The tape I have is the blue 3M for delicate surfaces. So I just started taping off the inside reflector chrome since it was the outside trim that got damaged and instantly the chrome came right off. It is really strange because I can rub the chrome all I want to clean it and it doesn't mark.

How did you do it without taking off the chrome?

EDIT: I have been searching and apparently there are numerous posts about NOT taping off any headlight chrome with tape as it will always take off the chrome.

You must have just gotten lucky. Me, not so much…..

 

Here are some pics of the LH light completed and installed. I think it is too much black. If it had worked, I think my idea would have looked great. The projector side looks great and the rest was supposed to be the same contrast style, black and silver.

What does everyone else think?

 

I like the black behind the amber light. But I see where the chrome in the circular area next to it would have looked cool. What about trying the metallic chrome paint now? Not much to lose.

I also like the black on the chrome outline (the part where you originally lost some chrome to the tape) not so cartoonish without that bold chrome outline.

 

It is growing on me a bit. I am not sure if the black is too much for the Lunar Gray color of the car. I just did the front grille inserts in piano black lacquer to match the 2014 style but was not planning on any other black, just not a fan of the black out look on gray cars (although I have considered painting the mirror covers black to make the mirrors disappear and improve the lines of the car) and the rest of the trim, louvers, trunk plinth & window surrounds are in the satin silver finish XKRs of this vintage were bestowed with.

Anyhow, looks like the Goodwood edition has the same style of headlights, surprisingly enough.




So I am now trying to decide it I want to stick with the satin black or do I want to paint them the same color as the car perhaps?

 

So sorry to hear about the chrome issue, as that was certainly a blow to yur plans.

I like the finished product, but as I had discussed with Muddy... I would look for a way to make that silver defuser simply "go away". It scatters far too much light for my liking.

Vince

 

The light assembly looks really good imho. It's just hard to say how it looks as whole without seeing the rest of the car. Nice work though

 

Seeing the whole would make a difference but I'd like to get the other side done.

So leave it black or paint it Lunar Gray? With only the grill in black piano lacquer, is black the wrong contrast for the car considering the body color and other accent colors?

 

If it were me, I'd paint them Lunar Gray. I think black will turn out to be too much of a contrast - it might break up the lines of the front end. But again, it's really hard to say without seeing it on the car.

Just my .02

 

Well, they turned out better than expected, even if it was not my original intention. I am happy with them and that is what matters.

Now I want to paint the washer covers. Aston Martin's are black to flow with the headlights but I am thinking maybe body colored?

 

Looks great - doesn't break up the lines at all. Nice work

 

I have the same colour car, so thanks for posting the photos, it looks great. I know what I'm going to be doing this weekend!

 

Thanks to this tutorial I painted my lights at the weekend.

I did them in plastidip so can reverse it if needed. I'm still unsure if I like them or not. I just did the whole thing black -








Trouble is, it now reminds me of this

 

After learning how much new headlights are, I'm only going to fix a couple broken/cracked tabs. The dealer wants $2100-2200 a piece. Ouch!
This being stated, it's a great DIY'fer thread.

 

After living with them for a couple of week I decided there was something about them I did not like and went ahead and tore everything apart again. This time I painted them piano black gloss and made some LED DRLs modeled after the 2012+. I also painted the washer covers piano gloss black. IMHO the matte finish did not work at all and now it does, matching the gloss on the rest of the car. The LEDs are killer too. Here are some pics:

 

Looks great with the LED strip.

Did you take any photos while installing them? Which LED lights did you use, and did you just wire them into the side light? I've been thinking about doing something along these lines for a while.

 

Sorry no pics other than what you see. The headlights have to come apart as described in this thread. I used these LED strips due to their brightness Alpena and they are indeed spliced to the running lights, the harness is inside the headlamp assembly. I mounted them inside the lens behind the existing frosted rim around the edge of the lens to help give them a more diffuse light. The goal was to replicate the look of the 2012+ headlights.

 

Night pics. Leds are white but cooler in temp than the HIDs which I guess now I am going to have to change from the OEM temp of around 4K to something cooler probably around 6K.

 

That looks great!

 

nice - and a BIG +1 on the 6k lights - a touch softer on the eyes

 

Looks great. Interested in the change.

Front LEDs make it look more current but couldn't one just replace the entire light bucket (with updated LEDs) rather than going through the process of re-configuring the old ones to look like new ones.

Are they not interchangeable? Except for electrical connections, but that had to be changed for this adjustment as well.