Since there were so many disagreements about painting the reflective parts of your headlight assemblies, I had to go strait to the source. I thought MiniUSA would be the ultimate judge in this one. The following is what I wrote and how they responded....

Shaskan wrote:

I am purely asking this as a safety question. Some of my fellow
Mini owners are planning on painting the inside reflective part of thei
headlights to match their color. Will this degrade the quality of light
that is produced by the bulbs? Is the mirrored part of the headlight used
as a light concentrator?

Thanks a bunch,
Frank L. Shaskan


MiniUSA wrote:

Hi Frank, thanks for writing in.

I'm glad that you asked before you did this. It is not recommended that you paint this part, or any part, of the headlight. It will diminish the amount of light that is dispersed and will cut back on the area that is illuminated as well. I hope this answers your question and you make the safe decision not to paint this part of the headlight. Please let us know if you have any more questions, we're here to help!

LET'S MOTOR.
Jen Schuelke
MINI Division
Customer Relations


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<A HREF="http://www.shaskan.com/initials.htm" TARGET="_blank">
</A>

 

Thanks Frank for going to the root source! (and you got a response from Jen...the one person there who seems to know anything...unless they're all using that name now ) I'm sure this won't stop everyone who's contemplating this &quot;modification&quot; but at least now they'll know it's not advised.

 

Shaskan, I appreciate your help and guidance, but it makes sense that if you paint a part of the headlight that has nothing to do with any of the bulbs, then yo are fine.

 

Yes, Painting the headlights is not recommended...
The Chrome Housing is paintable... the reflectors are not...

It is done by Mitsubishi on their 3000GT, hondas, subarus, Toyotas, PT Cruisers, VW, and all sorts of other vehicles do it... there are even Carbon Fiber Housings that are the same concept.


I'm sure, in due time, we will see all these aftermarket options come forth.

Enjoy.

 

I'll be producing my first Headlamp Prototype within the next month (finger's Crossed) It will be painted Indi Blue.
I'm purchasing the bare lamps themselves and then will install them as soon as I've worked out the bugs. If anyone is interested in this, let me know...
I will gladly accept R&amp;D donations.

 

Of course MINI USA is going to say &quot;dont do it&quot;. If they publicly condone it, then you get in a crash at night, you could sue them for &quot;reduced visibility&quot; even if the reduction is something rediculously small or even non existant. Esentially, they have nothing to gain by saying &quot;yes&quot; and *could* face potential dangers down the road

 

For all of those that say that painting any part of the chrome would cause a problem perhaps you could explain how painting a piece that is horizontal to the ground (and would therefore reflect vertically) would affect how the headlights shine in front of the car. Or, for that matter, the parts that are aligned perpindicular to the light beam facing toward the front of the car.

Keith Hamburger

 

All very good Comments....

It is a user &quot;risk&quot; according to MINI... Legal Escape which is fine... Mini does not offer it... YET.

Until then.... We have never EVER suggested anyone paint the REFLECTORS... just the chrome housing... why does this scare everyone? The Chrome is aesthetic to the Front end...


Enjoy

 

Hate to say I TOLD YOU SO!!!

Some light will still come through, it just won't be as reflective when it hits the painted surface. Why is everyone so adamant about painting the insides of their headlights? It will probably void the warranty, be very difficult to open the headlight, and also expensive to paint. Spend your money on better things.

And yes, Jen rocks.

 

Once again, the portions that people are proposing painting would only reflect light straight up or the only light source which could possibly reflect from those surfaces would have to come from OUTSIDE the light housing.

No one is proposing to paint the reflectors. The reflectors are the parts behind the lenses. The area in front of the lenses are not reflectors, they are simply decorative.

Agreed, don't paint behind the lenses (those are the parts with funny molding behind them that aren't completely clear), other things behind the protective plastic should cause no problem.

(This could really turn into a flame war, I just don't see how some people don't get it)

Keith

 

&gt;&gt;Once again, the portions that people are proposing painting would only reflect light straight up or the only light source which could possibly reflect from those surfaces would have to come from OUTSIDE the light housing.
&gt;&gt;
&gt;&gt;No one is proposing to paint the reflectors. The reflectors are the parts behind the lenses. The area in front of the lenses are not reflectors, they are simply decorative.
&gt;&gt;
&gt;&gt;Agreed, don't paint behind the lenses (those are the parts with funny molding behind them that aren't completely clear), other things behind the protective plastic should cause no problem.
&gt;&gt;
&gt;&gt;(This could really turn into a flame war, I just don't see how some people don't get it)
&gt;&gt;
&gt;&gt;Keith


All I was trying to do was offer some safety tips to fellow motorists. I thought that by talking to the people that designed and manufactured the Mini I would get the correct answer, but apparently we have some vehicular engeneers on this site that know more about lighting physics that the Mini designers do. Rock on...I think we should all go out and paint our headlight mirroring.

