Smoking the headlight chrome
Donating Maxima.org Member
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 595
Originally Posted by NismoMax80
bronze lower would fit nicely, but he has the stillen waiting. so it wouldn't get noticed.
with a bronze main grille, the subtle lower bronze would be nice.
D-Max, if you were a donating member, i was going to give you "Batmobile" or "Night Rider" subtitle.
with a bronze main grille, the subtle lower bronze would be nice.
D-Max, if you were a donating member, i was going to give you "Batmobile" or "Night Rider" subtitle.
Originally Posted by Maxima617
does this match ur rims 
Deus I have to say the lights look sick! I'd be tempted to do mine but knowing me, I'd screw them up....I'll pay my body guy to do it. I think this would only work on darker color cars imo. I hate the look of the headlights on the new vette in Red/Burnt Orange etc....looks good on silver, white etc but certain colors are a no. Good job though, you have to post pics w/ the lights on.
deus- i photoshopped both black and bronze grilles for you. i also made two more of the black grille with both silver and bronze emblems, but i forgot to flatten them so i'll upload and post them some other time. i think the black looks really good, especially with a silver emblem. i posted these as links because they're fairly big, i'll change them to pics if anyone wants.
I posted this in the other thread because he asked for comments there, but here it is again. I love the look, it's much better that before (especially with the dark wheels). My only two criticisms are - I would have left the DRL lens clear and I think the Sarona Grill would look much better than the one you have on there now. I agree with leaving the orange marker, it looks better that way.
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,269
Originally Posted by southeast_first
deus- i photoshopped both black and bronze grilles for you. i also made two more of the black grille with both silver and bronze emblems, but i forgot to flatten them so i'll upload and post them some other time. i think the black looks really good, especially with a silver emblem. i posted these as links because they're fairly big, i'll change them to pics if anyone wants.
Maybe if it was an exact match to the rims, which this obviously isnt
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,353
From: Upland CA
Southeast: Thanks for the photoshopping!! Before I saw the photoshop pics, I was leaning toward the black grill over a bronze grill. I think a bronze grill isnt bad, but I like the black grill look better. The question is, do I powdercoat it or do I have it painted? If someone can photoshop a darker bronze on the grill to match the wheels, that would be more helpful. The bronze grill photoshopped now is much lighter than the wheels.
I liked the Sarona grill very much, but I heard Sarona has quality issues and it made me a bit nervous. This grill is not as bulky looking as the Sarona and it gives it more of a sports car feel. Again, another tough call. I can always get the Saona if I change my mind. I just hated the stock grill so much I needed to get rid of it.
It was a tough decision whether or not to paint the DRL lenses. I decided to paint them because it gives it more of a projector look, and they arent even used anyway. Since the paint is glossy with clear coat, it prolly doesnt make much of a difference anyway.
Condensation is something Im worried about. I waited until the lights were completely cooled off before I put them back together. Also, the was a bag of dessicant in the lights under the ballast. Dessicant is a moisture absorbing substance to dry out the air. The morning after I did the lights, it was very cold with moisture ON the lights, but none IN the lights. Looks good so far. Im waiting for a rainstorm or car washing to see if moisture appears.
Thanks for all comments and all your opinions!! I really do appreciate everything. Ill put together a narrative and all pictures and put them in the other thread for NISMO to make a sticky out of it. Keep comments and suggestions flowing.
I liked the Sarona grill very much, but I heard Sarona has quality issues and it made me a bit nervous. This grill is not as bulky looking as the Sarona and it gives it more of a sports car feel. Again, another tough call. I can always get the Saona if I change my mind. I just hated the stock grill so much I needed to get rid of it.
It was a tough decision whether or not to paint the DRL lenses. I decided to paint them because it gives it more of a projector look, and they arent even used anyway. Since the paint is glossy with clear coat, it prolly doesnt make much of a difference anyway.
Condensation is something Im worried about. I waited until the lights were completely cooled off before I put them back together. Also, the was a bag of dessicant in the lights under the ballast. Dessicant is a moisture absorbing substance to dry out the air. The morning after I did the lights, it was very cold with moisture ON the lights, but none IN the lights. Looks good so far. Im waiting for a rainstorm or car washing to see if moisture appears.
