In one of the show cars the owner painted the inside of the headlight to match the car. Has anyone does this? How much would it cost? Any pics?

 

Do you mean the chrome ring? Not the glass I hope...

 

Not the glass, the chrome part inside the light fixture. If you saw the puicture you would know what I am talking about. Anyone have that picture?

 

 

Pics are in this thread:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...threadid=24010

See ya,
JS

 

Thats the one. Has anyone decided to paint the inside of their headlights yet?

 

Uhm, that kind of defeats the purpose of the headlights... the chrome is there to act as a mirror surface to make the headlights focus. Without them, you won't be able to see at night. Trust me, I've played with headlights on antique cars while I have them taken apart... when the mirrors are gone, they don't do squat.

 

Damn, thats a good point. I never thought of that. Well now that you just burst my bubble, I am off to bed.

 

Heh, sleep well. Dream of chrome!

 

>>Uhm, that kind of defeats the purpose of the headlights... the chrome is there to act as a mirror surface to make the headlights focus. Without them, you won't be able to see at night. Trust me, I've played with headlights on antique cars while I have them taken apart... when the mirrors are gone, they don't do squat.

Actually, I'm looking at the picture above, and the reflecotrs still look mirrored - just the parts that house the reflectors are painted. Looks kind of cool, and shouldn't affect the beams at all.

I'd imagine those pieces are chromed plastic, so you would have to find a primer that would allow your paint to stick. Be carefull as the solvents in many paints/primers can melt some grades of plastic. If the reflectors are integral to the housing that you want to paint, then you'll have to do some really careful masking. Finally, if you have the xenons, don't mess with them unless you really know what you are doing. They're much higher voltage than halogens, and can be dangerous.

So don't give up ace, and be sure to give us a full report if you pursue this.

-Soopa

 

Ace and I are one in the same. The only way I would get it painted is if the dealer would do it for me. I doubt very much that they would. Who knows...

 

>>Ace and I are one in the same. The only way I would get it painted is if the dealer would do it for me. I doubt very much that they would. Who knows...

If your dealer has a body shop like mine does (Patrick MINI, Chicago), then they could definitely paint it for you. I have no idea what that would cost however. You could also get an independant shop to do it for you.

-Soopa

 

>>Ace and I are one in the same.

So are you openly admitting to us that you registered on MCO twice and alternate between the usernames?

Hmmmm.... :???:

 

I have planned to do this since I bought the MINI last April.
HID's require less reflective surface than the standard bulbs.

Even painted, they still reflect light

I would never go to a dealer's autobody shop except for warrenty work.

In actuallity, a custom shop pays more attention to detail.

With that, a custom shop will charge a bit more. maybe.

Also, if you look at the paint surface on almost EVERY new car out.... you will see the manufacturers disreguard the obvious orange peel surfaceing... the paint seems to have texture under the clearcoat. This is one of the Biggest flaw's in new car production. A custome shop will produce a glass like surface, unlessthey are cheap.

Good Luck and when I get mine done, I'll let ya know!

 

Yeah, I like this name better though. Unfortunately the dealer I use doesn't ahve a body shop. So when I got into my accident, it had to be sent elsewhere. I will inquire though to see how much a job like this would cost if anybody else is interested.

 

>>I have planned to do this since I bought the MINI last April.
>>HID's require less reflective surface than the standard bulbs.
>>
>>Even painted, they still reflect light
>>
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>>

Awwwkkkkk! Do not paint the reflectors if you have Xenon lights. Or if you do, I hope never to encounter you at night on the road.

We've been through this subject before, but the Xenon lights are part of an integrated system. That includes the bulbs, leveling motors, reflectors, washers, and lenses. These things were designed as an integrated unit and the reflectors are the "color" they are for a purpose. I'd urge you to do much more research on this before you start on a project that modifies components of the system.

 

Not to be nosie but would painting the inside of your light really look good? A dark smoky color might be cool but a vibrant blue or red might be a bit tacky. I would play with photoshop first.

 

Well my MCS is dark siler/black. It might look sweet to paint the scoop and the headlights black. Good idea with photoshop though. Never thought of using that before I am stuck with something I hate.

 

I come from the Honda/Acura world. It is a common practice for people to paint the inside of the light housings. However, You do have to make sure you do not paint the area of the reflectors. The housings on the MINI have a lot of chrome on them, but that is not all reflector. Most of it is there just to look good through the headlight lense. This is the area that people are painting. Generally the procedure is to remove the light housings from the vehicle. Remove the bulbs and any other rubber pieces or gaskets. Place the headlight housings into and oven set about 200 F. Leave them inthere for about 5-10 minutes to let the sealant soften up. Take them out and gently pry the lense from the housing. You should then be able to mask off the reflector portion, scuff the chrome and paint your favorite color. After the paint is dry, reassemble with clear silicone sealant, reinstall in the vehicle. PLEASE NOTE, these are VERY general directions and may not apply specifically to the MINI headlamps. I am not responsible for what you do to your headlights.

F

 

Very Cool Chayse! I don't know if I'm ready to do this with my Xenons. If they were standard headlights well then hell, lets blow through the sealant. But as the other guy said, the Xenon is a fully integrated system with ballasts, levelers and the like and they are big bucks. Not ready to blow these for a cosmetic tweak.

OK, who out there has the guts to try?

 

I agree with blue. If only I had the money...and the courage.

 

i've done the painting headlights on 3 2002 celica's and it's not that bad, i think it looks very nice with the body color of the car, gives it a nice custom look and doesn't hurt the beam of the light at all.

 

I know this is an old topic, but I am going to go see my car guy tomorrow to get a quote. I will post the price.

 

Well, honestly I don't see how this is feasible. I had an extra set of lights to play with a couple weeks ago and was going to take them apart. Tried with no luck. And I've done this to many Civics and my Miata. The problem is the design of the headlight. Not only is it sealed to the top, but it has a leg running inside as well. I darn near destroyed one just trying to get the lens off. I heated it in the oven, tried a heat gun, etc.

The lens piece is like this (hope this works, disregard the periods, they are only there for space justification):

_____________
..|............|
..|............|

So you have to pry up and pull out at the same time. And there's TONS of sealant in there. Aside from ordering the lens piece seperate from the housing, painting, then assembling, I don't see this is possible. I dunno, prove me wrong and find a way cause I want to do this SOO SOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad!!!!

R

_________________


Madness Team Member

 

Send me a set of headlights and I will not only do it... I will make inserts..... CF, Paintable, and painted.

And maybe ... If there is an interest... GOLD PLATE

I am pretty sure I can produce a low cost insert....

but I have not had the time to R&D....

I will soon have more time.

-Doug