PDA

View Full Version : Coloring the Bumper Reflectors (with Pics)



esmith13
08-15-2002, 07:38 PM
Here are my newly "stained" bumper reflectors for my black Si.

I used a non-toxic permenant Glass Stain I purchaced at an A.C. Moore arts and crafts store where I live in Philly, PA. I paid about $1.29 for a 1 oz. bottle (which I used half of to do all four lenses -- two coats each. It's Kelly's brand Glass stain #618-Black (if anyone cares). The pictures below are of the stained lenses after I was done before installation.

If anyone wants, I can post pictures of them installed in the day and how they still glow sorta red and orange at night (enough to stay legal). You could always of course take out the bulbs and have no color at night (salt to taste).

Lemme know and I'll post pictures this weekend -- I just finished and they have to dry overnight....

esmith13
08-15-2002, 07:38 PM
Picture 2...

esmith13
08-15-2002, 07:39 PM
Picture 3...

esmith13
08-15-2002, 07:41 PM
If you look good on Picture 3, the flash was bright enough to see the red in the lense through the black stain.

This is the same principal as the eyebrows for most cars...

Black plastic that lets light pass through without affecting color -- Just brightness.

In normal light they look like I painted them opaque black!! :D

Febrezee
08-15-2002, 07:42 PM
I LIKE!!!!!!!!

HondaMan
08-15-2002, 07:43 PM
Ah, coolness. Looking forward to seeing them on your car. :)

SBC31
08-16-2002, 06:58 AM
Looks good, but my car is Silver. (do they make a silver stain?)

Don't forget to post pics of them on the car.

fishboy
08-16-2002, 10:06 AM
yeah my car is silver too. those would look damn sweet on a black car though.

esmith13
08-16-2002, 11:08 AM
They do make a flat grey and a metallic silver stain.
I would think more coats are required for the grey or silver to mask the red and orange. Silver metallic is a little more opaque, and I think it will match your cars perfectly!

These stains are waterbased, and work exactly like watercolors. They make over 50 colors and at least 6 metallic stains. They can be mixed to create colors and there is a special bottle of thinner they sell if anything is too thick for a certain use (like if you WANT to see the red through the Silver).

I say go for it!!

All my friends think mine look great!! And I'm still legal at night!!

esmith13
08-16-2002, 03:59 PM
The final picts.....

Here is a pic without the lights on...

esmith13
08-16-2002, 04:00 PM
With lights on... Front orange bumper lense...

esmith13
08-16-2002, 04:01 PM
With lights on... Rear red bumper lense...

esmith13
08-16-2002, 04:02 PM
With lights on at night... Front orange bumper lense...

esmith13
08-16-2002, 04:02 PM
With lights on at night... Rear red bumper lense...

HondaMan
08-16-2002, 07:49 PM
Looking good!

DownTheHatch
08-16-2002, 08:00 PM
Thats the best idea yet, I wish I knew about that stuff when I did mine :) I guess I'll buy new ones and do that to them :)

You get an A+ for your hard work!

CgSi
08-16-2002, 08:39 PM
Looks good !
I just painted my front markers gloss black and took out the bulbs. I had done the same on my Celica for 2 years. No problems with the cops

SBC31
08-17-2002, 07:05 AM
That is some exellent work my friend. I'm off to the craft store to see about silver stain.

How do you like the full nose bra for you car. I personally find that bras end up scratching your car, but then again that's just me.

Again, excellent work with the lenses, I hope I can paint mine silver.

esmith13
08-17-2002, 09:03 AM
I like the look of the full nose bra over the half nose. I really had no choice tho, I do alot of highway driving to work and there's always construction... Where there's construction -- there's rocks... Where there's rocks -- there's paint chips...

Honda seems to have soft paint, I know alot of honda drivers that tend to agree there cars chip easier than any other they have had....

Anyhoo, I'm glad you all approve of my work. I am very happy with it myself.

I am actually wondering now if the clear ones come out, should I put them on clear -- or should I smoke them black and use clear or colored bulbs....

Probably just put them on clear... but I wonder.....

