Painting HID Bulb

[Krakabeast]

Sorry for the HID thread. I'm using 8k 35w bulbs from DDM in my lows and of course there is some glare, enough to get flashed by some people every few nights. Is it a good idea to get some flat grey high-temp paint and paint the tips of bulbs to help reduce glare, or just get higher quality halogens? I'm tinting my headlights soon, but the tint won't be dark enough to reduce much, if any light output. I don't know what to do.

Eyelids don't help reduce glare, do they?

 

[Andrizzle]

Not sure if painting the tip is going to do anything... But it sounds plausible and worth a shot.

 

[Krakabeast]

Not sure if painting the tip is going to do anything... But it sounds plausible and worth a shot.

I thought about painting the whole bulb, but the bulb's temperature would probably get too high. That's why I'm thinking of just the tips in a flat grey and not a flat black(heat).

 

[M4rk]

I'd imagine using high-temp paint would work just fine. Paint the bulb the way a D2R is, and perhaps even a little more later on if it doesn't yield good enough results, to cover the capsule from underneath (vs just the two stripes on the side):

 

[dNyce LS]

Aim your headlights down a bit. Mine are aimed lower than I had my halogens and I haven't been flashed yet.

 

[pektel]

Eyelids don't help reduce glare. The glare I've seen mostly cones from the bottom of the bowl. I had contemplated even painting the bottom of the bowl to remedy this, but amthinking it would look tacky.

 

[M4rk]

Pete is right. Using casper shields is the best solution, but there is no way to correct for the poor optics.

 

[Tru-Blu]

The final fix is gonna be a set of OEM HID's. It will take some time, but you'll be able to find some. I don't have them installed yet (have some work to do yet), but I'm now on the other side of the fence after thinking I'd never find a set.

 

[FASTLLS]

What would removing the "keeper" or whatever it's called in the low bowl do? Would that help with glare?

 

[Eles]

The reason why you have glare is cause our 2000-2002 are not designed for HID's andsome 2003+ do not come with HID reflectors as well. The best way around this is costly and that is to get a set of OEM HID headlights ( not just HID's ).

You could direct them towards the ground more but that reduces efficiency and some argue its a pointless thing to do, I agree. You could also just get a quality set of standard bulbs. Lots of companies make good halogens these days. Might not be as comparable but they do work better then the lower quality bulbs that come on most cars.

I WOULD NOT PAINT THE BULBS! You shouldn't even so much as handle them with bare hands let alone paint them. They are costly to replace as well.

 

[Kumba]

The reason why you have glare is cause our 2000-2002 are not designed for HID's andsome 2003+ do not come with HID reflectors as well. The best way around this is costly and that is to get a set of OEM HID headlights ( not just HID's ).

You could direct them towards the ground more but that reduces efficiency and some argue its a pointless thing to do, I agree. You could also just get a quality set of standard bulbs. Lots of companies make good halogens these days. Might not be as comparable but they do work better then the lower quality bulbs that come on most cars.

I WOULD NOT PAINT THE BULBS! You shouldn't even so much as handle them with bare hands let alone paint them. They are costly to replace as well.

The halogen's in my '06 generate enough glare as it is. I still get flashed 2-3 times a week. Couldn't imagine if I had some 55w HID's in there. The LS by far has the best headlights out of any car I've owned. My plan is to just keep checking ebay and CL until I find a set of gen2 HID's for the cheap. Then do the angel eye and HID upgrade all at once.

 

[Frogman]

Just paint the whole bulb(s) black. Satin black would be best for bling purposes. It won't have any more glare, guaranteed.