DIY: Headlamp Bezel Painting (Maruti Swift)

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by ACMohan

This is how my car looks now.
Attachment 946640

Neat . I love the outcome!!.
You have used the masking tape very well. When you said you had to sand the surface, how much did you mean? Did you have to get the surface completely roughed up?

[ACMohan]

Thanks Sumeshmani.
I just rubbed it softly with fine grit sand paper.

[abhipuru16]

My Fiesta comes with this from the factory (1.6S). :P

[goandude]

Hey, nice job. Car looks mean.
few queries..
Is taking the bumper off an easy job?
You have 2 roots horns added, in addition to the OE ones. Did you use another relay?
What air filter do you use, it is not OE.

[ACMohan]

Originally Posted by goandude

Hey, nice job. Car looks mean.
few queries..
Is taking the bumper off an easy job?
You have 2 roots horns added, in addition to the OE ones. Did you use another relay?
What air filter do you use, it is not OE.

Thanks goandude.
Removing the bumper is an easy process, if you have the right tools.
Those horns where added long back when I bought the car. Fitted that from the Maruti Suzuki Dealer at the time of purchase. There must be a separate relay.
I use GC Wind Filter( with dynamisation kit).

Cheers

[Eminenttismo]

Thanks ACMohan, I've been dreaming of doing this on my car but never had the courage to. Your car looks "terrific"!

Can you please elaborate how you opened the seal? It's the only thing bothering me.

Thanks for the detailed pics.

[ACMohan]

Thanks Eminenttismo.
Heat the gum till it becomes soft. You will be able to see the silicone gum melting. Temperature of about 300degrees is enough, I suppose.
Care should be taken not to melt the headlamp (glass). Or we can use an oven.
The back cover is removed using a flat tip screw driver and pulling the two parts apart.
And the reflector will usually be screwed on to the glass (2 screws in my case).

Cheers

[aa_asif]

Originally Posted by ACMohan

Thanks goandude.
Removing the bumper is an easy process, if you have the right tools.
Those horns where added long back when I bought the car. Fitted that from the Maruti Suzuki Dealer at the time of purchase. There must be a separate relay.
I use GC Wind Filter( with dynamisation kit).

Cheers

BRAVO!! One needs to have the courage, talent, dedication, passion and of course right tools, facility and space to do this.

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

I also got the headlamps smoked few months back for my Ritzy , though it was not DIY , the paint looks fine till date, don't see any issues with it .So i dont think you will have to worry about it .

I am really tempted !! Guess you got this done from Bangalore itself, Please please guide me to this place.

[audioholic]

How do you ensure that the lens of the headlamps do not get damaged using the hot-air gun? Also, while sealing it back, drying the housing and using an additional layer of silicon would help, to ensure there is no gap anywhere. Just my two cents.

One thing I am curious about is, these acrylic based sprays take some time to harden up. I do clear coat finishes for mobile panels etc, but they dont dry so quickly. Offcourse they are touch dry within minutes but they take days to cure. I have found that keeping the parts in direct sunlight will help speed up the process. But as you have sealed them back early, I think they will start emitting chemicals, which may remain in the headlamp assembly. After sometime, please remove the bulb and indicator, blow hot air into the assembly to remove these vapours.

[Schoudhury]

Originally Posted by aa_asif

I am really tempted !! Guess you got this done from Bangalore itself, Please please guide me to this place.

Yup, got it done through fellow Bhpian Thouqeer, who has runs a store near sony world signal - Autofusion .

You can reach him @ 9845004858, keep in mind he is closed on sunday .
You can also check with sai colorium, bhpian RK Ramesh should be able to get it painted for you , but they don't open the lamps themselves, they usually get it done by someone else.

Hope it helps .
Cheers

[Visaster]

This gives me a great idea.
My 10yr old santro has eroding corners on the headlight.
This will be a great thing to do and give the car more character.
Thanks for good DIY, will try and get it done when the car goes for a full paint job.
Your car looks good.
Can you post better photo with right amount of lighting and no reflection?

The ritz looks mean. Nice tasty there.

[ACMohan]

Originally Posted by aa_asif

BRAVO!! One needs to have the courage, talent, dedication, passion and of course right tools, facility and space to do this.

Thanks aa_asif.

Originally Posted by audioholic

How do you ensure that the lens of the headlamps do not get damaged using the hot-air gun? Also, while sealing it back, drying the housing and using an additional layer of silicon would help, to ensure there is no gap anywhere. Just my two cents.

I have found that keeping the parts in direct sunlight will help speed up the process.After sometime, please remove the bulb and indicator, blow hot air into the assembly to remove these vapours.

I used a hot air gun. And I think, these lenses can withstand high temperatures (300 degrees or even more).

The headlamp is still water tight, I suppose. So if it leaks, then I would use another layer of silicone gum.I've dried the bezel by blowing hot air(at 50degree).
I will remove the vapors after some time.
Thanks for the valuable suggestion.

Originally Posted by Visaster

Thanks for good DIY, will try and get it done when the car goes for a full paint job.
Your car looks good.
Can you post better photo with right amount of lighting and no reflection?

Thanks Visaster. I'll post more clear photos later.
Eagerly waiting to see your Santro's headlamp painted.

[deetjohn]

Love it. Thanks for sharing ACMohan.

The effect will be even more spectacular in the 2011 Swift as the lights are quite BIG.

The Swift in the UK got black bezel from factory. They look special.

[ACMohan]

Painted the bezel's of my cousin's Indica on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Here are some pictures of it. All the steps are same.






First Coat

Final coat (3rd coat)



The final outcome. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

At Mods: I thought of posting this here,because there's no need for a new thread. Please change the name of thread or move it to appropriate thread, if needed.

[joshguy]

Originally Posted by ACMohan

.

Hi Can you let me know how to take off the headlights of the swift? mine has accumulated fine dust inside it.One looks brand new and other looks dull which is spoiling the look of the car

Please explain me with pics..i am afraid i would break it.