Adding 'caps' to 9012 bulbs

SteveJewels

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 2, 2018
Messages
2
I have been looking for a replacement and hopefully an upgrade to the 9006 low beam bulbs in my 2011 Toyota RAV4.

It seems as though there are some good alternatives as to better lighting performance but they all have a significantly shorter life, like 1/3 or less. I am not really excited about that prospect so I kept looking and ran across the 9006 to 9012 conversion. The one obstacle there seems to be the cap on the end of the 9006 bulb or rather the lack thereof on the 9012 bulb. My RAV4 does not have a cap built into the light fixture.

Side note, whatever bulbs I have in there now do not have caps and I don't have a problem with people flashing me because they have difficulty seeing. I don't remember what I pout in there, it has been three years. I will pull them this afternoon and look.

I did some searching of this website and some Googling as well but didn't find any information on adding a cap the the 9012.

Does the cap need to have any reflective properties or is it just to block direct light? If that is the case, exhaust paint should have no problem dealing with the heat it is rated to 1,200 Deg F, and if it does there are other coatings that will withstand much higher temps.

Exhaust paint is available in liquid form so you could dip the bulb. It would probably be necessary to etch the glass to give the paint something to grip too. If in fact 9006 bulbs are etched, then that would answer the reflective or blocking only question.

Has this been tried? Researched?
 

SteveJewels

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 2, 2018
Messages
2
I went to the store today. After I drive the RAV4 at night the headlights stay on for a while after I shut off the car. I took this opportunity to look at the lights and realized that the low beams are on the outside and do have shields. Problem solved!

It was the inner bulbs that had no shield. They are the high beams.
 

Alaric Darconville

Flashlight Enthusiast
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Sep 2, 2001
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5,377
Location
Stillwater, America
The one obstacle there seems to be the cap on the end of the 9006 bulb or rather the lack thereof on the 9012 bulb. My RAV4 does not have a cap built into the light fixture.
As you noted later, it does have a full cap bulb shield. Additionally, if it only had a ring type or none at all, blacktop on the bulb would not be sufficient for an HIR2 bulb.

Side note, whatever bulbs I have in there now do not have caps and I don't have a problem with people flashing me because they have difficulty seeing.
Getting or not getting flashed doesn't really tell you if people are having problems with your lights.

Does the cap need to have any reflective properties or is it just to block direct light? If that is the case, exhaust paint should have no problem dealing with the heat it is rated to 1,200 Deg F, and if it does there are other coatings that will withstand much higher temps.
It's to help prevent direct viewing of the filament, but only does so at certain angles.

Exhaust paint is not quite what you want. Even if you let it cure, and then burn it long enough to outgas as much as possible before installation, it's going to get unbonded from the envelope (leaving flakes in your lamp) and cause bubbling or even shattering. Etching the glass first for a better bond may make the more spectacular result more likely, as it is slightly weakened and then will have the paint hotspot.

The blacktop on bulbs is a ceramic compound, essentially baked on. Ultimately, this is not something that can be done by the end user in the field.

If in fact 9006 bulbs are etched, then that would answer the reflective or blocking only question.
Etching the bulb tip would be like frosting a light bulb; a lot of light will still get out and it won't be pleasant to look at.

A lot of the questions regarding the blacktop are covered here.

Getting to the lamps you have-- at 8 or 9 years old, your lamps may be close to retirement age. Check carefully for hazing and crazing and fogging and all the other ills that headlamps suffer at that age, even if the car is meticulously garaged and in the very northern or very southern latitudes (by southern, I mean in the southern hemisphere, not a southern location in the northern hemisphere). If they need to be replaced, only OEM lamps will do. The aftermarket stuff is all junk.

Also, be sure the lamps are aimed correctly!

And don't forget you can put in the HIR1 (9011) in your RAV4's high beam lamps!
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
There is no do-it-yourself way to add blacktop to a bulb. Any paint you apply (yes, including "exhaust paint") will flake off quickly -- after it trashes your headlamps by coating the reflector and the inside of the lens with sticky smoke. You could etch the bulbs easily with glass etching paste...and thus almost guarantee the bulbs will explode inside your headlamps, destroying them.

Blacktopped HIR2s are not unheard of. Daniel Stern had some last time I checked with him a year or two ago.
 
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