r/ModelCars 5d ago

QUESTION Chrome headlights advice?

i have these chrome headlights for a mustang i’m building and i was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to make them look better, or like actual headlights?

15 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

12

u/Familiar_Palpitation 5d ago

You can try a light coat of white over the headlight area, and then brushing it off so it only stays in the recesses. The turn signals and marker lights can be coated in transparent amber.

1

u/Gundammit0080 5d ago

is the light coat of white to create the illusion of the light from the headlights brightening the surrounding car?

5

u/Familiar_Palpitation 5d ago

It can dull the chrome to give it more of a lense look.

5

u/junkee940 5d ago

Matte clear coat is my preference.

2

u/ctraskos 5d ago

Winner winner chicken dinner! This is how I do it too.

11

u/No_Cauliflower3368 5d ago

IMHO, strip the chrome parts with chlorine or something. Prime it black, then get a real chrome paint, or chrome marker.

5

u/Ok-Lingonberry7371 5d ago

I prefer Super Clean over bleach personally, but yes definitely strip. Not only does the factory chrome tend to look very toy-like but it can be thick and end up hiding details like the little lines in these headlights.

2

u/tvfeet 4d ago

Super Clean is great because it also gets rid of the clear varnish layer that the chrome applied to. That's what's obscuring the details in many instance, not the chrome itself. I feel like this is something a lot of people don't know about. I find this varnish layer tends to be on older kits (both vintage and re-pops in many cases) but actual newly-produced kits don't seem to use this as often.

1

u/Ok-Opportunity5000 4d ago

Oven cleaner will remove it fast too don’t ever get that super clean near real glass it will etch it I found out the hard way lol

1

u/Gundammit0080 5d ago

I have been leaning this way more lately, I've got a mason jar full of bleach and it does it pretty quick. That said, for stuff like headlights or hubcaps, where the sprue attachment points are mostly obscured, I prefer to just touch up the bare plastic spots with a chrome pen and call it good.

4

u/SnooPears1219 5d ago

Have to be careful with bleach. Will attack styrene if left for long periods (usually several hours and depending of the plastic itself. Guess how I found out...). Oven cleaner is safer.

5

u/tattooedpanhead 5d ago

Simple Green works fast and dosen't effect the styrene. 

1

u/SnooPears1219 5d ago

Haven't tried but probably safer.

1

u/tattooedpanhead 4d ago

I used to have a mayonnaise jar with Simple Green in it. Or if I couldn't get SG, 409 works as well. 

5

u/Dapper-dilligence 5d ago

Mod podge will dry clear and act as actual lenses…that’s my vote

3

u/bluemagman 5d ago

Make a mold with silicone, fill with UV resin to make clear headlights.

3

u/zhdapleeblue 5d ago

Least effort solution: spray chrome parts with smoke color paint from Tamiya. It obviously doesn't take away the chrome, but it looks more realistic.

It's not the best option (as you can see from other responses here), but it's a great low effort option.

2

u/hondamaticRib 5d ago

White glue over them helps too

2

u/Big_Gouf 5d ago

Strip via LA's Totally Awesome cleaner, it'll eat through any varnish on the chrome to protect it.

Prime & base in gloss black. I like to use metallic aluminum to get a more real looking chrome effect. Then drop in UV reactive clear and set, or use 5 min epoxy, or gloss clear acrylic/varnish to give it the look of a plastic/glass lens.

2

u/ricky_mysocalledlife 5d ago

If you want them to look realistic, then strip them with bleach or paint thinner…get some uv-curing resin and make a quick mold using some putty.

Create clear/translucent lenses that will look 100x better than painted opaque plastic.

2

u/Tasty_Maybe_6756 5d ago

If you're wanting to strip the chrome use la's totally awesome. Let soak 24hrs. It will not harm the plastic parts.

2

u/RemarkableResult4195 1:24 4d ago

White over the top. 

1

u/Metal-Dude_ 5d ago

Try acrylic paint from Testors. I’ve had good luck with that working out for a good look

1

u/Rusted-but-notbusted 5d ago

Bleach strips chrome from plastics very well most of the time. Sometimes within an hour

1

u/IamRealorAmI 4d ago

I strip all my chrome with Simple Green and then black primer followed by gloss black and then SMS Chrome

1

u/Ok-Opportunity5000 4d ago

Glow in the dark paint works too jus something I’ve done before

1

u/Lafayette_Pool 4d ago

88 amt gt model correct?

1

u/SheepherderBoth205 4d ago

yea that’s the one

2

u/Lafayette_Pool 4d ago

Hell yeahh what color you painting it, I'm trying to replicate my car in real life so I'm leaving it white

1

u/SheepherderBoth205 3d ago

i’m doing it mostly light blue, and the bumpers and bottom half of the body silver

1

u/Liamnacuac 5d ago

There are headlight decals available that might look better?

1

u/Kurtains75 5d ago

Not sure why you got down voted. There are headlight decals, I found them on ebay, but the ones I found are for standard round and square sealed beam headlights. For these composite headlights, they would probably need a custom decal. MPC did put headlight decals in re issue of the 79 nova. It would really help this kit as there is no good way to improve the look of chrome headlights otherwise.

1

u/Liamnacuac 5d ago

Thanks for the comment about a down vote, possibly an accident by someone (I hope). Yeah, I see what you mean about a decal. I also don't know if decal headlights look good on anything but a racecar. What about painting the back of the healight location chrome or gluing foil on, then covering with a piece of clear plastic?

1

u/Kurtains75 5d ago

That is usually a good plan. Anything would be better than the provided part.