No good close ups but here it is with the led mod also:

 

Are the LEDs directly attached to the clear part? Are they visible during daylight? (I mean, are they visible through the clear plastic when they are turned off?)

 

Hi all, great info on this thread.

Going to give it a go myself very soon.

Just a couple of quick questions if anyone can help.

1. After painting, has anyone used a clear coat (lacquer), or is it better without?

2. What looks better in the flesh, Matt or gloss?

3. Is it easy to damage the lens / plastic when pulling the lens apart with a screwdriver? (any tips to avoid damage)

Thanks in advance.

 

Q # 1&2 go hand in hand for me, I think the matte or flat looks better under the clear of the lens, I used satin for mine, but I think the real answer is to match you trim color. ( ie: if you use plasti dip to black out, flat match's best)

As far as cracking the lens, if it's not coming apart or going back together with a medium amount of force, it's not hot enough. I used a heat gun and the area around the lip & the lens was barely able to be touched for a long period of time for it to be hot enough.

Corners, sorry I never saw your question, see this thread for any questions on the led mod:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...eadlights.html

 

Thanks blwnaway,

That's great advice. I think I like the idea of the Matt finish, as like you say it will match the trim better. I'm keen to keep an oem look.

I've heard quite a few people talking about plasti dip, but never used it. Is it just a paint that leaves a plastic looking finish? If that makes sense Is there any advantage over normal Matt finish paint?

As for the heat, my gardening gloves are on standby - hopefully I will try and avoid using screwdrivers to separate where possible.

Thanks again

 

As far as the Joey mod, use paint, plasti dip works pretty well for blacking out exterior chrome simply if you don't want to do much prep on the chrome, all you have to do is clean it good, and with its rubbery quality it does a decent job with not chipping off as easily as paint. Since it will peel off it's great to try it to see if you like the look.

As far as the screwdriver thing, the only time I used one was my very first time, when I was too affraid of using too much heat, you really shouldn't have to if it's hot enough.

 

Ah, I see exactly what you mean about the plasti dip now.

Did you use a lacquer for extra protection on the paint, or was it not needed?

 

Inside of course not needed, outside (trim), anything you can to keep it from chipping, including a lot of sanding & prep to make sure the chrome isn't slick anymore.

 

Excellent advice again.

All that's left now is for me to find the time to do the mod. :-)

 

Good Luck, PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

I live in fl, so there's always moisture in the air, lots of it. I wanted to do this for other reasons (secret project ) and my big concern is leaving moisture inside when I open and close these things up.

Anyone else run into that? Anyway you know of to prevent it?

 

It's not air tight, so I really wouldn't know. I would think to make it air tight you'd have to make some sort of gaskets for the bulbs, but I would think that would hold in moisture from the temp changes.

 

Silica packets hidden inside. Lots of them. That'll help, but still, headlights are meant to breath. There are usually vents with foam inside to allow air (but not dirt) to pass through.

 

Thanks blwnaway, you have been a great help.

 

Did this mod over the weekend. Never done this before but I feel it went really easy. This thread really helped with the teardown of the headlight assembly. When I got it all done I sanded and polished the outer lenses as they were really cloudy and pitted. I decided to have the trim rings painted PW while they were off also!

 

Absolutely awesome job ! Detailed explanation is fantastic ! thanks !!!

 

Please post up a pick with the pw rings. I have the rings but not the Joey so I would love to see the end result

 

Are the lenses for the halogen and hid interchangeable? I have access to brand new halogens and I wanted to replace my hid housing lenses with new ones. 05 r53.

 

Are the lenses for the hid and halogen interchangeable? I would like to do the mod and put some new lenses on mine.

 

Anyone know how this stupid part comes off? looks like torx screws inside, but I can't reach them :(

 

Im new and guess I cant make my own thread yet but I need help getting a aux input plug in for my 2008 mini s . The wires r in the whole bu the cup holders but no input plug . Can someone help plz!!!!

 

Thanks to this thread for the great instructions. I couldn't reach the torx head bolts that looked like they keep the mid reflector in place, so I just taped it off and painted it!


I masked off the inner reflectors to keep the lights bright, a tiny bit of the chrome came off where i cut the tape, so if you do this way, be careful the chrome is quite sensitive.


All blacked out!

 

while looking over my, new to me, r53 i thought it would be nice to black out the interior of my headlights. The rest of my car has been dechromed with plastidip, the headlights are all that's left. So i'll be doing this soon. Thanks for all the great pics and explainations. I love MINI's!

 

I wonder if anybody has done this on adaptive headlights and if the result was ok or if there was any problems due to that they are adaptive?

Would really like to do have this mod on my R55.

 

Hey guys!! I was wondering how do you do the led mod light? I want to be able to keep the mini circle lights on as my DRLs. Can someone send me a link to a thread or tell me how because I cant find it online.