DIY Color matched bumper corner lights
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 344
Likes: 2
From: Berkley, MI
'09 C350
DIY Color matched bumper corner lights
So I wasn't happy with the selection of clear corners for the my C350. I didn't like how any of the clears/smoked or ricey L shaped LED corner lights looked like and didn't feel like paying over $150 for the only set of color matched set so I made my own.
I bought a 12 oz spray of my Steel Gray (755) paint and a 12 oz of clear coat from Automotivetouchup. Then, ordered a set of clear corner lights from ebay and went to town on them.
I used an old amazon box as a stand to paint inside as it's still too cold out here in MI to be doing this. Then cut holes to fit the lights in place.
Get the lights slightly sanded with 800 grain or a scrubbing pad and wipe it clean. Then start spraying very light even coats, every 10 minutes. This is after 2 coats:
I think I did 6 or 7 coats of base paint and about 3 coats of clear. You can do as many as you want, to get them lighter or darker looking:
Here you can see how well it matches the factory paint. Please ignore the dirty car.
These two show the lights not light at pretty good lighting:
Here is the light lit at sunlight (keep in mind I have AZNOptics LEDs in there):
Here it is lit at dawn :
And here you can see them lit in the dark. They look super bright, but they're not as bright as they look in the pic and not as bright as the eyebrows.
I bought a 12 oz spray of my Steel Gray (755) paint and a 12 oz of clear coat from Automotivetouchup. Then, ordered a set of clear corner lights from ebay and went to town on them.
I used an old amazon box as a stand to paint inside as it's still too cold out here in MI to be doing this. Then cut holes to fit the lights in place.
Get the lights slightly sanded with 800 grain or a scrubbing pad and wipe it clean. Then start spraying very light even coats, every 10 minutes. This is after 2 coats:
I think I did 6 or 7 coats of base paint and about 3 coats of clear. You can do as many as you want, to get them lighter or darker looking:
Here you can see how well it matches the factory paint. Please ignore the dirty car.
These two show the lights not light at pretty good lighting:
Here is the light lit at sunlight (keep in mind I have AZNOptics LEDs in there):
Here it is lit at dawn :
And here you can see them lit in the dark. They look super bright, but they're not as bright as they look in the pic and not as bright as the eyebrows.
Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 235
Likes: 2
From: SoCal
2015 C250 Coupe
Nice! I was cheap and did mine with white plastidip but they actually match my Polar White pretty well. Like yours I can still see mine at night, which personally I love so its gone during the day. But still has safety value at night. Nice job also on the DIY.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 344
Likes: 2
From: Berkley, MI
'09 C350
Yup, if I had a white or black w204, I probably would've just plastidiped them too, but with steel gray I had to get the exact color. This also leaves me paint for the front plate delete I'm doing and possibly mirror covers and mudflaps. For $20 for 12oz of your actual color paint, this was a no brainer for me.
Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 235
Likes: 2
From: SoCal
2015 C250 Coupe
Yup, if I had a white or black w204, I probably would've just plastidiped them too, but with steel gray I had to get the exact color. This also leaves me paint for the front plate delete I'm doing and possibly mirror covers and mudflaps. For $20 for 12oz of your actual color paint, this was a no brainer for me.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,258
Likes: 19
From: Mississauga, ON CA
15 Mercedes C400, 12 Mercedes C250 coupe
Yup, if I had a white or black w204, I probably would've just plastidiped them too, but with steel gray I had to get the exact color. This also leaves me paint for the front plate delete I'm doing and possibly mirror covers and mudflaps. For $20 for 12oz of your actual color paint, this was a no brainer for me.
Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 181
Likes: 0
From: Alberta, Canada
2010 c300/2008 335i
Very nice write up. I will be trying this myself on my car. By the way I love the color of your car! Very nice.
Would the end result be different if you tried this on the original side marker lenses and not the clear ones? I have both and would prefer to paint my originals and make some money back on selling the clears.
Would the end result be different if you tried this on the original side marker lenses and not the clear ones? I have both and would prefer to paint my originals and make some money back on selling the clears.
Last edited by funkedelic; Mar 3, 2013 at 10:37 PM.
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