93 Accord headlight

[steve747]

Hello. Need some advice. My left headlight glass only got smashed but the light still works. I went to the trouble of getting a second hand one and with a bit of effort and a heat gun I was able to separate the glass from the plastic backing. The selastic is tough stuff and is stuck all around the edge of the "new" glass. Does anyone know how to strip the old selastic from the glass. Also is there a better way to separate the 2 halves of plastic and glass without a heat gun? I melted the replacement one a bit. I know some will say why I didn't get a whole unit so I didn't have to separate the glass. I did that but the mounting lugs on the replacement were broken off so I have to use mine already on the car. It's a bit of effort but I only need the glass bit

[Richard B]

Does anyone know how to strip the old selastic from the glass.

I'm not sure the original sealant is silicon based. It could be a type of butyl rubber, in which case a number of solvents could work*. On the glass I would use steel wool soaked in mineral turps or kerosene. Then wash the glass with hot water and detergent, and clean the edge with acetone before the new sealant is applied. Don't use acetone on the plastic housing, use alcohol instead.

*if the sealant is properly cured by chemical cross-linking, it will at most swell a bit but not dissolve. If a sealant is not cross-linked, it will "melt" and go gooey.


I've only resealed one headlight and must say I did a crap job by using a cheap sealant. If I'd used something proper like Sikaflex it would have been ok.

[steve747]

Hello Richard. I sorted it out. Rotten stuff to work with. I used a heat gun and my tongue stuck out to sort it. Scrapped the hot silicon out of the groove with a screw driver. Resealed it with good quality clear sealant