast mix and enclose it with the other half.



Let it set and now I have clear reflectors.

[e'sbimmer]

I want to try this but could you go into more detail about prying the lens off. Also What are you going to use to seal it back up? Thanks.

[N54King]

Originally Posted by e'sbimmer

I want to try this but could you go into more detail about prying the lens off. Also What are you going to use to seal it back up? Thanks.

I'll post some better close up pics later, once you see them you'll get a better sense of what was done to get the lenses off. As for sealant I have a friend who owns a body shop who said he was going to give me suitable stuff to seal them up, when I pick it up either tomorrow or the next day i'll be sure to share.

[N54King]

Originally Posted by Casca

I did this for my other cars headlights. Problems I had before was bubbles because I didn't really have a good vacuum pump to degas everything fast. Now I do. Am considering doing a retrofit on my original OEM holagen headlights to have projectors, angel eyes and be badass. Or just buy Magnille headlights for $500ish a side and some very minor retrofit with those.

Not sure the clear reflectors on my Depos will transfer over or if I can find clear ones. If I have to, guess I will make a mould and cast some clear ones.....so long as all my stuff to do it is still good lol




Basically, I made a box big enough to hold the reflector and mould. I press clay on the bottem of the box, put my reflector on top of the clay and seal around the reflector with the clay to form one side of the mould. I then pour the mix for the mould on top of the reflector. Let it completely set for a day or so....forget how long. Once set, I remove the clay from the other side and rebuild the box if needed. And then make a moulding of the other half of the reflector.



Once both halves of the mould is done, I fill up a half of the mould with my clear cast mix and enclose it with the other half.



Let it set and now I have clear reflectors.

Thats impressive stuff! I might look further into something like this as an option for the ambers.

[djkevinnn]

If you go about creating some clear reflectors, you can count me in for paying you to make a pair!

[LuxAngelEyes]

You cant really do clear reflectors because there is nothing behind there. You need to go with some sort of color or something solid.

I have a couple sets of Black CF reflector pieces already made up. You just need to glue them over the amber piece. 100% they fit correct and you cant even tell they are not OEM. I can post a pic if you want. Send me a PM.

Also FYI - if you plan to keep the chrome inside DONT touch it. It comes off way too easily even if you tough it with a soft cloth.

[N54King]

As mentioned earlier here are some pics of how the housing looks after disassembly, the technique is basically: heat up the upper plastic lip that sits over the headlight lens until it turns malleable, then gently lift it (I used a thin putty knife) to somewhat of a 90 degree angle which then exposes the entire headlight lens. Once you go around the entire headlight you can then gently slide a blade under the lens and the second lip under the lens cutting the remaining sealant holding it together. Don't be afraid of bending the upper lip, its plastic and you'll later reheat it and bend it back into original shape when its reassembly time. It took me roughly 2 hours each headlight just to open them up, patience is key with stuff like this.

[N54King]

Originally Posted by LuxAngelEyes

You cant really do clear reflectors because there is nothing behind there. You need to go with some sort of color or something solid.

I have a couple sets of Black CF reflector pieces already made up. You just need to glue them over the amber piece. 100% they fit correct and you cant even tell they are not OEM. I can post a pic if you want. Send me a PM.

Also FYI - if you plan to keep the chrome inside DONT touch it. It comes off way too easily even if you tough it with a soft cloth.

Your correct clear wouldn't look right in these headlights but if you took it a step further and frosted them they would look amazing .

[Casca]

Originally Posted by N54King

Your correct clear wouldn't look right in these headlights but if you took it a step further and frosted them they would look amazing .

You can easily frost it by just bead blasting. Also, can add dyes to the mix. However, the cost, time and effort to make a mould and cast it far exceeds what the end result is worth on a monetary base. The really hard and costly part is making the mould and unfortunately the mould only last so many castings. At least with the stuff I used.

Also, with it being a reflector and all those odd surface details, not even sure a completely "clear" reflector will show through to what's behind it.

This is a Depo headlight and the pic is Demented328's car




Look at this pic



Can you see the black behind it on the reflective area? I think with the e90 reflector, the outer parts with all the prisms(?) will mask what's behind it fine. Maybe even the inner area that is more smooth. If not, that area can easily be isolated and beadblasted.

Like to start on it, but I gout a flywheel/clutch change + 3 stage intake manifold swap and then all control arms and bushing upgraded to M3 stuff as well as subframe bushings to do before I worry about headlights.

[e'sbimmer]

Thanks for the details! I might try this out.

[LuxAngelEyes]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=422068

That is a link to the headlights i have on my car now.

[e'sbimmer]

I've heard that when removing the lens the angel eye rings must be unclipped somewhere or they will break. Is this true? If so how do you go about doing this. Thanks.

[LuxAngelEyes]

Originally Posted by e'sbimmer

I've heard that when removing the lens the angel eye rings must be unclipped somewhere or they will break. Is this true? If so how do you go about doing this. Thanks.

100% true! you need to remove the angel eye bulb first, then remove the black plastic holder. After that you will be able to see the angel eyes fully. THere are 2 small tabs on the top of the angel eye tube that need to be lowered slightly. This will allow the tube to slide out when you open the headlight

[e'sbimmer]

Originally Posted by LuxAngelEyes

100% true! you need to remove the angel eye bulb first, then remove the black plastic holder. After that you will be able to see the angel eyes fully. THere are 2 small tabs on the top of the angel eye tube that need to be lowered slightly. This will allow the tube to slide out when you open the headlight

Ok thanks thats what I needed to know. Im going to try this after I get the sealant.

[Ali-E90]

Originally Posted by Casca

Am considering doing a retrofit on my original OEM holagen headlights to have projectors, angel eyes and be badass.

If you do this, I'm very interested on how it turns out. I have Pre-LCI halogens and am curious how angel eyes would turn out since the outter bulb housing is large etc.

I like it unique so not sure if depos or OEM LCI are for me.

[N54King]

Finally got some spare time on my hands to work a bit more on the headlights. The lenses got wet sanded and polished, they look brand new! Did some testing on the amber reflectors and I think I found the colour i'm going with... I also managed to grab a picture of the sealant my friend is hooking me up with, this stuff is amazing and looks exactly like the factory glue that the headlights were originally sealed with. I reassembled the headlight quickly to share with you guys. This is not the final product as I still have to re install the angel eyes in the housings and i'm still debating a few other things . Enjoy.

[llama_of_doom]

Originally Posted by N54King

Thats impressive stuff! I might look further into something like this as an option for the ambers.

Could you go into a bit more detail about what you mixed together to make the resin and how you pieced together the new reflector

[LuxAngelEyes]

for sealing it up i might recommend permatex clear RTV silicone. I've had great luck with it.

[N54King]

Finally finished the lights over the weekend and I tossed on an M3 rep front.