Pete's (Now Nate's) 2003 Denali Budget Build thread

[W8TVI]

Custom lower signal/driving lights.

So, i have OEM, amber aftermarket and then clear/chrome ones and none of them really felt right to me.
In my mind, if ANZO actually made a pair that matched the headlights, they would look something like this.
So i did research on baking headlights also got some good tips from @05Single and got busy.

What ya cookin for dinner, Pete? Headlights!



I did mine a little different. The first time i baked them at 220 degrees for 5 minutes. And i couldnt even budge them apart with a kitchen knife. So i threw them back in for another 8 minutes, then shoved the butter knife in at a seam and pulled. It slowly began to release and finally she opened up like a clamshell.



Did the same for the second one. 220 5 mins, then 220 8 mins and they opened. Here's both sets. (the reflectors i bought at the hardware store. you'll see why soon)



Prepping the sections i want to paint match to the ANZO flat black.



To make the amber reflector match, i made a cardboard template, then used that to shape it with the Dremel to fit nice and snug into the shell.



Taped off the clear chrome corner



The ANZO's have a dark but flat type of coating. So i decided to use SEM which is great for heat and wear and tear and has no gloss to it. Painted



starting to make sense now?



Put them all back together and ran a bead of silicone adhesive all around the seam and let them sit.

Installed...

Pics!



Here's an angle to show the reflectors line up great with the ANZO's amber







With lights on








Overall. for my first bake. And a set of $20 lights. They turned out pretty good. They are the best of all 3 worlds (black, clear and amber) and match the Anzo's much better. Let me know what you think

Very nice.
I've been wanting to get a set of turn signals that come like that from the factory, but just fully chromed, but I can only find them as part of a full light set.

I may have to resort to DIY like you.

I still can't make up my mind if I want the black or the full chrome version of those headlights.
If I get the ones like on your truck, I'm going to have to plastidip the center of my grille so it looks like yours...

 

[Sevenevez]

Very nice.
I've been wanting to get a set of turn signals that come like that from the factory, but just fully chromed, but I can only find them as part of a full light set.

I may have to resort to DIY like you.

I still can't make up my mind if I want the black or the full chrome version of those headlights.
If I get the ones like on your truck, I'm going to have to plastidip the center of my grille so it looks like yours...

Decisions Decisions! haha. i thinki like the dark because even when its not running they got that look. but hey, to each his own

 

[Sevenevez]

Streaking at Midnight

my Dad shot this one a few weeks ago when he was in town visiting.
Thought i would share it with ya

 

[gat0r]

sweet

warp speed

 

[Sevenevez]

sweet

warp speed

haha, Back to the Future 2000

 

[Fosscore]

Damn, I like that shot. Love photography myself, just don't have any of that cool editing software and never got the hang of Photoshop. Any that you recommend? I think I remember you saying Light Editor or something like that?

 

[Sevenevez]

Damn, I like that shot. Love photography myself, just don't have any of that cool editing software and never got the hang of Photoshop. Any that you recommend? I think I remember you saying Light Editor or something like that?

Photoshop is for trick edits and 1000 other things. But really yeah. all you need is a Decent DSLR, a TriPod and Lightroom for tweaking your shots. I paid about $600 for my T3i like 6 years ago. Best $600 i probably ever spent. It's paid itself over again and again. Half my friends all have the same camera now too. It's an investment you wont regret as long as you take the time to learn the basics.

 

[Fosscore]

Yep got the DSLR covered and I see that PS Lightroom is not a bad price for PS software. Might have to look at that and take some time to learn it a bit more. Sometimes the raw shot is worth the composition being totally pure, but tricking out and stretching the spectrum like the zoom look above is pretty sweet as well. Nice work and thanks.

 

[Sevenevez]

Yep got the DSLR covered and I see that PS Lightroom is not a bad price for PS software. Might have to look at that and take some time to learn it a bit more. Sometimes the raw shot is worth the composition being totally pure, but tricking out and stretching the spectrum like the zoom look above is pretty sweet as well. Nice work and thanks.

tripod is VERY important for me. i do a lot of dual exposure shots and trick shots where you need 2 images exactly at the same spot. Then overlay them, such as that framed shot or even my sunsets are always dual exposures. 1+2 = final

 

[Fosscore]

Super nice. Thx for the tips.
Desert, Ocean and mountain shots. No comparison.