Product Suggestions for Lighting Resto & Upgrade

[04BlackGXP]

Hey everyone--

I'm getting ready to do a lighting restoration/upgrade on my GXP.

1. I want to restore the headlights. Does anyone recommend anything besides the 3M kit? Where should I purchase the kit from?

2. Can anyone suggest a website to purchase a headlight relay harness from?

3. I want to put HIDs in my fog lights. I'm probably going to purchase from DDM (I've purchased from them in the past and was satisfied). I want pure white (~5000K), should I go 55W or 35W? I feel like the wiring is pretty small on those lights, so 35W would probably be my best bet.

4. Does anyone know of a good way to black out the Pontiac emblem on the front bumper? Mine is in very poor shape and I would like a new one, but that's not very economical right now.

Thanks for the help in advance.

[sethjamesrimrodt]

As for hid's I would go with 35 watt, just because the projector is so small. Sharp hid has hid wiring harnesses, that's where I get my stuff.
Here is what I did to my emblem

I carefully pulled the center of the emblem out with a small screwdriver. I then used paint stripper that was plastic safe to remove the red paint. Then I painted it black on the backside and glued it back together.

[04BlackGXP]

Great! Thank you for the reply. I'll look into that option with my emblem and those product providers.

[00Beast]

E-bay for a relay harness. Get 2, one for 9005 and 1 for 9006, for highs and lows. The HIR's really like relay harnesses. I'd get power off the main stud at the under-hood harness.

For fixing hazy headlights, I'd get the 3M kit that chucks into your drill, provided you have some sort of drill. That works the best IMHO, and then seal them with some good wax or sealant afterwards.

[ga93sle]

I think the kit I used was a Maguiars kit. Worked really nice, had a sanding pad and a wool buffing pad that chucked into the drill. Removed the oxidation from my lights very nicely.

[nos4blood70]

Keeping them waxed helps too.

[04BlackGXP]

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate all of the help. I might as well pick up two harnesses!

I do have a drill, but it's a cheap 9V Ryobi. I think that I have access to a more powerful one though.

[00Beast]

A cheapie drill would probably be fine, but if you have access to something better, I'd use it.

[Mad Myche]

I've never used the headlight kits, have used rubbing & polishing compounds along with wet-sandpaper in the 1500-3000 grit range. The Mini-Powerballs are supposed to work great.

Wiring harnesses. Available many places online, I've made my own in the past. Oldsmobile used some really nice Bosch-style relays that had multiple #87 pins which allowed for a splice-free wiring between the relay and headlamps. There are some real nice harness kits at DanielSternLighting, which you source the actual wire yourself- what I like about them is they have the 2 harnesses integrated into one, and an option to have the low beams not go out when the highs are on

HID fog lamps. I am anti-retrofit, and I believe that HIDs and fog lamps are generally contradictory when it comes to functionality. I would say go with some nice HID auxiliary lighting if you must have them.

[04BlackGXP]

Myche,

I checked out the Daniel Stern site--very interesting. I am interested, too, in having both bulbs stay lit when the highbeams are on, so that is something I would seriously consider.

I'd be very interested to hear more about your aversion to HID fog lights as I believe that it's a relatively sound solution to a problem that plagues our cars.

As far as the HID fog lights are concerned, I don't see how it would be contradictory to functionality. While I'm not sure how functional the HIDs will be, I'm relatively certain that they will be moreso than foglight bulbs that blow every six weeks as is the case with the OEM bulbs down there.

If it's about the color of the HID, that's another issue. I'm interested in producing the most light possible in normal driving conditions, so the 5000K temperature was my target. Now, it does snow quite a bit where I live, so I wouldn't be opposed to a temperature closer to 3000K as I understand a yellow color tends to be more advantageous in inclement weather. I am not, however, an overwhelming fan of the 'JDM' look (I'm fighting the urge to not break my own fingers for typing that acronym), nor do I prefer the way that the Grand Prix looks with its yellow turn signal or what have you on the lower front fascia. I am open to opinions about which temperature is preferable overall.

[00Beast]

00+ already keeps the lows on when highs are on.

Fogs are projectors stock with a good cutoff. I'm anti-PnP, and even I approve of it.

[yourgrandma]

Not sure what anti-retrofit means, but I know what you mean about hid being counterproductive to the design goals of a true fog light. However, I honestly don't know of anyone who uses foglights as designed. Most people will use them as an auxilliary light. The only problem with this is that being mounted so low, the GXP fogs will give a very intense foreground and actually limit your distance vision.

Relay harnesses, like everyone else said can be had on ebay, home made, or you could spring for the nice ones from morimoto at TRS. My hir highbeams work quite nicely with Catz Zeta boost ballasts, but I don't suggest that for the lows as it actually puts out more light than 35w hid.

Restoring the lenses will require some power tool, whether it be a drill to use a kit solution or an actual polisher. I usually start with 1000 grit and assess the damage. If need be ill go all the way up to 600 grit to get the more severe UV damage. Remember to alternate sanding directions as you change paper so you can be sure you've removed all the sanding lines from the previous step.

[sethjamesrimrodt]

00+ already keeps the lows on when highs are on.

I'm pretty sure only the high beams are on when you turn the highs on, on a GXP. At least that's the way mine was when I got it.

[yourgrandma]

Correct, GXP do NOT leave lows on with highs.

[burger]

I wouldn't go with hids from ddm. Look on Google and you will find they have horrible reviews, has overall score of 4/30 whatever that means. For restoring headlights i once used toothpaste, worked almost as well as 3m kit in my opinion, and left them minty fresh. For the price its worth a try.

[nos4blood70]

Depending on how bad your lights are, tooth paste works amazingly well. I got my old headlights just about perfect using only toothpaste.

[Mad Myche]

When I referred to retrofitting I meant the PNP stuffing of HID bulbs into the OEM housings

The HID fog contradiction is due to the color temperature. I do realize that 99% of fogs are cosmetic only. I actually prefer functional fogs; I have been driving in morning fog daily for the past couple of weeks.

If space, aesthetics, and my pocketbook allowed; I would probably have at least 3 pairs of auxiliary lights installed for all of the conditions I drive through regularly

[04BlackGXP]

Thanks again everyone.

I guess I'll try the toothpaste. I would imagine any whitening variety. Any particular recommendations on a brand or application process?

I wonder where I should buy my HIDs from then. I chose DDM because I purchased from them before and was satisfied, but I only had the car for about a month after I put those headlights in.

Yourgrandma, I've spoken with you before about those ballasts, I think. I wouldn't be opposed to having lowbeams that are brighter than 35W HIDs--I'd actually be very interested in that. Would something like that be painful for oncoming drivers to experience?

Thanks again.

[yourgrandma]

Lumens are lumens in this case. Overpowering the stock reflectors, whetherwith a pnp hid kit or with vastly brighter halogens, s going to be a neusence to other drivers.

Ive gotten a lot more laid back about this though. The honest truth is that some reflectors can deal with the extra light better yhan people might think.

[2002FO]

I did my headlights today, after I finished replacing the rear shocks and mounts.
I used a mild polishing compound with 1000 grit paper. After I finished that, I went over it with a good buffing compound and a high speed buffer.

Here's one done (left done, right is not....fyi)




And both headlights done...



I just have to keep a good coat of wax on them so they don't fade too quickly. I do this about every 4-5 months.