Are you allowed to paint headlights or taillights black??
sanding and painting headlights: is it legal??
In tuning, hardly any vehicle part remains untouched. Whether on the chassis, the body, or the wheels, purely technical modifications are possible everywhere. So it is hardly surprising that also the headlights become an object of individualization desire by tuners from all over the world.
But it does not always have to be the installation of xenon headlights be necessary to create that special look. Also the reach for the paint pot can conjure up colorful light on the road. Different colored bulbs than those prescribed are not permitted. So it’s not far-fetched to think that the transparent covers of the to paint the headlights accordingly.
But: is it at all allowed, painting the headlights? This is what we want to deal with in the following tuning guide.
FAQ: headlight painting
No. the color of the paint is irrelevant. If you paint the headlights, the type approval will expire.
Under certain circumstances, the TuV approves the painting with clear varnish, if this improves the function of the headlights or the rear lights.
The stvzo stipulates which colors the lighting equipment may have. white light is allowed to the front, red to the rear and yellow to the side. An exception are the reversing lights.
Painting headlights: legal or illegal?
The headlight covers are permanently installed in most vehicles. Wear from stone chips, rain and other environmental influences can dull or scratch plastics. This can also affect influence on the diffusion of light. But then immediately install a new headlight? Is this really necessary?
Painting headlights or reflectors? This is generally not permitted.
There are numerous offers and references on the Internet which indicate that it is perfectly permissible to first remove the, repaint your worn headlights – with clear varnish of course. This is to prevent expensive expenses for new headlights.
Basically, however: any modification to the headlights and other e-numbered automotive components will automatically invalidate the type approval – first of all, the component and with it the entire vehicle. Even if you paint your headlights with clear lacquer.
It does not matter whether you paint the headlights black or apply a clear coat on the inside or outside, also to protect them from new damage: the installed lighting devices must not be changed, in whatever form, otherwise you will lose the registration.
A exception can be given, if you paint headlights and/or taillights with clear varnish to improve their function. However, this is only permissible if the corresponding modifications presented to and approved by the tuV become. it is therefore always advisable to consult with the experts before making any changes, in order to determine the likelihood of approval.
Also to paint the headlights inside, is not allowed!
Whether the coating is applied to the inside or outside of the headlight cover is irrelevant when assessing the permissibility of the headlight. Especially with xenon headlights you have to be careful: the plastic cover is on the inside specially coated, to withstand the luminous power of the xenon lights and allow for optimal diffusion.
an additional coat of paint can not only reduce the coating and thus the Restricting the function of the headlights, but due to the heat development, solvent vapors can also be generated. In doubt, a deflagration can destroy the entire headlights.
Table of fines for headlight painting
penalty points
| vehicle driven with non-approved lighting equipment |
20 € |
| vehicle driven without valid operating license |
50 € |
| . With danger of the traffic safety |
90 € |
1 |
Fines calculator for illumination on vehicles
Headlight trims may be painted?
However, it looks different when you use the painting headlight bezels but not the cover itself. Provided that the functionality of the headlights is not restricted by the paint and the cover itself is not affected, such changes quite permissible.
Ask but also here in any case before any modification check with professionals, whether the type approval is in fact not in jeopardy. Ideally, you should also paint the headlights, instead of going with a spray can to the components themselves.
Good day ,
may i put a white transparent film on my headlights ?
Any modification to the headlights and other E-numbered vehicle components will automatically invalidate the type approval. You should ask a specialist workshop whether filming is nevertheless permitted in your case. Furthermore, it is often required that the changes are demonstrated at the TuV and approved.
The editorial office of bussgeldkatalog.Org
Hello, I would like to paint the inside of my bi-xenon headlights black, so do not change anything on the diffusing glass/front glass or the actual light sources, but only paint the surrounding chromed material. Is this allowed? Does this count as a "headlight trim"?
No, it is not. Headlights must always emit white light to the front. In this respect you are also not allowed to paint the surrounding material.
The team from bussgeldkatalog.Org
I have installed LED headlights (C class W205). There are areas in my headlights that are obviously not used for reflection, as they are not in the light cone. Can I paint these areas black or in color?? If so, I would then have to show these changes to the TuV?
It is best to ask the test center directly for more information.
The editorial staff of bussgeldkatalog.Org
Good day my question is may I build me led work lights on my car that have no e number or certificate I use them only on our farm who we drive on private grounds to the fields to make what there the normal light no longer helps because you already need brighter light?Mfg
As a rule, parts that are installed must have an E-number and be tested accordingly. Further information can be obtained from a specialist workshop.
The editors of bussgeldkatalog.Org
Is it allowed to sand the yellowed UV layer on the outside, polish the headlight and protect it with a sealant??
(no clear coat)
No. if you modify the headlights in any way, the type approval will be invalidated.
The team from bussgeldkatalog.Org
Hello,
may i paint the reflectors in the front headlight black? This would not change anything in the color of the light.
as a rule, painting of the headlights is strictly prohibited.
