PlastiDipping Imported LED DRL's for the 10-11 Prius

First off thanks to Bino for finding these awesome DRL lights available on Yahoo Auctions Japan

I used Goody Japan to broker for me and they cost about $300 to get them here. It was pretty easy but I was disappointed with the chrome bezel when they arrived. I actually tried to just sell them because I was not in the mood to mod them, but UCSMFU talked me into keeping them and trying something different... so I thought about somehow making them black.

Now the problem with painting plastic is that it is not very durable. Sure it is fine for a dash or interior pieces (using the proper materials like adhesion promoter and plastic paint), but put that stuff in an outdoor setting with the elements and car wash jets and I doubt it would last very long at all. I have heard about PlastiDip being used before so I bought a can at the local Home Depot.

Now there are a ton of youtube videos on how to apply this stuff and it's pretty straight forward...very light coats till you have a nice thick coating. I think 8-10 coats is about right. Just clean off your surface and it sticks to pretty much anything. Be sure to have proper ventilation and or a mask. I removed the projector fog lights (2 phillip screws) and taped off the lenses.


Attemmpt #1 - The Plastidip looks great! A nice matte finish and seems super durable. I used a Xacto knife to score/cut the interior edges of the 3 led bars and also around the hockey stick led bar. Uhhh ohhh. The edges began to roll up a little after having the tape removed. Did I not put enough on? I put about 8 coats on so perhaps you really need to layer this stuff on? Peeled everything right off and tried again.

Attempt #2 - Alright...I really layered this stuff on..probably 16 coats..same problem..edges not really sticking well and I know they would start to peel up in no time. It dawned on me that no amount of thickness would help exposed open edges from peeling up..the whole thing needed to be encapsulated some how. hmmmmm. I did some research and found

This is a relatively new product that PlastiDip just came out with. It dries crystal clear...unlike their clear version which becomes cloudy. Here's a video of an application to give you an idea.

Attempt #3 - I coat just enough of the black to get everything covered being careful not to over saturate the areas by the edges. Once everything was black I cut away the tape and began to use the glossifier on the entire unit..yep..the whole thing including the 3 led strips and the hockey stick. WOW..this stuff rocks. After just a couple coats (it dries superfast) I could tell this was leaving a nice clear coat on the entire surface. I sprayed the edges and even the back of the edges so the whole thing was encapsulated. As I thought about the upcoming winter and car washes this will go through I really went to town...probably about 20 coats! This thing is bullet proof now.

Installation Tips - It's pretty straight forward..no instructions in the box I got. The 3 led markers are plug n play with your existing wiring. The fog lights are H3 and you can use the ones that come with it (kinda dim) or change out the bulb. The projector housings have a built in cutoff shield you can take out if need be. I like using LEDs for my foglights (my HID 5000k overpowers everything anyway) so they match my other lights so out the shields came.



I ordered some H3 SMD5050 Leds off Ebay which I have had great success with before.

I used WebElectric's module available on their site fro the older Prius. It works fine wired in as below, and they will even give you a $5 discount if you mention priuschat.
wiring diagram -

Now I think that the hockey sticks are too bright to be used at night with the regular lights...but you can judge for yourself. These things are SUPER BRIGHT..just as bright as the Audi ones...but those have a dimmer for night time use which ours do not. I am going to have to find a module to use these as dedicated DRL's but here are some pics so you can get an idea.



This really change the whole front end and ties everything together. PlastiDip comes in white as well so I would imagine it would be stunning installed in a Blizzard..who's game?






All in all probably in my top 3 favorite mods so far -
1.) Valenti Tail Lights
2.) LED Side Mirrors
3.) PlastiDipped LED DRLS

Thanks again UCSMFU for talking me into doing something different with them!

 

Don't forget to encapsulate the whole thing in glossifier. Just took a water jet to them again today and they are seriously bullet proof. The fog lights actually don't touch the housing so hopefully if you choose to replace the fog lights with HID...heat will not be an issue. I am just using H3 LEDs for appearance as nothing really shows over the HID headlights. Here's a quick video I shot after.

 

Obviously you can play a drinking game with the word encapsulate.

 

I used about 4 or 5 light coats just to get everything covered in black and then tons of glossifier..about 15 coats. Ordered and had installed the webelectrics (04-09) module and now they are dedicated DRL and turn off at night. It might as well state any Prius because the connections are very standard. Also, just completed a retrofit of the 2012 console and matched the cup holder to my bisque leather interior.

 

Masked off the the obvious connections in the back but make sure you get the glossifier all the way around so it ENCAPSULATES! lol

 

Yep...the black not really..but lots for the glossifier since it ENCAPSULATES! (drink)

 

I spliced into the drivers side parking light. Just twist it out as if you were going to change the bulb and use a quick connect splice. Is this just to see if it works or are you going to connect to parking lights like Bino? I eventually connected to Webelectrics module listed above.

 

The winker housing is super easy..it has tabs on either side you can feel with you fingers..just push them in and it will pop out forward quite easily. I will see if i have a pic of one out.

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