What did you do to / for your E53 today??

[XCUSM5]

I opened them with the Thin Cut EZ Lock Disc, its pretty simple as long as you take your time to make a decent cut without burning through the plastic or else it goos up. I'm passing the sander tip on all the edges to make sure there is no garbage between the gaps. I'm not too worried about sealing them back up, pretty straightforward just have to make sure I let it cure properly.

Below is another picture of the entire assembly with Stealth Bulb and then a picture of the wrapped reflector with the cutout deflector.

[pnoyako85]

Originally Posted by XCUSM5

Tried on some exhaust tips. They still need to be lined up. They don't look too bad. Spacers are on. It look much wider in person.

The interior needs a serious Leatherique clean. Tri-stitch is flithy and the grip on the steering wheel has a sheen. Once she's out of the shop its clean time.

You Painted your flares...........any pics of the whole car..im thinking about painting mines.....

[xsx450]

Originally Posted by XCUSM5

Thanks. All the skirts/trimming has been paint-matched to Jet Black. If you want to restore the black plastic you should use BlackWOW, works nicely.
The exhaust tips are made by Superior and they are polished stainless steel. They are bolt-on with rolled edges. Its a round straight cut. The model # is 28-4101.

I Want to paint all of the trim! How much did that cost you??

[z168]

Originally Posted by DTMdan

Took some photos this weekend, my fiance surprised me with a roof rack for vday/our anniversary.

Awesome pics!

[Cisc0]

Got the ol' girl a great deal on some Dunlop Sport Maxxx RFT's. Bought 3 (2 rears-315/35/20 1 front-275/40/20) for... ... ... $240 with almost 80% thread left. Just need one more to match it all up. Going from Contis DWS to these is a huge difference. The vehicle feels weighted now. Contis were great btw, just didn't feel like shelling out $1k+ for tires so these Dunlop will do for now.

[X5SND]

Originally Posted by XCUSM5

I know some of you will hate this but I wanted to try something out. I despise ambers. I haven't made a finally decision on exactly what the final outcome will be but this may very well be the look that stays.

I took apart the facelift headlights. Originally I didn't want to cut them but I tried to bake them open twice and failed. I kept ruining the assembly so I decided cutting the assemblies open instead. With my extra assembly I pulled out the amber lens first. Just like X5SND said, the headlight looked so naked and awkward. Plus the black plastic holder showed the holes. It wasn't working. After a little bit of looking around I saw people pulled these out and painted them. I wanted to try it out so I taped off the clear deflector and painted the reflector part a silver chrome from one of those arts and crafts rattle cans but the finish was definitely not as advertised, not even close. I sanded the paint off and used some white/clear reflector self-adhesive film but it was just a touch too transparent and you could see the amber behind it. I kept trying but I couldn't get the inside cut of that U shape to come out crisp so I tried removing the clear indicator deflector lense in the middle. With some dremeling I finally took that deflector out. It didn't look as naked. It didn't look too bad. The paint didn't look like something that would sit inside a headlight assembly so I sanded the paint off again and remembered I had some left over Di-Noc in Brushed Aluminum. Its a really nice film and the grain really gives the perception of metal. I wrapped the amber U piece in the film and it came out pretty nice but it looked a little too simple. I grabbed that white/clear reflector film and cut out a little triangular piece that would work with the lines. In different angles it looks the same color as the aluminum and in other there is a hard contrast, exactly how a reflector would work. I'm a little bit on the fence about this whole thing but it might stay.

The front lense that you see is my spare that has some overspray on the lense. I think once I clean it up it should come out okay. I also have silver/chrome stealth indicator bulbs to help take out that egg-yolk look.

Feel free to leave any feedback, good or bad.

You boys really have a passionate hatred for those ambers eh??

[DTMdan]

Originally Posted by XCUSM5

I opened them with the Thin Cut EZ Lock Disc, its pretty simple as long as you take your time to make a decent cut without burning through the plastic or else it goos up. I'm passing the sander tip on all the edges to make sure there is no garbage between the gaps. I'm not too worried about sealing them back up, pretty straightforward just have to make sure I let it cure properly.

Below is another picture of the entire assembly with Stealth Bulb and then a picture of the wrapped reflector with the cutout deflector.

What are you going to seal them back up with?

[X5SND]

Originally Posted by DTMdan

What are you going to seal them back up with?

Standard issue oci-butyl most likely. It's what I used for mine....creates a good seal while keeping the ability to re-open them just using an oven if need be.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by X5SND

You boys really have a passionate hatred for those ambers eh??

On the facelift I actually don't mind them too much, considering if you have a stealth bulb in place of the orange bulb. For some reason facelift amber doesn't bother me like pre-facelift amber. I have sport package and that small amber towards the outside sticks out like a sore thumb to me.


I literally would dremel my headlights open just to dremel out that small corner amber portion, and probably would seal them back up and not even wire angel eyes lol. I'm OCD and to me the pre-facelifts need the waffles removed to install angel eyes to give the entire thing an updated look, and then I would be repainting shrouds satin black, so before I knew it i'd have a hell of a project on my hands.

[X5SND]

^^Thats pretty much how it starts! Lol.