Hey everybody, I have US spec ellipsoids and one of my low beam lenses broke. I got a replacement lens, but the reflector has a few spots where the silver has come off. What product is best to get the mirror back looking like new? Thanks!
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The difference between porcupines and BMWs is that porcupines have the pricks on the outside! -
Maybe find a whole new bucket? or high heat silver engine paint?
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Don't think you'll be able to get a reflective surface back. I'd get a new housing.Estoril E36 M3/4/5 | Toledo E53 X5 3.0 | LeMans E90 335D M-Sport
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They make a "chrome" vinyl that i used in my ellipsoid reflectors. Not like new but better than what they was before. I had to cut strips out flow with the curvature of the reflector.Comment
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wowComment
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Vinyl seems that it would not be able to take the heat very well. I had no idea that this was going to be that hard to do. I read a post on here that talks about painting the reflector black to get smoked ellipsoids and that the reflector does not do anything really but block light. What say you?The difference between porcupines and BMWs is that porcupines have the pricks on the outside!Comment
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Are you talking about the reflector on the inside of the projector? Or the round disk at the face of the light?
If its the latter, just paint them black like Julien said.
If it's the actual reflector, not much you can do besides what moatilliatta said. I've looked into how the original is actually done, and it's a complicated process, somewhat like what it takes to chrome a bumper. Not worth it. You'd be better off buying another light altogether.Comment
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So what you are saying is that the chrome surround that the ellipsoid projector sits in really doesn't do anything as far as reflecting the light. Why was it silver then? Painting it black does not effect light output?The difference between porcupines and BMWs is that porcupines have the pricks on the outside!Comment
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DOT regulations? who knows
the basic technology in ellipsoids hasn't changed much, no other projector I've seen has two reflectors. It could be that they did it just because the E30 was originally designed for the old school sealed beam style lights and they needed something to fill the space.Comment
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On a factory hella smoked ellipsoid, is that part of the headlight assembly black? Someone was trying to tell me that on a smoked ellipsoid the lens is the part that is smoked or painted black.The difference between porcupines and BMWs is that porcupines have the pricks on the outside!Comment
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It won't be quite the same, but there is plenty of paint out there that should come "close enough," wouldn't you say? Certainly better than faded matte grey.Originally posted by nando View PostComment
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Basically. It would look funky to have a 2.5" low beam housing, they needed the reflective finish to keep the same overall look.Originally posted by nando View Post
I did a retro in my old car and kept the old reflector, I thought it looked pretty OEM/normal, unlike the guys who paint the reflector black. No one could really tell it was aftermarket.
(don't mind the scrape)
Yes, the surrounding "reflector" is black on the smoked lenses, not the lens itself. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.Originally posted by wodcutr View PostComment
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That makes a lot of sense. BMW did not want to change the look of the car in a way that would be detrimental to what was already established. I guess I could just silicone the good lens on and not mess with it any more. I like the smoked look myself but this is my daughters car and I doubt she would really appreciate the effort to smoke all the lights. Hell she is probably just glad to be behind the wheel and could care less about the differences in headlight looks!The difference between porcupines and BMWs is that porcupines have the pricks on the outside!Comment
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