have those who have done this mod, while painting the inside of the lights body color, had any heat related issues w/ the finish? i'm considering painting mine body color, but i don't know if factory paint w/ hold up to the heat generated by the xenons. i thought that this would be a good time to do it while my cf hood and bumper are at the paint shop.....

 

2x.

 

Any PIcs of that I would love to see it.

 

i know that people have done body colored "joey mods". i think that it would look awesome on my car, but i don't want the paint to blister/melt. a little help here, please......

 

I've done an 8hr night drive since mine were painted body color with no issues.

 

 

thanks gnatster. that is the information that i was looking for.....

 

That looks good. That on my list... for the very distant future.

 

Nice job! That looks nice.

I would love to do mine black, but I am FAR TOO CHICKEN to even think about all that it takes to do this mod.

 

Cook open paint close

I'd do it f It'd fit the look I wanted but I'm going for something a little different and I'm afraid it would only destract.

 

I don't think you should have any issues. Most paint can stand up to the temps inside there. It is way below 200F as the silicone melts and gets soft at that temp.

I would be careful touching the interior chrome bits though. After heating it tends to be easy to rub off even with a microfiber towel. I ended up painting all the chrome inside of mine, but if you plan to preserve any of it just be careful.

BTW, the MINI lights are much MUCH easier to get apart than the new VW lights. I was really scared pulling those apart last weekend. Here's how they turned out:

 

That looks pretty sick. If I do say so myself, lol.. good stuff.

Bean where are the pics from your car???

 

my two day turnaround at the body shop is rapidly approaching a week.....

 

Sorry to hear. It's always a buzzkill when things don't go as planned or parts don't arrive when their supposed to. I'm sure it'll be all worth it when it all gets done and the car is back in your hands... Good luck with the body shop.

 

Not too bad ....I've been waiting a month for a 3 day job on 3 small under the hood bits.....

 

Wow, you guys need to find yourselves some better shops lolol...

 

I guess I am missing something here, but if the factory paint holds up to the temperatures on a MINI in the desert in the summer, why on earth would we think that the temperature of a headlight would melt the paint?

 

No clue

 

Xenon bulbs operate at high temperature with great pressure probably near or over 30 atmospheres. The internal quartz arc tube temperature is probably typically around 800 degrees C (1400-1500 degrees F or so). The outer bulb is nowhere near as hot, but still hot enough to cause serious burns if touched. All this is placed near the now painted surface. But keep in mind that the surrounds are plastic. In theory the plastic would melt before the paint blisters and since we don't have melting issues with the headlight parts in theory there sould be no issues with painting those surfaces.

 

Thanks for the clarification, Nate!! I just couldn't imagine why paint would melt if it is plastic and there is already chrome on it.

 

I did not use high temp paint on any of the HIDs I have done and they are all holding up justfine without any discoloration or melting problems.

 

w00t! can't wait to see em bean

 

I have had my headlights painted for about 8 months-- No problems here!!

 

Hey I love this mod!!! does anyone want to post a how to? Is it difficult to disassemble the light assembly? That is the main part I need to know.\
Thanks.