Coloring the Bumper Reflectors (with Pics)

[DownTheHatch]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[!@#$%]

nice DIY

[NamingException]

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]

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]

Here's one with the flash on.

[CleanBlackSi02]

I have to say that I DO like my nighthawk black painted reflectors better. These are definitely better than stock though....

[natesi]

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]

Oh yea, if anyone does their parking light silver, I'd really like to see pics!!! I'm thinking about doing it.

[SiCivic2k2]

Looks good. I just painted mine silver and took out the bulbs.