cstefanic Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 I didn't think I was pressing too hard, but I guess it's too late for that. The chrome flaked in areas on both the turn signal reflector and the ring. I may try to re-chrome them with some paint, but we'll see. All things considered, though, the flat black I used on the rest looks fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golf4283 Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Blacked out my '08 headlights last weekend. here's the post with all the pics. http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91754 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstefanic Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Has anyone had success re-painting your chrome parts? I can't find a true 'chrome' paint and am at my wit's end with this project. My black part is perfect but I can't stand the flaked chrome on the 'monocle' and the turn signal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark34 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Depending on how much and where on the turn signal, paint it black, it will look good. Duplicolor has a chrome paint, based on past experience, their paints are usually pretty good and should work. I personally wonder how it would look if you painted the whole thing GRP. I color matched mine and think it looks better, but I do have a darker car (DGM). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstefanic Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I've looked into the Duplicolor paint, so that's probably the route I'll go down. I've also thought about going all GRP, but it'd be hard to get it to match perfectly. All black is another option, but to me it just makes the car look like it has cataracts. Chrome paint it is! I'll post pics when I finally get it done so others that have had this same problem can see that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark34 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Good luck! Hope it comes out. Can't wait to see the final results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whobaru Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Duplicolor has a chrome paint ...it's nothing like real chrome. Be warned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark34 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 ^ uh, yeah, I should have said that it is supposedly a chrome looking paint. I have never used it so I don't know how it will come out, but am assuming it will look pretty close to the chrome he's trying to replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstefanic Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Hey, anything's better than the 'metallic silver' paint I've used on projects before. The paint people are like, 'yea, it's really chrome looking!' and then all I get is just what it says: a grey-silver paint with some mild glisten to it. Now that I'm thinking about it, how would Subaru chrome the inside of the headlights? They've got to use some sort of paint, wouldn't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstefanic Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 I just finished with the whole project. Summation: -USE REALLY DELICATE TAPE. Flaking chrome is a pain in the a$$ to try to fix. -If you ruin the chrome, there is no such thing as 'chrome' paint. -Duplicolor 'chrome' paint works and is shiny, but nothing near original. -HOWEVER, if you do have to repaint the chrome, the Duplicolor paint gives the turn signals a really satin look to them. I almost like it more than the chrome flash. -Bumper pop-its suck. I'll post pictures tomorrow. It was a hell of a project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GINge Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Alclad Chrome might work. Its kind of a delicate finish, but since it will be behind the clear plastic lens, it should be OK. You would need an airbrush to apply it ($10 from Harbour Frieght or Princess Auto) http://www.alclad2.com/lacquer_colors_closeup.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstefanic Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Well, here's the pictures. I think it looks pretty sweet now and I'd recommend it to anyone. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3251/2665897961_5a554c1325_b.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2666713616_e6532c7f51_b.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark34 Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Lookin' good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazin2000 Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92119 blacked out my lights and cleared them yesterday on my '08.....check it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckrieg Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 I'm having one hell of a time removing the amber from the clear/silver reflector thing haha. Can anyone give me some advice? Do I need to remove the metal bracket first? or remove the grey insert out of the clear/silver reflector thing first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckrieg Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 nevermind, I got it. Ended up removing the metal and then the amber incase anyone else is wondering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckrieg Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Cleared and painted headlights, repainted bumper, repainted and installed new grill. Ended up taking WAY longer than I had originially expected Before: http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/1110/img4643yj7.jpg After: http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/8268/img5340xr7.jpg http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/4961/img5337nv8.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkl303 Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks for posting the pictures. I was $hitting in my pants when I saw some of my chrome pull off. Looks pretty good so I think I'll try that and if I dont like it luckily I have another set of headlights. Well, here's the pictures. I think it looks pretty sweet now and I'd recommend it to anyone. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3251/2665897961_5a554c1325_b.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2666713616_e6532c7f51_b.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cstefanic Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Thanks for posting the pictures. I was in my pants when I saw some of my chrome pull off. Looks pretty good so I think I'll try that and if I dont like it luckily I have another set of headlights. Hey, no problem. What I found, though, is that I actually like the look of the 'satin' chrome that the chrome paint gave. So in my case, what I really did was sand the chrome on the monocle thing and spray it with the chrome paint without the black protected. That then made a majority of the light this satin chrome, so after it had dried well, I took some of the good delicate tape and taped the monocle and turn signal off like I did when the project started and then sprayed everything else black. That all ensured that I had no overspray on the black if I just tried to chrome the monocle and signal after everything's been blackened from the first try. Hope that makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkl303 Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Yeah the black space around the monocle was give me a lot of grief last night when I was trying to tape it up so I just oversprayed and will cover up the moncle and repaint black later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRSCobra Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 I tried it this weekend. Used the sensitive blue painter's tape, and I stuck the tape to other surfaces to make it even less sticky before applying it. One word: DISASTER The first light came out okay, with only some of the chrome removed from the turn signal area and a tiny speck from the projector ring. But the second one was a different story. As soon as the tape touched the chrome, I removed it to reposition and it stripped the chrome right off! So I used chrome spray paint over the whole inner housing. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a204/TRSCobra/IMG_0476.jpg And then masked the ring off again, to repaint the rest black. I tested in several areas to make sure the tape wouldn't rip off the "chrome" that was only a few hours dry. http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a204/TRSCobra/IMG_0478.jpg As you can see, that effort proved fruitless, also. I'm just going to go over the whole thing in black. I can't have my car down for a week for something as trivial as blacking out the headlights! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark34 Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 That blue masking tape sucks! I've even had problems with it on house paint, what it's meant for. Hope it comes out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckrieg Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 weird...I had NO problems at all! I used the 3M low stick blue painters tape... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whobaru Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Maybe people need to use the Scotch brand. I had no problems. Here's my materials: http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x312/kagenmateer/IMG_2712.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whobaru Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 This is all taped up: http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x312/kagenmateer/IMG_2726-1.jpg ...and after peeling: http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x312/kagenmateer/IMG_2731resized.jpg I wonder if ambient temperature has anything to do with it. I did mine in the winter, so it was pretty cold in the garage. Maybe one should be sure the chrome is well cooled down after the light comes out of the oven. This would make the chrome less porous so the tape wouldn't stick to it as well. Cold tape is probably a good idea too. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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