kasper300

I was wondering if anyone knows if there's a paint or some type of process where I can paint or stain my turn signal reflectors to give it a jdm look. I am currently in the process of doing black housing mod to my fog lights and next is the headlights so i wwas wondering if there is a way to change the reflector color to that amber color like the altezza headlights have I will be painting the housings black and obviously would like to do this while they are open all info/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Taks_is300

I am not to sure if you can source JDM stuff but I know that they make paint for turn signals and such. I was googling to find the number and found this on a neon website

http://forums.neons.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=324551

kasper300

I actually just ordered some jdm yellow paint from a japanese company called DANS it was ssuper rip off expensive but got the last can left found it on amazon I also saw it on one other site forgot the name tho but I paid like 35 dollars for a little like 10 can it says good for up to 2 headlights or taillights and possibly 2 turn signals/side-markers but as stated above I only need it for the reflectors inside my headlights once the foglight mod is done and I start the headlight one and I learn how to post pics on here I will post them. Can't waitt

rvalero

iTrader: (1)

Before the order ships, you might want to stop by your local hobby store to see if they have Tamiya PS-43 Translucent Orange Lexan Spray Paint. You should be able to pick some up for $7. Also, it looks like the JDM headlights' reflector is closer to orange than yellow.


I'm not sure which paint he used, but white_is masked off his reflectors after opening his headlights, and painted them orange.

kasper300

Well I was actually considering going a little unorthodox with mine and possibly painting the whole reflector lens jdm yellow. I noticed the dark amber color you were talking about to but I think I want to be a little bit diffrent besides true enthusiats would know the diffrence between the headlights no matter how close you get them to look. What do you think about that? Painting the whole reflector lens yellow considering the housing will be done in like a matte black?

rvalero

iTrader: (1)

You're welcome to do whatever you want to do to the extent that it doesn't break your local laws. In CA, I believe turn signals need to be amber/orange. Unless I was going for a JDM look, the only thing I would do with the reflectors on black headlights is smoke them a bit. I'm not sure which paint was used, but here's a black headlight with an orange reflector. It's not bad, but it's not the direction I would go.



Yellow would look something like this:

kasper300

Any suggestions rvalero u seem to be steering me in the right direction several times so far. I'm now at the stage where I got my fog lights apart successfuly and have the chrome reflector pieces taken out and sanded down and primed up just waiting for the primer to settle completely then flat black and a lens polish before I get started on the headlights I also ordered new bulbs for both the fogs and the headlights. And btw how did u find the same exact picture with amber and yellow lenses. I live in new york and honestly unless your racing they don't bust your ***** to much about reflector colors and hid colors and stuff.

rvalero

iTrader: (1)

If you like the yellow, and you don't think you'll get hassled for it, go for it. Make sure you never touch the inside of the plastic lenses on your fogs and headlights. There is a UV coating that will get screwed up if you touch it. You might be able to clean the lens and spray a new coating, but I haven't read about anyone doing it successfully.

When you spray the turn signal reflectors yellow, do light, even coats where you start spraying before you hit the reflector, and stop spraying after you pass it. The directions should tell you to spray from 10-12 inches away. This should help: http://my.is/forums/f221/diy-dark-ch...lights-445594/.

BTW, the pic with the yellow reflector was photo shopped. Good luck!

kasper300

I'm actually extremely handy with rattle cans(spray paint cans) I was a graf artist back in the day before I had a kid and straightened my act up lol. So painting is no problem for me very steady hands to. But I have seen someone polish the inner sides of our is300 headlights and had no issue wit the coating. When I find where I saw it I will post the link. Btw I opted away from the yellow I'm gonna go amber on the reflectors. But one other question I had was I'm almost ready to reassmble the fogs and I went with matte black on the reflectors(came out mint) but since I blacked out the inside would it be weird looking if I painted the fog lenses with the jdm yellow paint? I have seen it done before but not with black guts.

rvalero

iTrader: (1)

Unless you have already touched the inside lens, try to avoid it at all costs. The knowledgeable people with a lot of experience give the same advice--don't touch the inside.

You can cover the light with yellow translucent cellophane wrap if you want to get an idea of what it will look like, but I would avoid painting the fog lenses for a couple reasons. First, I think the front would flow better if the heads and fogs matched. A bright, yellow chrome could work, but I'm not really a fan 98% of the time. Second, since you painted the inside reflector black, the yellow lens will look like a dark yellow, and you would probably lose the flat texture/look. Third, I would never paint a lens when a colored overlay is possible. The paint will eventually fade, and look like poo. When that happens, it will be a PITA to freshen it up. If you do an overlay, the color is sure to be even, and the film will protect the lens. I've had a clear overlay on my SportDesign fogs since 2009, and they still look crystal clear. No pitting, yellowing, or hazing.

If you're doing amber turn signal reflectors, you might want to mix your own paint and airbrush it. I've never tried it, but I'm guessing a yellow base with clear, and a touch of black would get your desired color. It sounds like you have more painting experience than me, so you probably have a good idea of how to achieve your goals.

kasper300

so i opted away from the yellow on the reflector lens. fog lights are finished and back on the car i will get pictures up soon when i figure out how to. its been raining alot in new york lately so i havent gotten a chance to pop the front bumper off yet to start the headlights but i will be doing it in the next couple of days. decided to go to the hobby store and started to search for that paint rvalero told me about earlier in this post but havent found it yet. but i am going to use matte black paint on the inside of the housings and leave the trim around the circles chrome and give the lenses a good polish as i did on the fog lights.

Jdm2jzgte

i always wanna try thiss

LowLifeSXE

Damn I need new headlights thank god mines are trashed just am excuse to buy ones

rvalero

iTrader: (1)

How bad are they? I went from this to this with some wet-sanding and and a polisher on my fogs. My headlights weren't as bad, but I did the same thing.

Before:


After:


It's not perfect, but it got a LOT better. Protect them with a clear protective film (clear bra), and you may never need to worry about them again.

BoughtanIS

^---my fogs look the way yours did. I plan on polishing them up a bit.

There is a Tamiya paint you can brush on (that's how I did my Supra's fogs in yellow) in nice thin coats. It's a tiny little bottle, but it goes a looooong way, and it dries clear. I might do my reflectors in dark orange when I paint them black..