alright, im going to paint my headlights this week and i have a few questions:

1) my car is black, should i paint the housing a flat black or gloss black?

2) should i paint the entire housing including the insides and bottom reflector or leave those alone?

3) do i need to sand or scuff the housing before painting or just paint over the chrome paint?

thanx guys

 

I haven't done this and I'm a little scared to do it myself so I'd like to either have someone on here do it for me and I'll supply everything and pay for their time....otherwise thinking about saving up for BlownSS to do a pair of Retro's for me...anyway...

I would go with a flat black, but that's just me. I would also not paint the entire reflector...don't know how to explain it without a pic. Sorry.

As for sanding/scuffing, I would just to make sure the paint adheres better, but just a light scuffing since they are enclosed.

 

its pretty easy i heat treated mine in the oven. about 20 min at 450 degrees then pry the lens apart. make sure you tape off the reflecting parts so that your headlights will still work i no friends who have messed theres up doing this. then use 100 grit sand paper and sand down lightly enough and wipe down with windex and i used a light coat at first then 2 other heavy coats and let dry for an hour or so. then i put bak in the oven for about half an hour and when you take it out press it back together or you can re seal it instead but i didnt and i havent had any leaks. make sure you use high temp paint. any other ?s pm me goodluck

 

anyother ideas?

does painting the entire housing affect light output because youre painting that bottom reflector?

flat black or gloss black?

 

yes your lights wont be as bright you may not even be able to drive like this if im wrong someone correct me. mines glossy black and i didnt even use clear coat

 

so you cant drive your car?

it seems like you did paint that section...

 

the reflectors are what make ur headlights shine its no big deal just dont paint them lol

 

no man not the actual reflectors just the bottom lined piece. you have it painted but it looks like it serves a purpose

 

some people paint the bottom, some [like myself] don't. from what i've read in other threads it doesn't seem affect light output. here's how i painted mine...


^don't mind the dirty car...its a winter pic

i used krylon fusion satin black. also, i've painted a couple sets of headlights and each time i sanded the "chrome" insert with 1000 grit sandpaper, primer, then paint. it's actually an easy project, its the getting the headlights to re-seal correctly thats the pain in the butt.

 

1) Satin Black looks awesome (sort of in between matte and gloss)

2)Up to you some people do some people don't.

3) Not if you use a good quality plastic spray paint like Krylon Fusion (what I used)

 

alright cool thanx

im going to go with painting the entire housing since it doesnt affect output i just like that way a little better. since my car is black i think im going with a satin or a gloss because i think flat would look a little weird next to gloss paint.

when i do seal them back up do i just buy some black sealant and load it on there? what were your techniques for doing it correctly?

matt

 

Make sure you get all of the old sealant out of it. I used clear RTV and it worked great. Also you can use a rachet or regular tie down strap around the whole headlight to hold it tight together while it is drying. Just dont make it crazy tight and break the headlight. No leaks or condinsation.
My SS is black and I painted them gloss black.

 

clear RTV. got it.

any regrets on gloss black?