Thanks for all comments and all your opinions!! I really do appreciate everything. Ill put together a narrative and all pictures and put them in the other thread for NISMO to make a sticky out of it. Keep comments and suggestions flowing.
darker bronze grille (the grille will NEVER look as dark as the wheels in this pic because all the wheels are in shadow expcept for the trailing edge of the rear wheel):
black grille with silver emblem:
black grille with bronze emblem:
black grille with silver emblem:
black grille with bronze emblem:
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,353
From: Upland CA
Thanks for the photoshop work!! It is really helpful. The bronze emblem looks pretty good, but I still like the all black grill. The photoshop pic really looks good. Again, should I powdercoat or paint the grill? Whats the difference in cost?
By the way, we just got rain here in So Cal, so I will find out whether there will be condensation in the lights.
I plan on tinting the corner lights very soon too.
By the way, we just got rain here in So Cal, so I will find out whether there will be condensation in the lights.
I plan on tinting the corner lights very soon too.
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,353
From: Upland CA
I decided to go with an all black grill. Its getting powdercoated gloss black as we speak. Will be ready today and I have to re-rivet the plastic top back on, since powdercoating makes the part go through 400 degree temperature. Ill post pics if I get it on beofre sunset. I think it will look great.
oh no, what did i contribute to???? 
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,353
From: Upland CA
Im happy to report NO CONDENSATION!! Yeah!!! Always a concern whne u pop open the lights. Everything seems great. What a relief. Ill post a whole narrative on my soon-to-be-sticky this weekend with full pics and details of the project. Id love to see this project done to other colored cars with the trim painted body color (especially red). I know its bold, but thats how we make a statement with our cars.
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,353
From: Upland CA
You're welcome Nismo. My pleasure and I hope to see many more smoked headlights, especially other colors other than black. I saw a new Lexus SC430 in black today with black headlights. Awesome!!! Seems to be the new style in lights.
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,353
From: Upland CA
UPDATE: I have been noticing a haze on the inside of my headlights. Doesnt really look like consensation, but Im not sure what it is. I sure hope I dont have to open em up again. Its not that noticable, but it seems to be there. I thought maybe it was from the fumes from the paint.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 951
Originally Posted by DeusExMaxima
UPDATE: I have been noticing a haze on the inside of my headlights. Doesnt really look like consensation, but Im not sure what it is. I sure hope I dont have to open em up again. Its not that noticable, but it seems to be there. I thought maybe it was from the fumes from the paint.
Originally Posted by carcus
Sad to say that is what happened to my stock drivers side. The haze started forming from moisture, got real bad and cloudy. This was a non opened stock light at 4K miles. Dealer replaced it....had a bad seal. I hate to say it but it will probably get worse. Especially after heavy rains....and driving at night, with the moisture and the heat of the bulbs....not trying to bring you down Deus...but I think it will get worse. Love your mod though. I just have had issues before with bad seals and tail light issues. They can be a pain in the you know what and can be tough and tedious to fix. In other words....you might frusterated alot.
That's terrible. I suppose it COULD be fixed, with some effort. You could in theory build a big enough box out of plexiglass and turn it into a vacuum chamber and work in there... after you drain all the air out of the damn headlight and re-seal it well, there's no moisture to worry about. Shouldn't be expensive but it's probably gonna take some doing -- 1/4" plexi panels are only a few bucks at Home Depot, some glue and a heat gun and some grommets for the vacuum hose -- edit: and the gloves!
-- and you're all set.Hey, I didn't say it was gonna be easy...
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 4,269
Keep us posted deus, and as you know, a picture tells 1,000 words. Is there anywhere you can pop in some of those silca gel bags to suck up the moisture? Even so, if its leaking somewhere, i guess its not going to do anything. I see guys do retrofits of headlamps to get HID and they rip apart the housing and put it back together...They talk about putting the headlight in the oven to bake the seal..anyone ever hear of that? Im not suggesting thats appropriate in this situation with the new paint and all...
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 7,353
From: Upland CA
04Black: CHeck out my sticky on the How To section. I did bake my headlights in oven to open them.
Im not convinced that its moisture from leaking. There are no drops, just a slight haze, kind of like when you dont wipe your interior windows down for a few weeks. Ill keep you'll posted. I will also see if I can take accurate pics.
Im not convinced that its moisture from leaking. There are no drops, just a slight haze, kind of like when you dont wipe your interior windows down for a few weeks. Ill keep you'll posted. I will also see if I can take accurate pics.