Masking when painting headlights black

[BillNick]

Hi all,

I plan to open up my 2008 IS250 headlights to paint the chrome plastic internal surround in satin black.

We all love the 2012 facelift headlights, including me. However I simply don't have £1000+ to get them and retrofit.

So I was thinking, to keep my headlights looking OEM and trying hard to emulate the 2012 headlights, I was going to attempt to mask off 15-20mm of the leading edge of chrome that surrounds the projector. If this leading edge is left chrome, it would give the illusion that a shroud is fitted to the projector sitting in an otherwise satin black housing - same as the OEM 2012 headlights.

Seems plausible right? Well, I think the key to getting this right will be my skills masking off this 'dummy shroud' area which will not be easy.

Just wanted everyone's thoughts and any tips for masking in such detail would be highly appreciated, two pics below for comparison so you can see what I mean.

Any skilled bodyshop professionals offer their opinion? I would be willing to pay a profession do this for me if they think they can do a better job than an amateur like me?

[rayaans]

Id use plastidip personally. Reason being that its removable and all you have to do is peel it away if you dont like it. I believe other companies also do a gloss version

[BillNick]

Hmmm didn't think of that.

Are you thinking vinyl wrap the surround in black and trim off the area around the projector that I want to keep chrome?

Thing is I can't afford for the wrap to be too thick as it could cause problems when refitting.....

[Linas.P]

Pastidip (or similar products) would be much easier to apply than vinyl. Actually, I don't think it would be possible to cover the lamp inside with vinyl.

The question is - what about heat? would Plastidip hold it (or even a paint)? Have you considered that Xenons get hot?

[BillNick]

I painted my IS200 headlights in a similar fashion using only a Halfords can and it held fine (I had aftermarket xenons fitted and used them for over 5 years).

I am not keen with wrapping of any kind really. I think there is a chance it would bubble or something in the heat. Plus I have tried and tested simple automotive paint in the past, just not sure I have the skill to mask it off properly the way I want to......

[rayaans]

22 minutes ago, Billnick said:

I painted my IS200 headlights in a similar fashion using only a Halfords can and it held fine (I had aftermarket xenons fitted and used them for over 5 years).

I am not keen with wrapping of any kind really. I think there is a chance it would bubble or something in the heat. Plus I have tried and tested simple automotive paint in the past, just not sure I have the skill to mask it off properly the way I want to......

Plastidip is fairly resilient. It comes in a can like a spray paint and it dries to leave a peelable film

I believe it can handle serious heat - after all, it gets put on wheels and someone did a test with a heatgun and it handled up to 300 degrees

[BillNick]

Ok sounds interesting.....how easy is the peeling off after its set? Do you think with a decent knife I could cut and peel the area I want to keep chrome?

Will the chrome underneath be affected in anyway? Struggling to see how the plastidip sticks to one bit nicely, but peel-able from another?

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, Billnick said:

Ok sounds interesting.....how easy is the peeling off after its set? Do you think with a decent knife I could cut and peel the area I want to keep chrome?

Will the chrome underneath be affected in anyway? Struggling to see how the plastidip sticks to one bit nicely, but peel-able from another?

The chrome will not be affected... it actually can be used to protect paint (as any other film).

It is easy to peel if you have applied enough layers. I believe 3-4 are recommended. Check youtube - there are a lot of video and tutorials, it is much easier to apply than actual paint and most importantly you always have option to go back to what you started with.

 

[BillNick]

..........and the chrome will be good as new underneath once peeled?

[Linas.P]

2 minutes ago, Billnick said:

..........and the chrome will be good as new underneath once peeled?

If the chrome is good condition it will be same after peeling the wrap of.. 

[BillNick]

Thanks very much for your replies. I shall get onto youtube do some research.

[BillNick]

On 24 May 2016 at 10:42 AM, rayaans said:

Plastidip is fairly resilient. It comes in a can like a spray paint and it dries to leave a peelable film

I believe it can handle serious heat - after all, it gets put on wheels and someone did a test with a heatgun and it handled up to 300 degrees

Plastidip guarantee resilience up to 93 degrees C

How hot do you think the insides of the OEM HID head lights get?