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Painted 350Z headlights *progress pics **56k ouch!

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Old 09-27-2006, 04:13 PM
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haknslash
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Default Painted 350Z headlights *progress pics **56k ouch!

Hi there Z owners. I do not own a Z but am a fan of them. There are alot of Z owners around here and I'm sure they are on this forum too. Anyways, one of the local guys asked me to paint up his headlights. I do custom HID retrofitting on other cars that don't come equipped with HID projectors so I have a history of doing lighting mods.

Anywho, he wants the bottom and surrounds of the turn signal black but leave the reflector chrome so that it's still useable without losing performance. I'm also painting the front chrome bezel black and the amber strip black as well. The very bottom of the main reflector/projector area (where the lines are) is also going to get painted.

Here are some pics of the progress so far, hope you like them:

So far here is the actual pics of what I've done....

Front top turn signal painted....




Side angle profile of it....




Another angle...




Here is a chop of the same pics as above only this time I photoshopped in the pain on the bottom and surrounds of the main bottom relfector...




And last (for now) a top shot of the painted turn signal piece. The gray looking area just past that is just an illusion from the flash off the camera ...



Here is the now painted outer trim bezel that goes inside the clear outer lens.







And here is the now painted bezel laid over the housing to give you an idea of the overall look. I haven't painted the bottom of the main reflector yet but it's just about done.





Old 09-27-2006, 04:19 PM
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savvy
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looks nice! can't wait to see the installed pics
Old 09-27-2006, 04:24 PM
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Gumpdriver
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Can not wait to see the finish product.
Old 09-27-2006, 04:37 PM
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haknslash
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Originally Posted by Gumpdriver
Can not wait to see the finish product.

Me either!

He has a black 350Z so it should look pretty menacing. He also has the tinted tails to compliment the blacked out look.

I'll be sure to keep you all informed as they near completion. I'll also hope to convince him to let me do a photoshoot with his car w/ the DSLR to really give the lights their credit!
Old 09-27-2006, 04:59 PM
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b00stedZ
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Damn ive been wanting to this for a while! Cant wait to see the finished product either.
Old 09-27-2006, 10:24 PM
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KelekonaKustoms
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this is the exact way i want mine done, cant wait to see the results
Old 09-28-2006, 06:07 AM
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haknslash
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Good to see you guys interested in the look of it so far!!

I think this is the way they should of been offered as a blacked out version of the 350Z headlights. I'm not a fan of some of the style some people have painted their 350Z lights with it being fully black or just the top black. IIMHO, I think this style still leaves just enough chrome for a OE yet custom look and doesn't hinder any lighting performance.

These will be finished up on Friday afternoon so I'll have fully completed pics then. I'll update here if I take any more progress shots before they're completed

Last edited by haknslash; 09-28-2006 at 06:09 AM.
Old 09-28-2006, 06:57 AM
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ExtaZ33
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It's going to look 10x better than stock. I can't wait to get them back finished...I've been wanting to get them done for so long. Thanks for posting up the pics Hak!

I also have new bulbs coming in that are silver but blink amber from visionbulbs.com.

Old 09-28-2006, 07:01 AM
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MustGoFastR
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Nice, now tel him to put some chrome coated bulbs in for the signals and get those ugly amber bulbs out of there!
Old 09-28-2006, 07:12 AM
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ExtaZ33
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I just posted that I have some on the way.
Old 09-28-2006, 08:03 AM
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MustGoFastR
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Ha, good deal. Must have posted that while I was typing!
Old 09-28-2006, 12:44 PM
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i need to switch out my amber bulbs
Old 09-29-2006, 10:50 AM
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haknslash
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More progress today. Painted the bottom and furthest inner side of the high beam reflector. This one is done minus putting the lens back on.....












Old 09-29-2006, 10:55 AM
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Oh man, that's going to look so good!
Old 09-29-2006, 12:27 PM
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haknslash
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Indeed!
Old 09-29-2006, 12:35 PM
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Biochem7
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How about retrofitting in a true projector?
Old 09-29-2006, 12:54 PM
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haknslash
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Originally Posted by Biochem7
How about retrofitting in a true projector?
I asked him about it and told him it wouldn't cost too much to do. We'll see I guess....

I do excellent retro work as well...


Acura TL bi-xenon projectors with BMW ZKW clear lens mod







Old 09-29-2006, 01:17 PM
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Biochem7
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Originally Posted by haknslash
I asked him about it and told him it wouldn't cost too much to do. We'll see I guess....

I do excellent retro work as well...


Acura TL bi-xenon projectors with BMW ZKW clear lens mod







awesome! I have been eyeballing some TSX projectors on ebay, still trying to figure out how to mount them
Old 09-29-2006, 01:35 PM
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haknslash
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Originally Posted by Biochem7
awesome! I have been eyeballing some TSX projectors on ebay, still trying to figure out how to mount them

TSX's could work but you would lose your high beam because it's mounted so close and you would have to cut into that area anyways. Then you would need to get something like any E46 OEM shroud and fit it over the TSX to hide the bolts/nuts need to mount the projector to the stock reflector body.

If your wanting to keep your high beam functionality, I would go with a bi-xenon projector such as a TL like in mine. That way you still get an awseome wide crisp and colorful HID lowbeam with the bonus of a incredible HID high beam!
Old 09-29-2006, 02:52 PM
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Hak, it's nice to see you on the Z boards. I love hidplanet but I hate how I can't pm members. Great job on the headlights!

Later on, I'm hoping to retro LS430 projectors in.

-Acree


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