Need opinions - Painted Headlight

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

I still have a set of the halogens so maybe I'll do those as well. Your mod definitely increases their value.

So you can do this mod with Litronics too and not just the pumpkins?

I've never had a request to do litronics, so I honestly don't know.

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Does the paint color have any affect on the lights performance ? Or is it strictly cosmetic ? I'm trying to figure out what to do on my arctic silver car.

It's strictly cosmetic. Since yours is already silver, the liner would already be nice and subtle
That would be interesting to see.

[particlewave]

While my photoshop skills are less than great, I'm not sure I like either of these options. I was planning on going with a white bezel, but it may be too much.

[Tucker2]

Originally Posted by particlewave

While my photoshop skills are less than great, I'm not sure I like either of these options. I was planning on going with a white bezel, but it may be too much.

Yes...agree too much. Skip the white bezel. Fantastic other than that.

[Lobo1186]

If I had the skill and time I would see if there was a decently easy way to get rid of all the extra headlight and make a fender/headlight assembly that was just the oval from the headlights. without all the extra foglight and junk.

[jb92563]

I like the dark black lights best as it looks more dramatic and interesting to me.

The white takes away the focus on the lights and makes it look a bit too plastic and uninteresting. Its like having an albino car.

The dark lights are like a girls eyes with makeup, more interesting and sexy.

The oval light masks make it look like another cars headlights, Jag or Mercedes?
I like that Porsches lights are very distinctive and different than the rest.

Thats just my opinion so if you like it more power to you, the workmanship and creativity is awesome in any case and I applaud that you are exploring and pushing boundaries...kudos!

[jb92563]

Originally Posted by Lobo1186

If I had the skill and time I would see if there was a decently easy way to get rid of all the extra headlight and make a fender/headlight assembly that was just the oval from the headlights. without all the extra foglight and junk.

You mean Frog eyes slant nose style?

That would be interesting, we need a photoshop mockup of that.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by particlewave

While my photoshop skills are less than great, I'm not sure I like either of these options. I was planning on going with a white bezel, but it may be too much.

Option 1: Full white interior with "black" bezels
Option 2: Full black interior with "white" bezels

I kinda like the idea & the look of the full white interior Charles. Looks clean, modern. Double thumbs up mate

[particlewave]

Thanks for the opinions. I'm sticking with black for now, but it was a fun experiment and now I have pictures if someone down the line wants to know what it looks like to have the inner shroud painted to match the car

Now...I need to order some new projectors because I cannot be the official installer for these whilst running the Mk1 projectors. Must be up to date

Here are some different color options that I'm toying with. I like the white bezel on black headlights, but I kind of like them all.
Blue is quite nice on white
Unfortunately, both blue and red would require new caliper paint and I'm not looking forward to doing that again any time soon. That, and I really like my green calipers. So torn...

Edit: I think on a white car and with the overall monochromatic look, my only real options are neutral colors; black, silver, white, and maybe gunmetal.

[BruceH]

I think the painted enclosure is too much on a white car because of the comparative darkness on the turn signal. It just didn't look "right" to me. Might look better with the amber lights. I think the black looks best. I do like the white bezel with the black, and I agree you should probably stick to white or silver.

[Perfectlap]

how about only the oval part white. The rest in black. Sorta 997'ish. With smoked side markers..

[BruceH]

Just the oval part would probably look better.

[WillH]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I'm going to experiment with methods of removing the silver eyeliner so I can try painting it to match as well and will post pics.

Good? Bad? Tacky? Just Don't do it!?

Any luck removing the eyeliner? Would like to black out the lights but don't want to be stuck with the silver eyeliner.

Thanks,
Will

[particlewave]

Originally Posted by WillH

Any luck removing the eyeliner? Would like to black out the lights but don't want to be stuck with the silver eyeliner.

Thanks,
Will

I haven't actually tackled a whole headlight yet, but brake fluid seems to work well.

[rdass623]

painting the headlight interiors really looks great. with the body color match the lights seem to blend in well, and the headlights appear much smaller. if the silver rings were covered in the body color, the lights would all but disappear... good work

[WillH]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I haven't actually tackled a whole headlight yet, but brake fluid seems to work well.

Have you had success using brake fluid on a portion of the liner on one of your scrap pieces? Brush it on, let it sit, brush it out? It looks to be textured as well. Can that be removed or best not? Acetone too strong?

Sorry for all the questions, I haven't opened one up yet, don't know what I'm getting into, and don't want to scrap the lights...

I like the looks of those LED headlights without the eyeliner on EBay and Amazon, just not the price, apparent fitment, or quality problems I've read about.

You should make it an option for your retrofit.

[Nine8Six]

Will - can't comment on the brake fluid, haven't done it.

We managed to get the silver lip removed with sand blasting it at low psi. You just need to cover the lens with plastic wrap (by Saran). Easy to clean, just air blast the unit when completed.

Came out with a sweet satin finish < you want that otherwise it's see-through :/

[WillH]

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

Will - can't comment on the brake fluid, haven't done it.

We managed to get the silver lip removed with sand blasting it at low psi. You just need to cover the lens with plastic wrap (by Saran). Easy to clean, just air blast the unit when completed.

Came out with a sweet satin finish < you want that otherwise it's see-through :/

Great
Thanks for the info. It's now on my project list.

[jbryshun]

Sand blasting the eyeliner off worked? Has anyone tried the brake fluid or acetone? What about sanding off?

I want to black out headlights but also want to do this when I do the interior. I think it would look great like that on black car.

[WillH]

Feel free to try blasting, but I had no luck getting the final bits of silver out of the corrugated backing where it meets the lip that fits into headlight case. The other issue I had was static and blowing clean the inevitable blasting media that gets past the masking material. Sanding was a no go in the same area. Perhaps with more patience and a willingness to remove the corrugation and a section of the lip to get to the very last points of silver that can be seen from the exterior.

Ended up painting the exterior shell to get rid of the eyeliner. Epoxy black was a good match to the factory black paint but fades in sun. Will redo this winter,(paint and polish), then seal with 2k clear.

[JBauer]

Gotta quit trolling the old threads. Gives me ideas ��

Now somehow I deleted my pic. Well it's up there ��