Hey all. Happy 2005!

I was wondering if any of you have popped open your tailights and painted the 1" chrome lip surrounds. Rather than apply smoke film, which might get me into hot water around here, I'd like to paint that outer edge to match the body color of my '05. I'm assuming they're bonded or glued somehow (it would be too easy if they were simply screwed together!)... Anyone done this? Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

Anyone?

 

I have taken a set apart. The clear top lens is sealed to the rear portion of the assembly w/ some type of hard sealant. If you carefully scrape this out as much as possible you can "gently" pry the lens off. The you will need to undo 3 small welded tabs on the rear of the large black piece. This can be difficult and messy. They are easy to find, just look for the section that looks like a waffle iron. Then the red/amber reflector/lens snaps out of the chome bezel. I have on painted but it will need another coat and you have to make sure to rough the chrome up or the paint will not stick. I am using Rustoleum Paint For Plastic, comes out kinda satin black. I'll post some pics out what I've done so far. I am going to try LED's next. I love the look of Clear Corners work http://www. clearcorners.com. clearcorners.com but I can't see spending $800 bucks for them. Hope this helps and I'll try to get some pics up for you.

 

I've posted some pics in my gallery. They are pretty big. Sorry, I'll post some more info as I progress.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...21&ppuser=8875
I'll also edit the photos down to a more managable size and highlight some info.

If you are curious I got a complete set of rears from Ebay for approx. $25! I am starting to love that place, now if I could find some black MC gills?

 

doomsdaybob -

Thanks for the pics...

Problem I have is i have a 2005, and no one is selling their stockers because MINI hasn't offered a clear tails option yet. 02/03/04 lenses will fit, but apparently the wiring connections aren't the same, due to the backup lights and rear fogs switching around.

What did you do to "undo 3 small welded tabs on the rear of the large black piece"? Dremel? Soldering iron?

 

Thanks for the pics The chrome has really been bothering me lately and I want to get rid of it. Nice work!

 

Thank you. I used a dremel on the spots. You have to be careful not to take off too much plastic because it will show on the inside. Not much, just a couple of dark spots but enough to bother some people. I hope to have them finished up soon and I'll post more pics. Then we can start on custom LED's for them. There should be some 05's coming out soon, I actually bought one single for initial demolition work and it came from a wreck.

 

Any news here? Anything different between the 02-04s and 05s, innards-wise? Looking forward to warm weather and more modding...

 

Sorry, no progress on this end. Works been hectic and the home life is worse. I might get some painting done this weeekend. I am however open to suggestions on a way to glue these things back together, I know the sealant the factoy used dried rock hard and was black in color. I have access to lots of industrial chemical products but haven't found one that I think would work well.

Also, tip from another forum/website. Heat the units in the oven on low temp, 150-200 I think, to soften the sealant but not the plastic itself. Seems some Celica owners are painting thier headlight interiors.

 

I did this to two sets of tails. I painted the chrome inside flat black and then did a light tint to the inside of the lense. I gave up the project though, too hard for the end result. Here is a shot:

 

doomsdaybob - thanks for the oven tip, I'll be sure to try that out... beats sitting there with a hair dryer hoping to soften things up...

SumWon - looks good... Have you had any problems taking apart/putting things back together? I'm worried about condensation forming inside once they've been put back on the car... Like doomsdaybob, I'm curious: how'd you seal things up?

 

First I tried the classic oven technique. Heating the housing causes distortions and discolorations though. I then turned to the trusty dermal to disassemble. First try was a bit ugly, but the second set I was able to do a much better job. You have to dermal the lens with a cutting wheel first. Next, to remove the chrome for paint, you have three spots on the rear of the housing that you use a honing bit on. I used a combination of two part epoxy and black RTV to seal things back up. I did not have any issues with condensation, the RTV sealed the incisions up well. One other note of caution, when you remove the foam pieces from the housing be careful, it wants to rip and you will need to re-install it.