|
|
02-17-2010, 07:31 AM | #1 |
Lieutenant
44
Rep 443
Posts |
Painted inner Tail light- 2008 M3
I've never liked the look of the pre lci tail lights and really wasn't sold on the blacklines. Before I put down $$ on some new lens I thought about doing a DIY and masking off the white area and painting the rest of the lens red. Here's what I considered:
- I'm probably going to get other ones anyway so if they turned out bad it would just up my time frame - pretty much anything is better than the stock look - I could give it a shot and at least give the community some feedback on the process So during ht recent blizzard we had here in Mid-Atlantic I went to town. I purchased Testors candy apple red transparent spray paint from Michael’s and an automotive clear coat from Autozone. I removed the lenses which took about 3 minutes. You just pop out the push connectors hold in the trunk liner and remove two screws that allow the lens to be removed. I cleaned the lenses with rubbing alcohol. The lenses themselves offer a natural area to be masked so that the reverse light area is still white. It’s pretty easy to see it based on the contours of the lens. I masked it with two type of painters tape and then masked off the entire lower red portion of the lens. Then I took my time spraying about 4 coats with about 1-2 hour between coats. For a better result I should have wet sanded in between. I know this now but didn’t during the project. I then sprayed 2-3 coats of clear. The result? Pretty decent I would rate it a 7. Color is a bit more opaque than the stock lens but it matched some of the areas around the edges. The finish is a bit irregular which I’m going to try to wet sand when it’s not so cold and I feel like tackling it again. Total cost? About $15. Here's a crappy cell picture. I'll take some better ones later. |
02-17-2010, 09:24 AM | #2 |
chris
278
Rep 12,144
Posts |
not bad... something different for sure. although it might look better on a red car like mine. but A+ for the effort.
__________________
Current: 2013 F10 M5 & 2016 Mini JCW 2013 GLK350 (gone), 997.1 GT3RS (gone), 2009 WRX STI (gone), e92 M3 (gone) |
Appreciate
0
|
08-09-2012, 08:54 AM | #4 |
BimmerPost Supporting Vendor
307
Rep 13,093
Posts
Drives: BPMsport 2012 E92 M3
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Kansas
iTrader: (45)
Garage List 2013 Nissan GTR [0.00]
2019 Sierra Denali ... [0.00] 1999 Nissan Silvia [0.00] 1999 Nissan Skyline ... [0.00] 1998 Toyota Supra [0.00] |
Looks good.
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-09-2012, 09:18 AM | #5 |
Major General
2738
Rep 6,734
Posts
Drives: 'E46 M3 Race Car, '23 X7
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Wisconsin - Instagram - @slicer_m
|
It's too bad nobody makes an LCI replica inner tail light (for the trunk). That would allow us '08 owners to buy the OEM outers and the replica inners to get the LCI look without the LCI expense
__________________
'23 X7
'04 M3 - Fall Line Motorsports Built Race Car - S65 swap, Dry Sump, Bosch Stand-Alone ECU, Drenth Sequential Trans, MCS 3-Way, Flossmann Wide Body, Brembo Motorsports Brakes, Drexler LSD, BBS E88 Etc. INSTAGRAM - @Slicer_M |
Appreciate
0
|
08-09-2012, 09:58 AM | #6 |
Ya ya ya, I am Lorde, ya ya!
266
Rep 2,772
Posts
Drives: E90 M3, 2015 SQ5
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Snig
|
You should have just gotten the blackline inners.
EDIT: Holy thread resurrection. |
Appreciate
0
|
08-09-2012, 10:28 AM | #7 |
Major General
1889
Rep 5,506
Posts |
|
Appreciate
0
|
08-10-2012, 02:10 PM | #9 |
BimmerPost Supporting Vendor
3387
Rep 7,541
Posts |
Clever of you, definitely looks better than stock. Nice work..
__________________
-----| Like us on Facebook | Instagram || Tuning Information | Remote Coding |----- ----Visit us at www.BPMSport.com - Emotion. Driven. | Toll Free: (888) 557-5133---- |
Appreciate
0
|
Post Reply |
Bookmarks |
|
|