blackened DRLs
 

Howdy y'all, today I tinted the DRLs on my '13 BRZ. My goal was to match as close as possible the tint on the smoked side markers. My final result was much darker, but I actually think it looks nice and blends in when the DRLs are off. So, with that said, onward with the pics and the DIY!

Tools needed:
10mm socket & 1/2" ratchet
flat head screw driver to pry off push latches
phillips bit for screw latches
2000 grit wet sand paper
blue painters tape
gloss clear coat spray paint
VHT Nite-Shades
wax
micro fiber applicator pads
microfiber cloth
dishwasher detergent
rubbing alcohol or paint thinner (I used rubbing alcohol)
Attachment 52166

So first thing I needed to do was to remove the DRLs from the front cover, which unfortunately means removing the front cover. To do this, I followed steps 1-9 from @DarrenDriven's DIY on blacking out the FR-S headlights @ http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8788

Once the cover is off, each DRL is attached to the cover via two nut/washers tightened on studs. You can see these studs on the DRLs pictured below.
Attachment 52165
Attachment 52163

Once the DRLs are detached, the fun begins.
Step 1: In order for paint to adhere to the DRLs it was necessary to rough up the DRLs with a light sanding. Using a little detergent on the wet sand paper, I sanded the DRLs until they were cloudy. *Clean with the rubbing alcohol or paint thinner to ensure surface is clean prior to painting!*

Step 2: Then I masked off the parts I was not interested in painting with painters tape; to exercise an overabundance of caution I also covered with painters tape the plugs and foglight bulb assembly that are attached to the DRLs and not detachable.
Attachment 52167

Step 3: I went to a well ventilated area with no wind, in my case my empty garage with the door up, and applied one coat of VHT Night-Shades. Maybe I was too heavy handed or else Night-Shades are dark as all get out, but one coat made the DRLs look black, not smoked. As it turns out, I actually like the look of them blacked out instead of smoked.

Step 4: I should have waited an hour and then done a light sanding before adding clear coat, but I didn't. I applied four coats of Rustoleum Ultra Cover Gloss Clear. Then I let them sit for an hour. Below is a picture after this step.
Attachment 52168

Step 5:*Before polishing, make sure to do a light sanding with little to no pressure with the 2000 grit wet sand paper until the entire surface is cloudy!* I applied a LIBERAL amount of polish on the applicator and went to town on those DRLs. After buffing out the polish they had a nice shine to them, if when you attempt this (at your own risk), if your DRLs are still cloudy after polishing, then just repeat this step until they have a nice shine.

Step 6: Reattach everything is reverse order to how you detached everything in the beginning.
Attachment 52171
Attachment 52172

And for SnG's here is a pic of C'thulhu running around naked.Attachment 52173

9/26/13 Edit: I forgot to mention a couple small, but crucial steps to make sure your DRL's come out smooth and shiny!

My final thoughts are:
1) I should have built with blocks a better holder for the DRLs while I was painting, the coats were not very even.
2) I think I also have a trigger finger that is about as heavy as my right foot, the coats seemed awfully thick.
3) I am glad I did this on my DRLs before attempting my tails. I would punch myself if the tails had noticeable imperfections.

How do they look when they are on? I like how it looks in your pictures.

- AdrianG

Looks cool. I'm also curious about how the DRLs look when lit up.

They look like they've lost about 10-20% brightness.

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Wow this looks awesome. Good work man. I'll definitely be doing this!

They look like they output a good amount of light after being blackout. nice work.

It looks nice from a distance, but don't look too closely. I guess that is the down side to knowing where you could have done better. Thanks for the compliments! :)

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Looks great! I've always felt the DRL's were a little too bright anyways.

Ia! ia! cthulhu fhtagn!

FYI, I forgot part of step 5, please see the red text before attempting this on your own! LOL and I just found another step I missed. All edits will be highlighted in red so you can see what I updated

:offtopic:

So I was curious if it would adversely affect the performance of the car to remove those two abnormal looking growths off the intake tube and just plug them? I presume they just act to silence the car?

The snorkel? Most just remove it... I don't think it hurts it. I could be wrong, but most aftermarket intakes dont connect back into that. They will restrict airflow a bit. Just my $0.02

I am planning to install the TRD intake which afaik connects to the oem snorkel. So that would be my reasoning for modding that.

Even still, I don't think it will hurt it to remove it. The MAF is another story, but taking the snorkel off so it can breathe better should be ok. At least thats what I gather from reading from other threads about it. I am planning on doing the PERRIN intake. Theirs is clean and looks good. Check them out.

I was originally planning on the Perrin intake, but you have to remove the front cover every time you want to clean the filter and the TRD intake has apparently seen better gains in NA; I am not going FI with my BRZ.

I think it turned out really cool. I'm surprised more guys aren't tinting these yellow, seems to be a popular thing among other Subaru car owners

I see you shop for your salt and pepper at Costco:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...8&d=1380064534

Lol

Nick C.

Guilty as charged!

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Is there a way to remove the drls without taking off the whole bumper? I'd really like to avoid that lol.

I'm glad this was brought back.. I haven't thought to do my DRLs. Next project fasho.

looks good! nice touch to it

Looks good!!