In the picture it's just a standard Gloss Black.
I've done them again since that picture, and now its Pearl gloss Black.
Last time with no paint..
- Thread starter Tourershine
- Start date
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- Tags
- front styling paint
In the picture it's just a standard Gloss Black.
I've done them again since that picture, and now its Pearl gloss Black.
1st of December is the perfect date to open up an old thread door on the advent calendar 
and this couldn't be a more appropriate door to open.
I'm in my quiet time with the business, so it's my time to tinker and spend money I shouldn't be spending.
A bit of a facelift over the last few days.
Total de-chrome, removing my Caravelle grill, and swapping for a full gloss Black version, then swapping over the lower chrome strip to a Black one. Next, for a controversial mod, the headlights were tinted in a very discrete smoked wrap. This was the intention all along on the full Black front, because I always feel when you do this modification, the contrast between the mass of Black against the bling of a VW LED headlight is too sharp, but the tint tones that back down, and works perfectly in my opinion. Lastly, a change I haven't seen done as yet. Front fog delete by delete, we've fully wrapped the fogs in gloss Black and deactivated 'foglight cornering' in Carista. That way the fogs just don't come on unless I turn them on, so we don't get any light bleed.
This is a love it hate it mod, but I wanted this done to totally clean up the front end, making the tinted headlights the star of the show if that makes sense, which it does to me. Currently this is by far my favourite look on mine. I thought about changing the banded 19s to Black, but i've gone Black banded wheels lately on my 18s, and they just seem to vanish against my paintwork, so I will keep these as they are this year.
and this couldn't be a more appropriate door to open.I'm in my quiet time with the business, so it's my time to tinker and spend money I shouldn't be spending.
A bit of a facelift over the last few days.
Total de-chrome, removing my Caravelle grill, and swapping for a full gloss Black version, then swapping over the lower chrome strip to a Black one. Next, for a controversial mod, the headlights were tinted in a very discrete smoked wrap. This was the intention all along on the full Black front, because I always feel when you do this modification, the contrast between the mass of Black against the bling of a VW LED headlight is too sharp, but the tint tones that back down, and works perfectly in my opinion. Lastly, a change I haven't seen done as yet. Front fog delete
by delete, we've fully wrapped the fogs in gloss Black and deactivated 'foglight cornering' in Carista. That way the fogs just don't come on unless I turn them on, so we don't get any light bleed.This is a love it hate it mod, but I wanted this done to totally clean up the front end, making the tinted headlights the star of the show if that makes sense, which it does to me. Currently this is by far my favourite look on mine. I thought about changing the banded 19s to Black, but i've gone Black banded wheels lately on my 18s, and they just seem to vanish against my paintwork, so I will keep these as they are this year.
Like it . . . . . . . . . Looks good enough to be in the Bat-Cave =]1st of December is the perfect date to open up an old thread door on the advent calendar
I'm in my quiet time with the business, so it's my time to tinker and spend money I shouldn't be spending.
A bit of a facelift over the last few days.
Total de-chrome, removing my Caravelle grill, and swapping for a full gloss Black version, then swapping over the lower chrome strip to a Black one. Next, for a controversial mod, the headlights were tinted in a very discrete smoked wrap. This was the intention all along on the full Black front, because I always feel when you do this modification, the contrast between the mass of Black against the bling of a VW LED headlight is too sharp, but the tint tones that back down, and works perfectly in my opinion. Lastly, a change I haven't seen done as yet. Front fog delete
This is a love it hate it mod, but I wanted this done to totally clean up the front end, making the tinted headlights the star of the show if that makes sense, which it does to me. Currently this is by far my favourite look on mine. I thought about changing the banded 19s to Black, but i've gone Black banded wheels lately on my 18s, and they just seem to vanish against my paintwork, so I will keep these as they are this year.
View attachment 55534
That is a really nice clean look. Much better than the pic from the start of this thread, quite a transformation. Nice work.1st of December is the perfect date to open up an old thread door on the advent calendar
I'm in my quiet time with the business, so it's my time to tinker and spend money I shouldn't be spending.
A bit of a facelift over the last few days.
Total de-chrome, removing my Caravelle grill, and swapping for a full gloss Black version, then swapping over the lower chrome strip to a Black one. Next, for a controversial mod, the headlights were tinted in a very discrete smoked wrap. This was the intention all along on the full Black front, because I always feel when you do this modification, the contrast between the mass of Black against the bling of a VW LED headlight is too sharp, but the tint tones that back down, and works perfectly in my opinion. Lastly, a change I haven't seen done as yet. Front fog delete
This is a love it hate it mod, but I wanted this done to totally clean up the front end, making the tinted headlights the star of the show if that makes sense, which it does to me. Currently this is by far my favourite look on mine. I thought about changing the banded 19s to Black, but i've gone Black banded wheels lately on my 18s, and they just seem to vanish against my paintwork, so I will keep these as they are this year.
