DIY: Headlamp Bezel Painting (Maruti Swift)

[ACMohan]

I've painted the headlamp bezels of my Swifty in black. The pictures will explain this DIY. I'm a newbie here. Suggestions and comments are welcome.


The bumper was first removed.



Headlamp assemblies are removed.


I used hot air gun to soften the silicon gum and a screw driver to open the assy.


The bezel was screwed on to the case with two screws and they were removed.


Bezels were cleaned and rubbed using fine grit sand paper. Indicator reflector was masked (using masking tape). And the first coat was given.


After the second coat.


After the third coat.


Headlamp assy. resealed by melting the existing silicon gum.
And it looks like this.


This is the Hot Air Gun, I used.


And here's the Spray can.

Thanks

[libranof1987]

How is the end result like?

Also, due to the assembly being painted black, do you notice any loss in illumination? (I believe the assembly would play a small part in reflection)

[ACMohan]

This is how my car looks now.


Didn't notice any loss in illumination. But of course, there will be some loss in reflected light. But not too much, I suppose.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by ACMohan

This is how my car looks now.
Attachment 946640

Didn't notice any loss in illumination. But of course, there will be some loss in reflected light. But not too much, I suppose.

Not at all a bad job. But can you post an un-processed closer look of your headlights? Can give us guys a better idea on the end output.

Also any changes done to the rear lights? I feel they'll really come out with the above/similar setups!

[srishiva]

Great work. Can you post the headlight without reflections?
Guess the loss will be minuscule and there might be a reason why you see such things on projectors or reflectors that are ahead of such areas.
Hope they are still water tight !

[97_Octane]

Very nicely done ACMohan! Gives a meaner look to the car.
I don't think there should be any difference in illumination since the reflectors have not been altered right?

[ACMohan]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Not at all a bad job. But can you post an un-processed closer look of your headlights? Can give us guys a better idea on the end output.
Also any changes done to the rear lights? I feel they'll really come out with the above/similar setups!

Thanks ninjatalli. Here's another picture, unprocessed one.
And nothing is done on rear lights.

Originally Posted by srishiva

Great work. Can you post the headlight without reflections?
Guess the loss will be minuscule and there might be a reason why you see such things on projectors or reflectors that are ahead of such areas.
Hope they are still water tight !

Yeah, Still water tight (I hope ).

[ryan_wheelz]

WOW ! they look amazing,the alloys go really well with the headlamps !

How much time did it take you ? & can a hair blower be used as an option in place of the hot air gun.


This kind of job will cost around 1500 bucks here .

Plz post some more pics taken in the shade.

Thanks for sharing.

Rgds
Ryan

[dZired]

Thats a great job done. Gives a masculine look to the swift.
Kindly post some more pics without any reflections on the headlamps clicked preferably from the height of the bonnet.
I am quite concerned though that the headlamps may have a leakage now.

[keyur]

Originally Posted by ACMohan

I've painted the headlamp bezels of my Swifty in black. The pictures will explain this DIY. I'm a newbie here. Suggestions and comments are welcome.

Bezels were cleaned and rubbed using fine grit sand paper. Indicator reflector was masked (using masking tape). And the first coat was given.

And here's the Spray can.

Hey, good job on that, but there is a possibility that you might have to open the lights all over again because the paint may start flaking off. There are 2 things that you should have done :

1. After the sanding, you should have used a plastic primer coat before the paint.

2. You should have used a high temp paint if possible.

I had tried similar stuff when fitting projectors onto a friend's car. The paint starts flaking off soon.
Also, since you have not put in projectors, the reflected light and hence hear will be a bit more in the painted area (as against projectors), so the paint will start flaking off.

So, you can either wait for a few days to see how it goes or take precautionary measures right away!

[ACMohan]

Originally Posted by 97_Octane

Very nicely done ACMohan! Gives a meaner look to the car.
I don't think there should be any difference in illumination since the reflectors have not been altered right?

Thank you 97_Octane.

Originally Posted by ryan_wheelz

WOW ! they look amazing,the alloys go really well with the headlamps !

How much time did it take you ? & can a hair blower be used as an option in place of the hot air gun.
This kind of job will cost around 1500 bucks here .
Plz post some more pics taken in the shade.

I don't know if a hair dryer can be used in place of hot air gun. Temperature of 300-400 degree is needed, I think.

Originally Posted by dZired

Thats a great job done. Gives a masculine look to the swift.
Kindly post some more pics without any reflections on the headlamps clicked preferably from the height of the bonnet.
I am quite concerned though that the headlamps may have a leakage now.

Thanks dZired. Yeah, will post the picture without reflections later.
I've driven the car in heavy rains after that. And still there's no leak.

Originally Posted by keyur

Hey, good job on that, but there is a possibility that you might have to open the lights all over again because the paint may start flaking off. There are 2 things that you should have done :

1. After the sanding, you should have used a plastic primer coat before the paint.

2. You should have used a high temp paint if possible.

So, you can either wait for a few days to see how it goes or take precautionary measures right away!

Thanks keyur for the valuable input.
I asked the same questions to the paint dealer and a local painter. They said that this paint is heat resistant and will not flake off. I even asked about the plastic primer, but they said there is no need for that.

So let's wait for some time and see whether it goes.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by keyur

Hey, good job on that, but there is a possibility that you might have to open the lights all over again because the paint may start flaking off. There are 2 things that you should have done :

1. After the sanding, you should have used a plastic primer coat before the paint.

2. You should have used a high temp paint if possible.

I had tried similar stuff when fitting projectors onto a friend's car. The paint starts flaking off soon.
Also, since you have not put in projectors, the reflected light and hence hear will be a bit more in the painted area (as against projectors), so the paint will start flaking off.

So, you can either wait for a few days to see how it goes or take precautionary measures right away!

I dont think he needs to worry.

Did the same thing a couple of months ago, with practically no sanding, and very el-cheapo paint, as was pointed out to me.
nothing's flaked off till now.

I think there was another BHPian who wanted to do this for his swift on my thread.
Will point him here,I think he'll be happy to hear of this.

[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 .

[ACMohan]

Originally Posted by mayankk

I dont think he needs to worry.

Did the same thing a couple of months ago, with practically no sanding, and very el-cheapo paint, as was pointed out to me.

The fiesta headlamp painting thread,right?
That was a source of inspiration for me.

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 .

The headlamp looks nice. How much you have paid for that?
And did they use any primer before painting?

[Schoudhury]

Originally Posted by ACMohan

The headlamp looks nice. How much you have paid for that?
And did they use any primer before painting?

Thanks
Paid 2k for the same , not sure if they used primer or not .But as i posted earlier also ,the paint looks fine till date ( touchwood).

Cheers.