What type of paint for rear side of headlights reflector?

Krzysztof

Krzysztof

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Can you help me to find the right paint for renovation of the headlights?

Inner side can (chrome like reflective) be done in many shops but sometimes only external (rear) surface is dirty with surface rust.

Sometimes this is like mat finish, sometimes is shiny (like it was powder coating).

What are the options?
 
Yes. This is still an option.

But for surface rust and few hours it can be done much cheaper ad faster.
In fact this question is not only for E9 but for other cars with metal reflectors.

I'm wondering if typical base/primer could work there.
I'm pretty sure it does not have to be hi-temp paint hardened in the over, or am I wrong?

Going further maybe someone did the research about color code? :)
 
Are you writing about the headlight buckets?
I would clean as much flaking paint & rust as possible then prime with a rust inhibitor primer then paint Matte Black.
 
I meant the rear part for headlight lens.

1629380634976.png


The buckets (which are coming behind if I'm not mistaken) I would soak in acid and galvanized as it was described in some posts.

My question is specific for the paint which was originally used by Hella or Bosch or Ciebie etc or was tested to be working well instead of original one.
I'm expecting it needs to be durable for rapidly changing temperatures, water, headlight washer fluid ...
Probably some 2-component is to be considered here but I have no real experience.
 
Stan said:
you would have to ask @deQuincey
He is the expert of all arcane restorations.
Maybe For-15 muffler paint? Close to the right color
Click to expand...

Thanks Stan for a hint.

For-15 is new paint for me as it is not in use in EU probably, but not a showstopper. Could be an option.

There are hi-temp paints here (typically black and silver) which has to be hardened in the over at ~160degC ... not sure about baking the headlight it at so high temperature - risk for the reflective chrome and glue. Maybe I shouldn't bother, should I?
 
Stan means POR-15

As I recall the backs of my reflectors have a coppery sheen to them.

Honestly I wouldn't bother. Even at the most elite concours in the world, all that matters is your lights work when asked. No one will ever take your car apart to see the back of the headlight that's hidden by a bucket & a big plug cover.
 
adawil2002 said:
Stan means POR-15

As I recall the backs of my reflectors have a coppery sheen to them.

Honestly I wouldn't bother. Even at the most elite concours in the world, all that matters is your lights work when asked. No one will ever take your car apart to see the back of the headlight that's hidden by a bucket & a big plug cover.
Click to expand...
...maybe Burger... @OCCoupe
 
adawil2002 said:
Stan means POR-15

As I recall the backs of my reflectors have a coppery sheen to them.

Honestly I wouldn't bother. Even at the most elite concours in the world, all that matters is your lights work when asked. No one will ever take your car apart to see the back of the headlight that's hidden by a bucket & a big plug cover.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I would like to refresh the lights not buying a set of new reflectors as the ones I have are in the good condition.

The task is to stop rust to move forward and make all look nice and tidy.

Same thing as people painting suspension or parts of engine where the dirt or surface rust is not the point to bother with.
Many of people (and Users of this Forum) is cleaning and polishing and painting, "wasting" time and money.
They could leave parts "as is" or buy new. From several reasons they are restoring them...
 
POR15 is great but might be overkill in this situation, it goes on pretty thick and is $$. I think some satin black engine or brake caliper rated spray paint would be fine.
 
Engine or caliper paint might be a good option as long as I will find matching color (grey, light green...)

Thanks Steve for a hint!
 
HB Chris said:
Hella lenses are copper colored on the backside.
Click to expand...

It is new to me. For EU cars Hella or Bosch was using mat finish light green, light brown or light grey.

I'm not sure what exactly means "copper colored", but I have seen in other manufacturers (including Polish ones) such finishing:
1629440703806.png


Sometimes Hella or ZKW used such color:
1629440838022.png



sometimes just shiny chrome finish like on the internal part of the reflector.

Maybe it is valid for "sealed beams" used in US or aftermarket (e.g Lucas, Ciebie ...)?
 
All the original BMW/Hella H1 based headlamps I've seen have the greenish/gray hue seen on post #5. NEver the clear coated shiny dark copper finish seen on post 15. I've seen that on other Euro headlamps but it the BMW/Hella H1s.
 
I would think that any high temperature paint will be adequate. I would not bake them in the oven, perhaps to max 80 or 90 degrees to get the paint to set, but not more as i do not know if the rest of the headlamp can cope with the heat. I would just leave the light on to cure the paint.

I am not 100% sure, but I think the paint will cure only slower at temperatures below the 250 degrees that they typically require. Also high heat paints usually need the baking step to be able to cope with the high temperatures. In your headlight you won't reach those 1000 degrees, so a bit less quality cured paint will likely be good enough.

In other words, I'm guessing here. I haven't successfully done it myself....

Maybe you'll try and tell us if it worked?
 
Baking by working ... might be a good idea.

For today I'm putting together high beams for E30, where there was some rust here and there while the reflector has "only" about 100k km used.
I have put the 1-K epoxy primer but I will probably remove it and use hi-temp paint directly on the metal as proposed.

I can share the test results if someone is interested.

Engine or caliper paint might be better idea as they are available in higher number of colors.
 
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