The team from bussgeldkatalog.Org
Today I was told at stahlgruber it is again allowed to paint headlights with clear lacquer. Will now make me about it again smartly.
Hello I have a question.
May I cover my front and rear headlights with black tinting film and if so how much percent light transmission must have the film
As you can see from the above text, the lighting directions lose their approval if they are changed. A modification is usually not allowed or must be specially approved. You can get more information from a specialist workshop.
The editors of bussgeldkatalog.Org
If I have the car washed in the car wash and then a coat of wax is applied automatically, is this also a modification to the car?. Do I have to reckon with the fact that after such a wash the operating license expires?? Can I continue to drive like this? If not what can I do about it? The car must be disposed of because the paint is shiny, the headlights shine incorrectly, the windshield also reflects and where possible the rubber compound of the tires is perhaps chemically altered by it?
Have on my peugeot 206:
low beam h7 led exchanged and fog lights h1 led exchanged and everything adjusted
am i allowed to?
Hello, on my alfa giulietta I would like to make my rear headlights dark red or. Black by a professional let. So a glaze not a paint. Is this allowed?
Thanks
greeting
My headlights are gray inside. There are also some that are black inside. The gray as well as the black headlights are original. May I make my gray headlights just like the black black? Or paint inside. They would end up looking exactly like the original black headlights
When I drive on a summer day with 210 km/h over the highway and the wind, dust resp. Sand from the sahara contains, so to speak my headlights sandblasted, I must then each time the headlights exchanged ?
Sandblasting would then in this case be a change to the component, in my opinion even much stronger than a polish.
Would I be allowed to move the car at all afterwards, since an expiration of the operating license is present.
If I wash the car, which is of course dirty after this freeway trip, afterwards in an approved washing plant and as protection for the varnish a program with hot wax select, that would be actually a multiple change at the component.
1. Washing with high pressure
2. Washing with busts
3. Applying wax
D.H. According to the current legal situation, I have changed the component several times and the operating license of the component would expire and thus also the operating license of the vehicle.
How can I, as a layman, now determine these changes to the headlights, since they take place on a microscopic level and are not visible to the naked eye? ?
If I now buy new headlights, and the headlights already have a deviation, to the tested component that received the operating license, how can I recognize this??
Are headlights therefore a wearing part?
Since the environmental protection is becoming more and more important, the manufacturer must not be obliged to design the headlight glass, replaceable?
Because the glass is perhaps 10% of the total component, the remaining 90% are still fully functional and comply with the approved specification.
Also the monetary factor is not to be neglected, because z.B. 1 new xenon headlight costs approx. 800€ ( with doubtful operating license, since no tolerance is granted in the law) ,
a new headlight glass in contrast 8€.
Please enlighten me.
With kind regards
All in all, this may be correct, but there are also significant exceptions!
Of course you have to remember that you do not know every vehicle.
BMW for example, for an e46 you can unclip the headlight lenses and replace them with original parts.
Therefore, a general "conversion" of the headlights is not prohibited in this example! Since there is an original spare part.
So you do not always have to replace the entire headlight
Hello all, I plan to equip my honda prelude with clear glass front turn signals, black glazed turn signals right/left and black glazed taillights. Is this now allowed or do I need for this also an extra acceptance?
Hello, I have read that it is forbidden to paint the inside of the headlight.
How does it look with the foiling of the interior in the headlight ?
Is that allowed ?
A) today’s headlights have a plastic cover lens, not glass, and plastics are not resistant to aging.
B) clear glass lens is usually glued to the housing and is therefore to be considered as one unit.
Accordingly, the type approval refers to the entire headlight. If there is something wrong with it, unfortunately the only solution is to buy a new one.
C) ANY modification inside or outside the headlight – foiling, painting (ALSO NO CLEAR PAINT – no no testing organization gives their blessing for this – false claim. ), also polishing leads to the loss of the type approval. Consider the structure of the clear glass> plastic – adhesion promoter – UV protection lacquer – adhesion promoter – weather protection lacquer. If you damage these paint layers with grinding, polishing and the like you will have only short fun with the headlight. You can be lucky that such manipulated headlights do not attract the attention of the inspector. And when polishing the lenses, no one has ever kept the thickness of the material 100% the same thickness. With the eye not necessarily to see but the today’s digital light adjuster shows every deviation.
D) clear glass headlights produce by the projection system inside z.B. The light/dark boundary. D.H. The illuminant, the bulb has its filament in the burning point of the parabolic mirror system. Replacing the bulb with this Kasper-LED bulb means that the light is no longer generated at the focal point. Leads to glare and thus to danger.
E) E-test mark – caution. Ex ry z X stands for which country tested the component, Y stands for the rule according to which it was tested and Z is a certification number – a headlight with E13 R10 xxxx has an E-mark but has not been tested as a headlight. It should have been tested according to R8 for headlights. R10 is the test for "electromagnetic compatibility".
The touning market has tested and functional systems for more or less all models in its program. Please leave the fingers of this cheap fuzz tuning such as painting, foiling, etc.
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