X 2KS2K
08-24-2002, 04:29 PM
nice work, profile looks nice and clean now. i just went by my local ac moore store to pick up some silver metallic and they didn't have the stuff :( anyway, is it weatherproof? If not, did you clearcoat it?

esmith13
08-25-2002, 05:17 PM
It essentially dries into a permenant layer of plastic... exactly like what the side marker is made of in the first place.

I took a drive this weekend up to the mountains in Altoona, PA.

The rain was so bad I thought it was going to dent my car.

The sidemarkers still look perfect and have a hard glassy sheen to them. They are even slightly reflective (mirror like), just like when you can see yourself in a freshly waxed black car.

Sorry you couldn't find metallic silver in that brand...

Did you walk to both the Window Sun Catchers section and the actuall Stained Glass art sections of the store???

Different brands of glass stain are available in each... Some dry like peelable rubber, some like permenant layer of plastic (which is what you want)

X 2KS2K
08-26-2002, 06:04 AM
Actually, I couldn't find the stuff at all, in any color. I asked one of the employees to help me out, and she tried to hook me up with silver metallic paint and some kind of stuff to mix it with to make it less opaque :(

I'll have to go check the other ac moore. Maybe I'll have better luck there.

Thanks for the info on the weather resistance. Stuff sounds great, I hope I can track some down.

!@#$%
08-29-2002, 07:04 PM
nice DIY

NamingException
09-10-2002, 03:51 PM
If you decide to try this, definitely look for the glass stain that he's referring to. I'm in the middle of trying to do this with transparent black glass paint, which is proving... difficult. It looks like it's going to be many thin coats. I hope it doesn't come out looking horrible. How much would new bumper lights cost if does? I'll post some pics when I'm done.

NamingException
09-10-2002, 08:45 PM
Alright, I think they didn't come out too horrible. The acid test is when I put them on the car, of course. I'm hoping they're transparent enough so that you can see them while they're on during the day. I think I'm hoping for too much.

NamingException
09-10-2002, 08:46 PM
Here's one with the flash on.

CleanBlackSi02
09-22-2002, 12:32 PM
I have to say that I DO like my nighthawk black painted reflectors better. These are definitely better than stock though....

natesi
09-26-2002, 07:04 PM
Originally posted by esmith13
I like the look of the full nose bra over the half nose. I really had no choice tho, I do alot of highway driving to work and there's always construction... Where there's construction -- there's rocks... Where there's rocks -- there's paint chips...

Honda seems to have soft paint, I know alot of honda drivers that tend to agree there cars chip easier than any other they have had....

I just got a clear layer of acrylic over the entire front end of my car, rather than a bra. I think you should check into it. That bra will do lots of damage to your car over the years and are a pain in the butt to take on and off all the time, clean, etc. I know from experience.

I had a "kit" installed which does the front bumper, headlights, hood, mirrors, part of the front fenders, edge of doors, and I had them custom make a piece for the rear bumper so it doesn't get scratched when I slide stuff in and out.

There's really no maintenace to it; you just treat it like you would the paint. You can't relly tell it's on, except for the edges where you see a line. It's designed to last 7 or 8 years, but I would think if you take care of it it will last longer.

For everything, I paid $635. Sounds spendy but I plan on having the car 10 years or more. So for me it's worth it. 3M makes the material and you can peel it off at any time--you just have to warm it up to a certian temp first (let it sit in the sun should work_).

The cool part is i can jump in the car and take off down the freeway at any time without having to worry about putting a bra on. I like that.

natesi
09-26-2002, 07:07 PM
Oh yea, if anyone does their parking light silver, I'd really like to see pics!!! I'm thinking about doing it.

SiCivic2k2
09-28-2002, 01:22 AM
Looks good. I just painted mine silver and took out the bulbs.

natesi
09-28-2002, 08:07 AM
Originally posted by SiCivic2k2
Looks good. I just painted mine silver and took out the bulbs.

pics???

SiCivic2k2
09-29-2002, 12:00 AM
Pics are at this website.

http://groups.msn.com/CoolSi/shoebox.msnw

natesi
09-29-2002, 12:25 AM
Originally posted by SiCivic2k2
Pics are at this website.

http://groups.msn.com/CoolSi/shoebox.msnw

Looks good; thanks