I de-chromed the waist line on the MINI and then had a go at de-chroming the tail lamps

 

Bah! Just black it all out!



Very nice tho. Very clean and custom.
BTW, what'd you do to black out the waist line?

 

looks good!

 

terrific job

 

are those OEM euro spec tail lights? here in the states there isnt a clear area at the top

 

I used a kit from Outmotoring, simple coachline/decal tape

 

Yes they are Euro spec lamps

The late 2004/2005 Euro model had these lights with the top lamp/lens orange.

The 2006 Euro model the orange section was changed to clear/white.

 

thanks for the info

you know, if you ever feel like getting in there again, you can actually remove the chrome with a little mineral spirits/denatured alcohol
just food for thought when you run out of things to mod

 

Thats cool

I need a second set of tail lamps now

 

My 02 lights have black behind the chrome. Some of it just rubbed off with my greasy hands.

 

Lights look great by the way!

 

werd, it should be noted that 05-06 behind the chrome is the red, 02-04.5 behind the chrome is black.

 

Looks good. I had mine just tinted for awhile, but you could still see the chrome coming through. Actually gave it a slight green tint during the day. So I took them apart and stripped the chrome and them painted. Tinted + blacked out was the ticket for me. I have 04 lights though and I'm thinking about taking them apart again to get rid of the orange.

I also tried tinting the actual red/orange plastic on the inside and leaving the outer part clear. I ran it that way for a few weeks, but changed it to what it is now. It just looked to strange to me. Lots of different light reflection when looking at them during the day.

 

I'll have to paint below the chrome then. I have a spare set to break open. Just cut them or bake-o-rama?

 

just crack em open... i dremeled an opening about an inch wide, got 2 flat head screwdrivers and inched along.

 

Somebody needs to throw a how-to on this sucker, so we less sophisticated "mechanics" can get blacked out TOO! I have an '02 with everything blacked out but the tails!!! ron.

 

there's really not much to it:

http://www.motoringunderground.com/f...&postcount=256

the dremel part is left out but here's what you have to do.
use a dremel and cut the sealant. you will only be cutting a 1" gap to get the screwdriver's in there. then inch along with the 2 screwdrivers and crack the sealant. you're essentially breaking the light apart slowly. you'll hear lots and lots of cracks but don't worry, it's just the sealant. and only inch along, don't go too far down and try to crack all the way down the light or you'll break the light also.

 

I didn't really care too much so I used a chisel to create an opening. Now I wish I hadn't done that. I messed up a little section and it will most likely be noticeable when all is said and done. O well.

 

I know this from personal experience. I broke the outer cover on the first one I tried to pry apart. On the next 2, I dremeled all the way around and just pulled apart. Take your time how ever you decide to go.

 

What did you use to put the lens back on? What kind of sealant?

 

Black RTV

 

slik nicely done, I'm planning on getting to mine one of the weekends coming up....

 

x2 that's what I used as well

 

so you didn't paint you just removed the chrome due to your year, you had red underneath..

 

yeah, i have red underneath. rally had black under the chrome