Headlight & Driving-light Cavity Color

I noticed some cars have blacked-out headlight and driving light cavities and others maintain body color . . . uh, colour. I asked why this is to someone who should know . . . he pleaded ignorance on the issue. He thought it may be personal preference unless you're replicating a specific car. Anyone have good information about this? And if black is used, should it be semi-gloss?

I'm tempted to black out the light cavities (good term, I guess) on my car, which will be white. However, I'm concerned that black paint in that enclosed area will act like a solar heater when the car is left in the sun. I'm also not sure if it will look better or worse.

So I'm going to leave the cavities white, then tape them up with black tape to get an idea how different the car looks. If I like the look, I'll paint the cavities. If not, I'll simply remove the tape.

Mark: Be careful with tape. Heat may turn the stickum into a goey mess. Good idea, though. As for heat buildup, that brings up another question: Has anyone seen any ill affects due to high heat under the headlight covers when black is used, including dark body colors?

Mark, you could try using black poster paint instead of tape. It washes off easily with water (but try some on a spare piece of fibreglass first just to make sure colour doesn't leach into the glass...)

I spent a lot of time working out which parts of my car would be black (including what type of stripes). I found that Photoshop (or similar) is the easiest way to do it - just fiddle with some pictures of similar cars.

I have gloss black for the stripes and matt black for headlights (and indicators), window sills inside doors and deck above engine. The matt finish reduces reflections in all those areas. The window sills also look like a continuation of the dash.

In terms of heat, I have had no problems under the Australian sun.

It seems to me that black for the headlights only works if the stripe(s) are black or there are no stripes. For example, a white car with blue stripes might look odd with black headlights.

As Kim pointed out, there is a lot of reflection on horizontal surfaces. The door sills in particular. On a sunny day, it can affect your field of vision. A lot like wearing a pair of shades that don't have a lot of curve to them with the sun off to the side. The headlites should be done in a mat finish regardless of which color you choose. The reflection between the gloss and the plexiglass sets up stars(bright spots) between the multiple reflections. May make you think your headlite or lens is dirty.

Bill