Ebized Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Useful guide there Ross - pinned the thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R35LEE Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Love these! Awesome work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 Bit more painting. The colour is BMW Sparkling Graphite. The red parts are the lens holders which will hopefully show through the shroud once assembled. Hopefully be a nice touch. Still to pick the colour for the shrouds, so they are still in primer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Red shrouds look good on dark cars If you want something more subtle then how about a patterned hydro dip? Carbon fibre or something. It won't be noticed by most but will give that added attention to detail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacky Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Brilliant work. Love it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 (edited) Red shrouds look good on dark cars If you want something more subtle then how about a patterned hydro dip? Carbon fibre or something. It won't be noticed by most but will give that added attention to detail I had considered the hydro dipping, but wasn't too sure where to get it done. Carbon would have looked alright too, got carbon spoiler, front splitter and spats for the car. Thinking a colour inbetween the standard silver and the Sparkling Graphite. Then may do the door handles to match. Trip to halfords tomorrow after work i think! Edited December 15, 2014 by ross27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 A few guys on here do hydro dipping Ricey has started and there is a pro trader as well. I forget the name 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstraw Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Mate looking good!! Can't wait to see the car when your done. I think it will easily be up there with one of the best in the club. Very tasteful mods you have there. The cf parts wil look great on your car colour. Give me a shout when your free. Would love to see how the wing looks before I take the plunge! Maybe I will also convince you to get a cf fang cover to go with the evo R lip you got. They look great together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 Cheers guys. I had enquired about Hydro Dipping the shrouds, but felt it would make the lights too dark for my liking. Instead i spent 10 minutes in Halfords trying to choose the right colour. I went for Rover Gunmetal in the end, and im fairly happy with it. Would have likes it a touch lighter but im not going to change it. Probably a similar colour/shade to the carbon to be honest. Gave them a couple coats of paint tonight, and will rub down and lacquer tomorrow. Wanting these to be a contrasting gloss finish against the rest of the housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIXXERUK Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Awesome work, looking forward to the finished set up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshC Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 (edited) That's the perfect colour for them, funnily enough I've used Rover gunmetal before and still have a can of it in the flat. Oddly though I used it to restore a decoration for my flat You should definitely looking at doing something similar to your other set of headlights once these are done and offer it as a service to people here with the exchange option, that way you can keep doing them if you feel like! I'm sure it could be a very nice money spinner Edited December 17, 2014 by JoshC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 17, 2014 Author Share Posted December 17, 2014 That's the perfect colour for them, funnily enough I've used Rover gunmetal before and still have a can of it in the flat. Oddly though I used it to restore a decoration for my flat You should definitely looking at doing something similar to your other set of headlights once these are done and offer it as a service to people here with the exchange option, that way you can keep doing them if you feel like! I'm sure it could be a very nice money spinner It would be a nice wee hobby on the side. I used to weld up stainless decat pipes for the Mazda MPS forum. Made about 20 or so before i got fed up! The hard thing about this is that i am not a painter, not an electrician, so i wouldnt feel right charging people a pretty penny for a non proffessional job. However with that said, i do take my time with things and if it aint 100% for me, i'll re do it. I'll see how this set go and take it from there. Finding the time is the hardest part! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 Glossed the shrouds, and painted the front badge to match them. Just waiting to dry, then i can reassemble and get the wiring sorted. Painted the inner ring of the indicator shroud red to match the main headlight shroud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 Going back together. Think i will black out the reflector behind the indicator bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Brilliant job there, well done! Inspiring me to do the same sort of thing to the 350 lights. Are you usung a laquer on top of the final coats, or is it primer then top coat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 20, 2014 Author Share Posted December 20, 2014 Brilliant job there, well done! Inspiring me to do the same sort of thing to the 350 lights. Are you usung a laquer on top of the final coats, or is it primer then top coat? Only used laquer on the shrouds where i wanted a gloss finish. Just the wiring to do now, hopefully have them finished early next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstraw Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Looks fab!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davectr Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Fantastic work there Ross. Followed a lot of write ups on the U.S. Forums last year on this subject but never had the bottle to give it a go. Watching your progress with interest 👠Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 Wiring in the units now sorted. Just got to give them a final clean (finger prints all over the bloody lenses) then reassemble. Not sure i'll get a chance to get them on the car before christmas though.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parello9 Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Awesome now can i send you mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbonesmcgee Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Very nice work, I will be doing mine after Christmas. I thought those were the retrofit source rings to start with, but I see you are able to dim them? Are you using a controller for that or is it a function of the rings? Cheers, Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 (edited) Very nice work, I will be doing mine after Christmas. I thought those were the retrofit source rings to start with, but I see you are able to dim them? Are you using a controller for that or is it a function of the rings? Cheers, Dan I bought a wireless controller, so i can control the brightness of the lights. It also allows you to cycle through various modes, with different dimming/strobe effects. It was just a cheapo from eBay, but i opened it up and soldered it into my wiring. The receiver is inside one headlight, so my plan is to take power from the sidelight on one side, into the headlamp, then run a cable across to the other from the receiver. With it being RF, it doesnt even need to be visible to the remote. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371062532812 Edited December 22, 2014 by ross27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbonesmcgee Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Ah right, thats a handy wee thing to know about. I am toying with the idea of installing LED strips in my house and I wanted a remote dimmer without having to point it like a TV remote (which most are). Cheers! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ross27 Posted December 24, 2014 Author Share Posted December 24, 2014 Finally got round to sealing these back up. First off i got the heat gun, and softened up the existing glue. Once warm i worked it back into the groove, as when i split the lights, it left a distinct channel where the lens sat. A nice smooth bead all round should allow the lens to re seal itself again. Anywhere it looked thin, or i knew a fair amount came off on the lens, i added in a small amount of butyl glue. In total, i used a 2-3mm diamater bead of glue all round, just to be safe. Before: After: Then for re assembling, i again got the heat gun and softened up the glue in the channel, then loosely applied the lens back on. Next i took headlamp and placed it in my makeshift oven, and heated it up for about 15 mins each. This is the same process i used for opening the lights, and it works surprisingly well. All sealed up: And a hint at what else i have been up to with the car: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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