found this mod, and liked it from the start.... looks really nice on pure silver .

Does this work on non xenons , how does it get blacked out and how much does it cost ?

 

You can title search "joey mod" basiclly DIY and a can of primer and paint. Works on just about any head light any car, thats the 02-04 configuration, if you search a round there are a few 05/06s that have done this. Melissa (wikedgolf) gave a pretty good explination of whats involved, basically you've got to dissasemble the lights which means a heat gun or the more common baking them in the oven @230F for a while to soften up the glue. From doing similar mods (I haven't done this one myself (yet)) I can say the degree of difficulty doesn't seem to hard, but it takes some serious guts to stick MINI parts in your oven, espescially $400 a piece parts.

 

Not sure if it is the same thing or not, but I think it pretty much is the same thing you are asking. I just "smoked-out" my tail lights (including the third brake light and the lower optional fog light) on my '06 MCS Cabrio. It looks a bit different on red, obviously, but it is the same effect and, being that it is the rear lamps, I would answer your question regarding non-Xenons with a "YES". I wasn't even planning on doing it, but I went to see the installer that put on my clear bra about a month ago to touch it up with a slight trim of the very few spots on some corner edges where the bra was adhering flush to the body. He trimmed those spots ever so slightly with an exacto blade and a very steady hand, like a surgeon using a scalpel; not a nick that I could find after he was done – the trick is to run the blade across the film with very little pressure applied. When he was done, he said he had some extra smoke tail light material that he had ordered for a customer who never fulfilled their promise to come in and do the install and wondered if maybe I wanted it. I had seen a photo or two of the effect, but had not considered it before. Considering my cabrio is Pepper White with a black ragtop and lots of chrome, the red lights did stick out and the smoke treatment would make it more like the rest of the black trim, so I opted for it, especially since he was offering to do the tails for $20 total installed. He then offered to do the third brake light and the fog for an additional $10, which I couldn't pass up (he had some spare matching material) and you know, once you mod, you can't stop. For $30 it was almost insane not to do it. For anyone in the north NJ area needing any kind of film to be installed, whether it is a clear bra or window darkening, he is a terrific find. His name and contact info is below - he came recommended by Ryan at AutoPaintGuard. By the way, for those debating about the clear bra issues I have seen, I wish I had done mine right out of the chute, instead of waiting almost 6 months and getting a chip BEFORE taking the plunge. As I did it later the bra goes over the bonnet stripes and if I had done it first I would have put them on afterwards, but all in all it is not a very big deal, as it is almost unseen unless you are up close and looking for the ridge that the stripe creates. I did the whole front end excepting the chrome grill, including the headlamps and all lights (excepting the driving lamps, as they are normally covered anyway and are also extremely hot when in use). The bra runs to the mid bonnet (up past the hood scoop, which is also covered in 3M film); I also did the mirror caps (which is just a partial covering), door cups, and A-pillars (at the suggestion of the installer and these are less noticeable than anything else; it is almost impossible to find the seam). Installed cost was close to $600, but no more paint chips either.

Lee
Applied Film Technologies
725 Fairfield Ave (rear garage)
Kenilworth, NJ 07033
cell: 973.477.6717
fax: 201.489.0063

 

I'll let MSFITOY correct me if I'm wrong but when he did the "joey mod" (surrounds from chrome to black) I do not think he did any tiniting of the lenses.

 

Maybe there is more than one way to achieve the effect?

 

Well I think you're talking about a different effect, because in general ys it does cut down on the chrome showing through, but tinting the lens is very different than painting the internal headlight trim.

Tint cuts the light flowing out and changes the Hue, and blocks to a certain degree the glare of the reflectors and the glare of the trim.

Painting the trim itself, does not effect light out put, allows the reflectors to still be seen, cuts the reflections from the trim, and is entirely legal, unlike some of the hassles that come from tinting in various states.

I'm not trying to be rude; just think we're discussing apples and oranges here.

Some threads discussing exactly what I'm talking about
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...light=joey+mod

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...light=joey+mod

 

blackie-youre talking about tinting the external lens
miniracer1 is inquiring about painting the internals as motoron is describing.
2 completely different things.

 

When I have some time on my hands, I'm definitely gunna give this mod a go.

 

thanx , as i am back on the forum.... this joey mod seems to be not the easy bolt on mod that everybody can accomplish... this mod really is a MODIFICATION with capital M, and me myself being a bolt on - bolt off guy is maybe not very capable to do this.....

its a bummer , and maybe i will in time find someone who can install this neatly in my small little country called Belgium.... where cars are standard and styling accomdations are poor ;-)

thx, for the replies....

 

Hey...here you are You're right about the capitol M...this involves a lot of risk to your very expensive lamps...expecially if you have Xenon as I do...

Try searching "Joey mod" under interior/exterior mods...

In my case, the chrome bezel were removed and painted satin black...they do not serve any light control functions so you can paint them or remove them...the lamps won't know the difference...

The lens have a clear protetive laminate applied...do not tint the lens...you'll just diminish your lighting...

 

I didn't read through the longer posts, but couldn't one just put a sheet of smoked "Lamin-x" over the lens? Not only would you get the smoked effect but also protection from rock chips?

 

The net effect is like comparing apples and oranges...nothing similar...

Tint the lens without painting the bezel, you get dimmed lighting and the chrome is still there...

The purpose of painting the bezel for me is to reduce the apparent size of the headlamps by eliminating the bright chrome...

I can't argue tinting is sure lot less painful...but less rewarding

 

Here's a detailed page of my eye surgery...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hlight=msfitoy

 

I seem to recall from the "Joey MOD" thread that almost everyone that did it came to the conclusion that it was "too much effort for the final result" (assuming you mean the painting of the interior corome peices and not simply using smoked Lamin-X film to tint the whole lens)... The heating of the headlamps sounds pretty nerve-wracking to me.

That said, I remain on the lookout for a rear-impact totalled MCS with Xenons - I'd try it if I could to the MOD on a spare set of lamps. I'd hate to have to replace something as crucial as the headlight assembly if I goof it.

As for smoking the lights with Lamin-X - I'd personally NOT do this. Bottom line is that smoking them enough to make a real visual difference WILL cut down on the light output. That's just plain unsafe and could even get you a ticket.

PS -

I believe the picture you found illustrated the MOD on a non-Xenon assembly - it certainly looks very different than my '06 Xenons...

 

MSFITOY...how many headlights does your car have?

 

I tinted my headlights and it DOES reduce the light output. On a dark rainy night with cars coming the other way on twisty roads with poor centerline markings...it's scary! Even with high beams on, you still lose quite a bit.

In the daytime the look great. At night, stay home. I think I have some photos of the headlights in my gallery if you care to see how that looks.

I agree with ImagoX about looking for some from a wreck to play with first.

 

One on my forhead

One of the three was a cadavor-donor-test-unit...even surgeons need practice

 

Ok. I was hoping you'd done a spare set that I could convince you to part with.

 

The donor eye was near useless and had catarack problems so I used it to verify the oven technique would indeed open it up...It did but I would need another 5 more lamps to nail down the exact temperature/duration for this proceedure...hence, do this at your own risk...or in my case, not quite sober...then I remember saying something like, "What The Hell...Let's Doit!!!"

 

:: Note to self - DEFINITELY use a salvage pair of lamps... and lay off the booze prior to putting them into the oven :::

 

Here's the link to have it professionally done.

http://clearcorners.com/products/mini/mini1/

-Diosdado

 

I wonder how much they charge . if it is anything like they charge for the side repeaters, I'll start doing this for half