Come on ya'll did you think that a few people that have no accredidation would sway my opinion, ney, my facts that I have collected. If you want to paint then good on you. Rock on, but don't start to complain on this site when you take the first night ride and are let down. If it works than cool. If not, oh well its only a few hundred down the drain I guess.

No hard feelings, just opinions
See ya,
Frank

 

Well, I'm not an automotive engineer but I seem to recall that senior level optics class I took on the way to a physics degree seemed to indicate that a reflector won't work too well focusing forward a light source from behind it.

/---------------
light (---------------
---------------
(and focusing _____
reflector) (portion of housing to be painted)



Those parts indicated have nothing to do with focusing the light. Do not paint the focusing lenses, the vertical (and horizontal) portions in front of those lenses are safe, there is no way for them to affect the focusing of the lights, they are merely decorative.

Keith

 

I guess my ASCII drawing didn't reformat well. Oh well.

As to the discussion with MINI USA, I doubt anyone spoke to an automotive expert in forming that response, it was most likely discussed with the lawyers and no one else.

Keith

 

&gt;&gt;I guess my ASCII drawing didn't reformat well. Oh well.
&gt;&gt;
&gt;&gt;As to the discussion with MINI USA, I doubt anyone spoke to an automotive expert in forming that response, it was most likely discussed with the lawyers and no one else.
&gt;&gt;
&gt;&gt;Keith


If you have no faith in the Mini employees, why the hell did you buy a Mini?

Frank

 

I have faith in the engineers, I just don't think that anyone spoke with an engineer concerning the question you ask. I'm sure that answer was purely a CYA answer from the lawyers. If you get a name of an engineer conversant with the headlamps with the same answer, I will reconsider my opinion on the matter.

Keith

 

i've painted the headlights and they are just as bright as before, the chrome inside there does not have anything do with the light except look good. you don't go and paint the actual light bulb part just the pretty chrome trim in there.

 

Pictures Fly? How much did it cost you?

 

&gt;&gt;Of course MINI USA is going to say &quot;dont do it&quot;. If they publicly condone it, then you get in a crash at night, you could sue them for &quot;reduced visibility&quot; even if the reduction is something rediculously small or even non existant. Esentially, they have nothing to gain by saying &quot;yes&quot; and *could* face potential dangers down the road


Right, like asking your barber if you need a haircut.

 

I have to 100% agree with khamburger on this one. Trust me, as someone who works in customer service, the person you spoke to DID NOT consult an engineer. Since this modification requires you to take apart a sealed unit, MINI is never going to say &quot;go ahead.&quot; Just like we tell people here at my job that call in asking if it would be ok to do something outside the scope of purpose originally set forth....we do not legally advise doing this, nor can we condone it. This is the same response you received from MINI USA.

As anyone who's ever had something like this done before can tell you, it is completely doable. There is NO risk to light quality or intensity. The chrome housing serves NO purpose other than to look pretty. It does not reflect or focus lighting. That is left to the individual lamps and their sealed reflector units. This is not brain surgery people. Why is this so difficult to get across????

R

 

Thanks Dave.... It is a moot point anymore.... I am purchasing a spare set to do the mod on. This is the sort of mod that EVEN mitsubishi, Ferrari, Subaru, and Lotus do on their cars....
Enough of the negativity...

 

Can't wait to see the result Mighty.

....and I thought of another easy way to describe this....

Think early 280Z. The front lights were recessed. The lamp itself was vertical with the curved recesses it sat into. Wouldn't matter if those curved recesses were painted, glass, chrome, etc. They are not a part of the lamp assembly.

I think our older members are getting confused by the modern lamp assemblies. Today's headlamps typically have 3-4 sealed beam units inside the &quot;headlamp&quot;. The outter glass of the main whole unit is just to protect the inner assemblies. Each of those inner assemblies are self contained. Just don't paint inside those lamp assemblies...which would be impossible as they are sealed glass. The lamp unit can be taken apart, and the housing can be painted. This has nothing to do with the light output of the individual light assemblies.

R

 

One easy way to understand this concept... go look at your headlights...It os obvious the chromme is aesthetic.

 

&gt;&gt;One easy way to understand this concept... go look at your headlights...It os obvious the chromme is aesthetic.

What is obvious is that some people don't trust that grey stuff between their own ears. To you and me just a quick look and hardly any real thought shows that the stuff that is facing forward in front of the lights is purely cosmetic. Some people are too afraid to think for themselves to reach that conclusion.

Keith

 

Of course painting the front surfaces won't do a darn thing.. And i'm assuming that's what we are talking about here.. If you start painting down into the 'tubes', one would think that you will lose some light.. of course, that doesn't stop people from puting tint over their headlights either...

Rocketboy_X

 

I may actually be producing a &quot;rplacement&quot; plate.... in all factory colors, flat black and even carbon fiber.... this will eb less expensive for the consumer... If you are interested in a color matched replacement... let me know.