FR-S Headlight Reflector Blackout

[xpicer]

whoao looks amazing

[DarrenDriven]

Thanks man!

[lordtakuban]

How did you mask off the sticky areas to paint everything? Or are the chrome pieces detachable? I haven't seen any mention of that from other people doing this mod.

[DarrenDriven]

Just look at steps 20-21 in the first post and it shows you that the main chrome reflector is a separate component from the housing and the lens. No masking needed. The reflector for the high beam is yet another component and you can choose to paint that or leave it chrome, but you would have to mask it from the main housing.

[DCT223]

cool write up.. but i dunno about painting your high beam reflectors...

[roguetadhg]

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

Agreed, looks way better, but your high beams could be totally ineffective.

They are.

Painting reflectors makes it a lighting accessory. I painted my RX-8's Highbeams. Looked cool, until I needed the High-Beams. There's very little light that makes it on the road when High Beams are on.

Decided to paint-strip the reflectors back.

[zAnSh1n]

great job, i've baked a few sets of headlights in my days, so i will def be doing this mod when the time comes... but i'd personally not paint the high beam reflectors...

[xpicer]

Originally Posted by DarrenDriven

Just look at steps 20-21 in the first post and it shows you that the main chrome reflector is a separate component from the housing and the lens. No masking needed. The reflector for the high beam is yet another component and you can choose to paint that or leave it chrome, but you would have to mask it from the main housing.

did you put hids on the high beam side? and still no output?

[DarrenDriven]

With the reflector painted black there is no light projection from most of the bulb, it was essentially a bright fog light. I have since removed the HID and installed an LED 9005 bulb for looks only.

[DarrenDriven]

You guys wanted some video of how the headlight looks, so here you go...

Scion FR-S Headlight Reflector Blackout - YouTube

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by DarrenDriven

You guys wanted some video of how the headlight looks, so here you go...

Scion FR-S Headlight Reflector Blackout - YouTube

"...renders it completely useless,.... but I mean, it looks good so come on!..."

Yea, definitely because that is what matters!

I don't have a real issue with you not having high-beams. I can honestly say that I may use my high-beams once a year (I average about 30K a year driving), and usually only for a couple of minutes. I just have never liked them.

I have more of an issue with the yellow bulb in their place. That would seem to be a bad location for a yellow bulb if you decide to use them.

[DarrenDriven]

I originally had 3000k HIDs in the high beam, but I felt they were too bright, so I replaced them with a 100W 9005 bulb with a yellow coating which was STILL too bright, so I have a yellow 9005 LED bulb on the way from Hong Kong via eBay.

I've said it like ten times, the blacked out high beam lens was an experiment that didn't really pan out like I thought.... but I only drive the car in town so I don't really need high beams. I can always revert back to chrome high beam reflectors or convert the projectors to bixenon.

[zAnSh1n]

Originally Posted by DarrenDriven

the blacked out high beam lens was an experiment that didn't really pan out like I thought....

honestly... what did you expect ?

[DarrenDriven]

Originally Posted by zAnSh1n

honestly... what did you expect ?

Read the topic for yourself and find out... no reason to post it over and over and over. Seriously.

[zAnSh1n]

Originally Posted by DarrenDriven

Read the topic for yourself and find out... no reason to post it over and over and over. Seriously.

what do you mean by "the topic," the thread title ?

[DarrenDriven]

Start on page one and read the questions and comments that other people have already asked and I have answered.

Page 1

Originally Posted by DarrenDriven

I expect that I will have very poor high beam intensity because of the blacked out reflectors, but we'll see.

Originally Posted by DarrenDriven

my high-beams are pretty much useless now, but it's worth it for the sexy, sexy look. I will install some HID spot light/driving lights in the near future that will replace the high-beam's job.

Originally Posted by Calum

Why paint the reflector, won't that kill the high beams output?

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

Agreed, looks way better, but your high beams could be totally ineffective.

That is just on page one... there ARE four more pages of information contained in this topic (another word for thread, this entire series of postings).

[zAnSh1n]

Originally Posted by DarrenDriven

Start on page one and read the questions and comments that other people have already asked and I have answered.

Page 1








That is just on page one... there ARE four more pages of information contained in this topic (another word for thread, this entire series of postings).

ahhh, gotcha...

just another case of form over function... as long as you're happy with it

[Ryuu0u]

To be honest i thought it was going to look cheap and ugly just reading the title but it looks really good!

Integrating the high beam into the low beam sounds and looks like it'll work but that empty space would bother me for some reason. Possible to make another projector for the high beam?

[ragingSPAM]

If you're going to paint the chrome parts, you might as well wet sand them down so the paint sticks. The chrome parts are extremely slick and the paint over time may eventually flake off, doing some wet sanding with 1000 grit then to 1500 grit should do the trick of allowing the paint to stick to it.

Before you spray it and after its been sanded, get some wax and grease remover from auto zone or any auto parts store and go over the housing with a clean rag. it'll remove any oils/dirt that my have gotten on the plastic which is really the reason why fish eye's occur. If you don't have an air compressor then get some of the duster cans from fry's/best buy/electronics/staples/or even walmart type stores and blow of any dust before painting.

[Lil Abner]

Originally Posted by ragingSPAM

If you're going to paint the chrome parts, you might as well wet sand them down so the paint sticks. The chrome parts are extremely slick and the paint over time may eventually flake off, doing some wet sanding with 1000 grit then to 1500 grit should do the trick of allowing the paint to stick to it.

Before you spray it and after its been sanded, get some wax and grease remover from auto zone or any auto parts store and go over the housing with a clean rag. it'll remove any oils/dirt that my have gotten on the plastic which is really the reason why fish eye's occur. If you don't have an air compressor then get some of the duster cans from fry's/best buy/electronics/staples/or even walmart type stores and blow of any dust before painting.

For the sanding, you actually shouldn't use 1000 grit sand paper. I always sand everything down with 220 grit, then spray a coat of primer. The primer will grab the surface, and will give a smooth look. Sanding with 1000 grit will make the surface too smooth for anything to stick. You can also use etching primer.

The rest, with the oil/wax remover is a must!!

[zAnSh1n]

Originally Posted by Lil Abner

spray a coat of primer.

this.

[ragingSPAM]

On an already smooth surface i usually start with 600 grit to prep for paint but it depends on the material, and yes primer is definitely a must!

I think 220 may be a bit coarse so it may cause visible sand scratches (not much but visible) if you start with 220 then prime it, then 600 before paint it'll probably work out great. Yea i got a little ahead of myself with the 1000/1500 grit, that is more for color sand and polishing