Blackout Headlights - Sanding

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

I was wondering, am I required to sand the chrome parts of my headlights before I paint them? I plan on painting them with some SEM Color Coat flat black paint, but I'm unsure if it will work without the sanding. I'll be cleaning the surface and priming it and whatnot; should that be enough for the paint to stick well? Would it be better if I applied more coats?

I really want to get this perfect, lol.

Thanks.

[Slammedk24]

some people dont but I highly recommend doing so, because it will let the paint adhere better. I just sanded all the chrome off with 600 grit sandpaper and went over it again with 800 grit.  But everybody does things differently. Just make sure you dont use anything real coarse because you will see sand scratches if you do

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

i've got some 3M Imperial Wet or Dry 2000 grit sandpaper, would that work? I've got a bunch of assorted wet or dry sandpapers from when i sanded a heatsink for my computer, lol. Everything from 400 to 2,000 grit. I just don't know if this certain brand will work.

Also, I heard about buffing it after sanding... is this required?

And on another slightly relevant note... I painted the front grill on my car the same way - used cleaner, primed, then paint. However, I noticed that the metallic gunmetal paint underneath is starting to show up again; the black paint is fading slightly. Should I go through the same process of sanding it as I should the headlights?

[Slammedk24]

2000 will work fine, and the brand doesnt matter. the only thing you will notice with the different is some last longer than others.  the main thing is to get it scuffed and then as far as prep work goes you can do it the same way you did the grill.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Alright, thanks.

My last concern is what I stated in my previous post: buffing. Is this necessary? Or is that for just if I used a lower grit sandpaper, and it left scratches?

[timot_one]

Tory is right, you increase mechanical adhesion to the surface if it's not perfectly smooth.  You could also scuff it up with some of those red scotch bright pads.  Now, contrary to everything I just said, I have painted OEM headlights without scuffing them up or priming them and had good results.  Scuffing them up would provide better results though.  I wouldn't go crazy wet sanding them or anything, but just scuff 'em up with scotch bright pads.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Should I actually get my sandpaper wet when I sand the chrome off, or do I do it dry?

[timot_one]

Wet sanding is helpful to remove debris and keep the sand paper from gumming up.  It's your call.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Alright, thanks!

I'm going to be getting everything ready to do this in a couple minutes!

Wish me luck!

[timot_one]

Wish me luck!

Good luck.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Status update: Bumper and headlights are off, preheating the oven right now as we speak. The bumper was a real pain in the rear to get off, lol. And I accidentally re-aligned my passenger side light... so I'll have to fix that now.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

I have a question about the reflector above the amber one. I took the white reflector out, but do I still need to mask off the chrome on the inside of it, and the chrome around where the bulb actually goes into? Or do I even need to mask anything at all on the chrome frame? I already took out both reflectors.

It looks as though in this picture the chrome underneath the reflectors were painted black:



But I can't tell for certain on the amber reflector.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Could really use a response... everything is at a stand-still right now until I know for sure what I'm supposed to do... all the other DIY blackouts I've seen talk about masking off parts, but they weren't my car, and had radically different headlight assemblies...

Sorry for bumping so much, I just would like to get this done!

Edit: I can't wait any longer, so I've decided to paint all of the chrome, even the stuff underneath the reflectors. I don't think it's going to make a difference, because the reflector is still there...

[timot_one]

You may think that, but you're going to lose significant output with your parking lights and turn signals.  They're not going to be very bright now that you've painted it.  Wish I could have answered you earlier, but I was busy all day.  I hope it doesn't reduce the output too much though.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Everything's done... it looks good. The turn signals are still pretty bright... it just got a little dimmer from the sides, but you can still see the light nonetheless. I don't think it'll be a problem, though. If all else fails, couldn't I just get a brighter light?

I'll get pics up tomorrow.