Painting headlights....need paint advice
02-11-13, 07:54 PM
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Painting headlights....need paint advice
I am redoing my SC300 headlights, taking them apart/cleaning/reseal/etc,etc. Unfortunately the highly reflective silver paint on the interior of the headlights is flaking off big time so I must repaint them. I would like to repaint them with a light titanium/silver metallic color much like the way the Nissan does the 370Z headlights. I really like that look and think it will work well with my SC. Does anyone have any good paint brand/color codes that may match up with that color, and also most importantly, does it adhere well on plastic? I know many of us are having similar issues so...Any help/experience/suggestions will be much appreciated.
02-13-13, 03:24 PM
#6
Personally, I went with HID bulbs/ballasts and painted the inner pieces black with high-temp spray. For my car, it was the right style move.
If you are looking to mimic the stock look, I would go with chrome spray paint. Anything other than that will present a style option that may be right for your car.
Also, if you are interested in a pair of headlights to experiment with, I have a spare pair for this reason. I would part with them inexpensively. (PM me if interested...having a spare set was nice for peace of mind when taking on such an unusual and potentially damaging assignment.)
If you are looking to mimic the stock look, I would go with chrome spray paint. Anything other than that will present a style option that may be right for your car.
Also, if you are interested in a pair of headlights to experiment with, I have a spare pair for this reason. I would part with them inexpensively. (PM me if interested...having a spare set was nice for peace of mind when taking on such an unusual and potentially damaging assignment.)
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02-15-13, 07:16 AM
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I am pretty postivie duplicolor has the paint you would want, its chrome, and there is a black chrome. Specifically for wheels which are able to withstand a little more heat than normal spray paint. I will actually check today for you as I am going to paint my housings later and I am getting the paint from the store where I always see the "black chrome" paint. If they have engine enamel chrome paint, i would go for that if I were you.
If you were here in cali I'd tell you I'll paint and do your lights for you since I've done about 10 to 12 sets in the past of IS300 and gs300 lights, not a professional but my last few sets I think I've done a great job. Just make sure to completely wet sand the stock chrome on the housings before you paint and end with a 2000 or higher grit, most important part of painting especially for the high heat the headlights produce. Of course use engine enamel primer as well, two light coats one medium, 20 minutes apart. Wait an hour before painting them with chrome, and repeat. Honestly if you wish, you can send them to me and I can even do them for you for free as long as you pay for shipping and paint of course. I love painting headlights haha. Any questions you can message me on here. What color is your car? Personally, I think black housings look the best, on any color car, but some disagree. If you are stuck on the chrome, I would try to find engine enamel chrome paint or use the black chrome wheel paint I was speaking of before. Of course the engine enamel paint is what I always use because of the very high heat resistance, one of my pairs lasted for 5 years and looked brand new til the day I sold them. Sorry for rambling lol..
If you were here in cali I'd tell you I'll paint and do your lights for you since I've done about 10 to 12 sets in the past of IS300 and gs300 lights, not a professional but my last few sets I think I've done a great job. Just make sure to completely wet sand the stock chrome on the housings before you paint and end with a 2000 or higher grit, most important part of painting especially for the high heat the headlights produce. Of course use engine enamel primer as well, two light coats one medium, 20 minutes apart. Wait an hour before painting them with chrome, and repeat. Honestly if you wish, you can send them to me and I can even do them for you for free as long as you pay for shipping and paint of course. I love painting headlights haha. Any questions you can message me on here. What color is your car? Personally, I think black housings look the best, on any color car, but some disagree. If you are stuck on the chrome, I would try to find engine enamel chrome paint or use the black chrome wheel paint I was speaking of before. Of course the engine enamel paint is what I always use because of the very high heat resistance, one of my pairs lasted for 5 years and looked brand new til the day I sold them. Sorry for rambling lol..
03-11-13, 07:51 AM
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I am pretty postivie duplicolor has the paint you would want, its chrome, and there is a black chrome. Specifically for wheels which are able to withstand a little more heat than normal spray paint. I will actually check today for you as I am going to paint my housings later and I am getting the paint from the store where I always see the "black chrome" paint. If they have engine enamel chrome paint, i would go for that if I were you.
If you were here in cali I'd tell you I'll paint and do your lights for you since I've done about 10 to 12 sets in the past of IS300 and gs300 lights, not a professional but my last few sets I think I've done a great job. Just make sure to completely wet sand the stock chrome on the housings before you paint and end with a 2000 or higher grit, most important part of painting especially for the high heat the headlights produce. Of course use engine enamel primer as well, two light coats one medium, 20 minutes apart. Wait an hour before painting them with chrome, and repeat. Honestly if you wish, you can send them to me and I can even do them for you for free as long as you pay for shipping and paint of course. I love painting headlights haha. Any questions you can message me on here. What color is your car? Personally, I think black housings look the best, on any color car, but some disagree. If you are stuck on the chrome, I would try to find engine enamel chrome paint or use the black chrome wheel paint I was speaking of before. Of course the engine enamel paint is what I always use because of the very high heat resistance, one of my pairs lasted for 5 years and looked
brand new til the day I sold them. Sorry for rambling lol..
If you were here in cali I'd tell you I'll paint and do your lights for you since I've done about 10 to 12 sets in the past of IS300 and gs300 lights, not a professional but my last few sets I think I've done a great job. Just make sure to completely wet sand the stock chrome on the housings before you paint and end with a 2000 or higher grit, most important part of painting especially for the high heat the headlights produce. Of course use engine enamel primer as well, two light coats one medium, 20 minutes apart. Wait an hour before painting them with chrome, and repeat. Honestly if you wish, you can send them to me and I can even do them for you for free as long as you pay for shipping and paint of course. I love painting headlights haha. Any questions you can message me on here. What color is your car? Personally, I think black housings look the best, on any color car, but some disagree. If you are stuck on the chrome, I would try to find engine enamel chrome paint or use the black chrome wheel paint I was speaking of before. Of course the engine enamel paint is what I always use because of the very high heat resistance, one of my pairs lasted for 5 years and looked
brand new til the day I sold them. Sorry for rambling lol..Can you do mine ? Haha pm me if u can
03-13-13, 01:38 PM
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Just follow my IS3 DIY and you will be able to basically mimic it https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...light-mod.html
03-16-13, 10:24 PM
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Def go high temp lol. I made the mistake of using regular body paint and when i turned the lights on after a while it started to burn the paint. So i will have to take them apart again and redo them. I had them flat black but the only high temp paint i found was satin black. I have them flat black and the very edge is bronze. I did this cuz i will put bronze rims on the SC so it will kind of accent the rims.
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