View attachment 55534
Looking good, how about doing 19s pure grey or chrome yellow or just solows and narrower tyres
And this is why I never ask you fashion advice.
I like! What about the back?! You can't just do the front? I've thought of tinting the 3rd brake light and the reflectors slightly...1st of December is the perfect date to open up an old thread door on the advent calendar
I'm in my quiet time with the business, so it's my time to tinker and spend money I shouldn't be spending.
A bit of a facelift over the last few days.
Total de-chrome, removing my Caravelle grill, and swapping for a full gloss Black version, then swapping over the lower chrome strip to a Black one. Next, for a controversial mod, the headlights were tinted in a very discrete smoked wrap. This was the intention all along on the full Black front, because I always feel when you do this modification, the contrast between the mass of Black against the bling of a VW LED headlight is too sharp, but the tint tones that back down, and works perfectly in my opinion. Lastly, a change I haven't seen done as yet. Front fog delete
This is a love it hate it mod, but I wanted this done to totally clean up the front end, making the tinted headlights the star of the show if that makes sense, which it does to me. Currently this is by far my favourite look on mine. I thought about changing the banded 19s to Black, but i've gone Black banded wheels lately on my 18s, and they just seem to vanish against my paintwork, so I will keep these as they are this year.
View attachment 55534
As a general rule, I'm not a tint fan, specially on rear lights, but I will make some changes to the rear over the next week or so, but tinting isn't one of them.
Living in Leicester, tinted and messed around number plates are so prolific that its actually different being normal.
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It would look even cleaner without the border.
Now then, would it though? I don't think so.
Number plates are in reality quite boring to look at, and I think the border is a compromise between naff text/flags/badges and all the other things plate makers offer to try and make a number plate less boring. The border is a staple diet of all my vehicles, and just gives it a slightly more finished off look I think. Plates are the first thing I order when a new vehicle comes to my house because I don't like advertising my postcode, or the details of the dealer I got the vehicle from.
Agreed, number plates are terrible, no post codes or dealer details for me either, definitely no other nonsense like flags etc to clutter it up either. I always preview it with a border, but always leave it off.
I love car/van modding for things like this. Even something as simple as a number plate border can make a difference to how we choose to display our vehicles.
Since when has your postcode been put on your number plates? I thought its wherever you got the plates made.
I've never had one made where you take in your logbook, mine are always from Custom Number Plates | Create your own car or motorbike number plate | myshowplates but I was told they put your postcode on the plate? I did think that was a bit odd.
@Tourershine how have you found the performance of your headlights since having the subtle smoke tint? Any noticeable difference in light output, or are the LEDs so powerful and the tint so slight that it makes no difference?
Reason for asking is that I am 90% through my OEM LED headlight retrofit and I have noticed that against the indium grey and all gloss black plastics of my van that they do really stand out. I haven't convinced myself either way yet if I like that, because I have very bright silver alloys and chrome sidebars, so the headlights kind of tie in with that, but when viewed directly head on they are the only silver/chrome on view, well, not strictly true yet, I still have the chrome badge and grill strip, but I'm going to be removing them to replace with gloss black.
I'm thinking that a slight tint might soften that look a little and I might like it, but with the amount of dark driving I do for probably 8 or 9 months of the year I don't want to effect the headlight performance as that was the number 1 reason for upgrading to the OEM LEDs. Although they do also look better than the after market ones.
Reason for asking is that I am 90% through my OEM LED headlight retrofit and I have noticed that against the indium grey and all gloss black plastics of my van that they do really stand out. I haven't convinced myself either way yet if I like that, because I have very bright silver alloys and chrome sidebars, so the headlights kind of tie in with that, but when viewed directly head on they are the only silver/chrome on view, well, not strictly true yet, I still have the chrome badge and grill strip, but I'm going to be removing them to replace with gloss black.
I'm thinking that a slight tint might soften that look a little and I might like it, but with the amount of dark driving I do for probably 8 or 9 months of the year I don't want to effect the headlight performance as that was the number 1 reason for upgrading to the OEM LEDs. Although they do also look better than the after market ones.
To answer all that simply, not a single effect at all. The lights are way too powerful for a discrete tint to be effected.
Blacked out maybe, but tint, no.
