Black Out Treatment on H4?

[spedrcr]

Has anyone here painted the interior bucket black? Wondering what it looks like on an assembled H4 and if there is any noticeable light loss. I would suspect none as the bucket truly has no reflection or projection properties.

I've searched and searched as many different terms to find some previous posts but haven't found anything as of yet. Picture below for reference and credit to Vic74.

[Dmitry at Pelican Parts]

Check out some threads on this below - I googled "painted black h4s porsche" - there may be some others. Hope this help you out a bit.

CAN I PAINT MY CHROME HEADLIGHT TRIM RINGS BLACK??

Painting chrome H4 rings

[Carmelo454]

They're not in the bottom tier of suffering people on the planet, but maybe they're not in the top tier, leading wholly fulfilling lives either.


upsers

[Anglocanadian]

An easy way to see if you like the look is to use some black satin vinyl wrap.

[spedrcr]

Thanks Dmitry but I'm asking about the headlight bucket as seen in the picture. Yes there are lots of threads about the trim rings, but no reference in any of the threads I searched about the interior bucket.

I was thinking the same thing Anglocanadian. That would be a great way to test visually. Short term, I wonder if it would stand up to the heat so I could compare light output side to side. Based on how the headlamp assembly works, I don't believe the interior bucket has any reflective qualities so I should be good. Just looking for a little BTDT. Thanks!

[motofoto]

I did it when I made my LED conversion. I can't say if it cut light output because this puts out much more light than what I had before, but I can't see how it would. I do like the looks.

[PRE-H20]

keep us posted please....

I've been thinking of repainting my buckets myself....

the vinyl wrap option does seem like a good option......

i already painted the rings black (25 years ago).......

pictures please........

[spedrcr]

Thanks motofoto. I appreciate it.

[spedrcr]

Upon disassembly, I found that I may need new headlamp reflectors as the silvering on mine has burned off a bit in the upper and lower areas of the reflector.



The paint on the bucket is in good shape but very brittle. Much of the paint which was in contact with the lens seal came off. If I paint these, I'll be sure to use some high temp paint.




I tried a some black electrical tape on the chrome rings and I really dig the look. I think I'll end up just putting some black vinyl wrap on the rings

[spedrcr]

UPDATE for 5/27/21

Was able to use my friends blast cabinet to strip the brittle metallic paint from the headlamp buckets. Before picture only. Couldn't capture the difference once stripped.



Used Krylon High Heat Max 1200 degrees after self etch primer applied. Turned out just right and similar sheen to OE...but in black.




I also switched out the standard H4 lens with the Bosch 4487. Really cool aesthetic difference.







I haven't tested at night but the light against the wall in my garage is virtually the same as prior to painting black. I believe at this point, if I want more light down the road I'll need to get new reflectors. Maybe a winter project. Keep in mind, I run PIAA Ion Crystal bulbs which throw a yellow light. I'll add some pictures here of before black with the same set up for comparison.

[spedrcr]

Another view of the 4487 lenses installed



And here's what the assembled H4 looks like in different light, installed, not installed and so on.

[spedrcr]

These have the 3W city light on

[spedrcr]

And here are a bunch with the H/L bulb on low/dipped beam.







Super pleased with the results. Black buckets with the 4487 lenses look awesome, particularly without any lights on. After I adjust, I'll wrap the chrome rings with black vinyl to complete the look.

[spedrcr]

Here are a few pictures of OE buckets painted silver.

[QueWhy]

That looks fantastic! Really like the low profile look of the 4487 lenses.

[76FJ55]

Originally Posted by spedrcr

UPDATE for 5/27/21

I haven't tested at night but the light against the wall in my garage is virtually the same as prior to painting black. I believe at this point, if I want more light down the road I'll need to get new reflectors. Maybe a winter project. Keep in mind, I run PIAA Ion Crystal bulbs which throw a yellow light. I'll add some pictures here of before black with the same set up for comparison.

That is exactly as I would have guessed. The area outside the reflector isn't likely to have any dramatic effect on the lighting output. I really like the flatter lens too. Your reflector do seem to be a bit faded, so could be limiting the intensity of your light output. do you think it is actually thinned and you are getting close to exposing the steel backing of the reflector, or do you think there is a chance you could re-polish them to regain reflectivity? The other thing that may be advantageous would be to install a relay kit to ensure you have good power getting to the bulbs, if you haven't installed one already.

[spedrcr]

Relay kit already installed. One of the first mods done 6+ years ago. Don't mess with 30+ year old wiring!

I tried Twinkle silver polish on the reflectors and had some success with removing a bit of the haze but the silvering is SO thin that it's not worth polishing. I tested on the edge of the reflector with some mild pressure and the silvering polished right off in just a few strokes!! New reflectors will be on the project list for 2022.

[spedrcr]

Completed the drivers side so I took some more pictures. I haven't had an extended drive in the dark yet but seems like there is zero light loss from the headlamps and the black buckets. Funny thing is, daytime with no lights on looks the best!

[spedrcr]

And a few more

[V10eatr]

Looks fantastic!