some headlight mod questions

[thechronic]

so I am considering doing a few things to my headlights. i am thinking about first painting the housings a dark gray, or gunmetal color, and then putting the CCFL strip down my valence light. also I want to put HID bulbs in for the foglights and highbeams. I am sure I could get the headlight off, and the bumper and that would not be a problem, but the thing I am worried about is the sealant on the headlight. how hard is it to break the seal safely, then make sure that once you are done with the mods and you are putting it back together that the light is perfectly sealed again. because with the HID bulbs in there a little bit of moisture would not be good for it, and with these eternal rains that we are having down here in texas, it makes me a little hesitant. what can i say, i dont wanna risk screwing up my g

[JeromeS13]

Oven. 220 degrees for 12 minutes. Does a great job melting the sealant for disassembly, as well as resealing.

-Jeorme

[thechronic]

so its really not difficult at all??

[JeromeS13]

No. You just need to pay great attention to detail.

-Jerome

[thechronic]

ok, and i was rereading that DIY writeup on installing the CCFL strip in the valence strip, and it talks about soldering the inverter wires together and using silicone sealant and stuff for the CCFL housing spot. is all that necessary?

[JeromeS13]

I didn't solder anything, but I did use environmental splices. You could probably get away with butt-connectors, as long as you're not in a very humid, high-rain area. Silicone is necessary to keep the CCFL light in place underneath the clearance strip lens. Just make sure none of the silicon is touching the little metal conductor strip that is on the OUTSIDE of the housing.

-Jerome

[thechronic]

where would i go about getting silicon?

[JeromeS13]

Auto parts store...

-Jerome