Blacked Out Headlights paint question....

[momo.75]

I had been looking around trying to find a good set of these, but after doing some research i did not feel good about the aftermarket brands. I tried to contact a couple of the sellers, but never could get a response, so i moved on. I have just decided to do the blacking out myself, thanks to the write-ups that iForce and leftyguns21 have provided. Since I don't have a ton of free time, i wouldn't be able to take them out and work on them when I had a chance....since I couldn't drive around without lights. I finally found a pair of Insurance Quality OEM used lights....one in Georgia and one in Texas. I have one now and the other should be here Thursday.

Anyway, my question is for all you guys that have done this mod. What paints have you tried and what are your opinions about scuffing vs not scuffing. I plan on wiping all the pieces down really good with denatured alcohol. Just want to pick your brains before i got into the painting portion of the project. Thanks in advance.:cheers:

 

[momo.75]

Also, I am debating on matte, satin (semi-gloss) or gloss. Just wanted to see what you guys thought. Thanks

 

[momo.75]

To answer one of my questions, even though i don't think anybody is reading this....lol. After heating and separating the headlights I was looking them over and thinking about the best way to make sure the paint had a good clean surface to be sprayed on......a trick that i used while racing R/C cars hit me. I never was a fan of chrome plated plastic so a trick i used was to spray it with Easy-Off Heavy Duty Oven (in the yellow can). Leave it on there for a little while and it eats the chrome right off leaving the bare plastic surface. This is as far as I have gotten today, but wanted show you guys how it turned out. Now I just need to wash it really good with dishwashing liquid to cut through any grease from fingers or any left over chrome pieces. I will post some more pics when I get them finished. Thanks to all the guys that have done write-up on this project. I have referenced just about all of them.

This is how they looked once stripped of the chrome.......:bluejump:

 

[00328]

Wow, nobody has any input?

It's been a couple years since I painted mine. If I remember correctly, I just wiped the chrome surface with some paint thinner and used semi-gloss Fusion paint. I think thats the paint thats made for plastic.
Anyway, I love the look and it still looks awesome, get a lot of compliments on it.
Never thought about stripping off the chrome finish, that would make a great surface for the paint to adhere to.

 

[RevoRunner]

Nice work Momo... I remember that trick. I used it too to black out chrome bumpers and such on my RC vehicles.

 

[gaterose]

The parking light lens comes out of this?!?! I've done 2 sets of lights now and both times I meticulously taped off that damn lens cuz I thought it was an integral part of the housing.

 

[momo.75]

The parking light lens comes out of this?!?! I've done 2 sets of lights now and both times I meticulously taped off that damn lens cuz I thought it was an integral part of the housing.

Yep, there are three little tabs holding the clear lens in. There are also three little tabs holding the reflector in. The only thing i wish i had done different would have been to leave the chrome in the parking light area. I still looks fine, but not as bright as the chrome.

 

[A/V1]

The only thing i wish i had done different would have been to leave the chrome in the parking light area. I still looks fine, but not as bright as the chrome.

Looks good. I've always liked the look of the painted headlights, but since there isn't anything for the light to reflect off of internally, how much dimmer do your headlights seem? Does it affect it considerably?

One suggestion for the lack of a parking light relector would be maybe using flat paint on the whole thing except gloss where the parking lamp is. Other than that, I can't think of how to duplicate that reflecting ability the chrome would have without it looking too cheezy. I guess you could get a spray can of black chrome ( <--never used it so really don't know if it works...) and tape off that one area. But again, you don't want to cheese it up after doing all that work LOL! You never know though!

How about some finished product pics? Def interested....

 

[momo.75]

Here are some finished pics, as well as some other full body shots so you can see how they match the rear.

 

[A/V1]

WOW! That turned out really nice man!
If there was an icon for my head popping out of my butt, it would be here ---> <---- For some reason when I was typing my reply above after seeing your nekkid lights I couldn't picture them assembled. And I have a bum leg & shoulder so I didn't feel like hopping out to the garage to check mine out just yet LOL. So disregard everything I said - :thumb3:Looks good!

 

[TBoliv]

I finally found a pair of Insurance Quality OEM used lights....one in Georgia and one in Texas.

Mind if I ask how/where you found them and about how much they ran you?

 

[RevoRunner]

Mind if I ask how/where you found them and about how much they ran you?

I installed the blacked-out headlights from Jason Burtman. They are decent but definitely not as high quality as the stock lights. That being said, I still have my factory headlights in a box in my attic. I guess if someone was interested I could sell them...

 

[RevoRunner]

yakima fairing

Momo... I'd like to get a setup just like your yakima rig. What size fairing is that? Also, do you have a sunroof and does the fairing fall on top of it? or is it back far enough to not cover the sunroof?

 

[momo.75]

Mind if I ask how/where you found them and about how much they ran you?

I just search on ebay and found some.....i just wanted to make sure they were OEM Toyota lights and not aftermarket lights. I found one in Georgia and one in Texas. They were both about $95

 

[momo.75]

Momo... I'd like to get a setup just like your yakima rig. What size fairing is that? Also, do you have a sunroof and does the fairing fall on top of it? or is it back far enough to not cover the sunroof?

I'll have to measure my fairing later and let you know. I have it set right behind the sunroof. I am not sure what length the bars are either. I had cut them down when they were on my Maxima and just got lucky they fit on my truck. I love having that rack. I have hauled wood, beds and other stuff up there. I also have a Blacktop 18 Yakima box that we use on trips.

 

[TBoliv]

I just search on ebay and found some.....i just wanted to make sure they were OEM Toyota lights and not aftermarket lights. I found one in Georgia and one in Texas. They were both about $95

Ah, gotcha. I think I saw one on eBay last night that was in less than perfect condition...maybe I'll pick that one up and practice on it. That way I'm not out a ton of cash if I screw it up.

 

[momo.75]

Ah, gotcha. I think I saw one on eBay last night that was in less than perfect condition...maybe I'll pick that one up and practice on it. That way I'm not out a ton of cash if I screw it up.

You should stop by a body shop and see if they have any you could just have to practice on. Since you will just be practicing, it wouldn't matter if the tabs were broken off or not.

 

[gaterose]

Yep, there are three little tabs holding the clear lens in. There are also three little tabs holding the reflector in. The only thing i wish i had done different would have been to leave the chrome in the parking light area. I still looks fine, but not as bright as the chrome.

I knew the orange reflector came out, I just don't know how I missed the parking lamp.. I remember trying to figure out if it came out... Yeah, I masked the raised triangle of chrome on mine so the reflector still looks right, it seems like a lot of people take the reflector out when they do 'em.

 

[TBoliv]

You should stop by a body shop and see if they have any you could just have to practice on. Since you will just be practicing, it wouldn't matter if the tabs were broken off or not.

Might try that. I also found one on eBay last night missing bulbs (which I don't care) and some tabs that was pretty cheap that I might pick up as my practice one. They were asking $15 but had a best offer option too.

 

[CanuckinTX]

What paint did you use?