Tinted My Taillights

[Partysan7]

Looks good, I ordered the same thing for my M yesterday ( Headlights Light smoke and Taillights Dark smoke ). I just hope the taillight tint will be good for '08 model ( in their ebay store they stated fits 06-08 models ) so I dont know now... oh well will see... do they come precut like that around the white part or did you do it yourself ? Did you use some adhesive to put them on ?!

[sunoco]

Finally got the darker tints for the rear, Here are some pics:

Damn it looks real good man!

[EniGmA1987]

Looks really good. Mine got here yesterday but I am waiting until that spray stuff RVinyl recommends gets here before I put the tint on. I have never done tint and with the way the lights curve around I think it will go a lot better for me if I am able to move the vinyl around a bit while I position it and squeeze out the air and not have to worry about it sticking right away.

[AlbuquerqueM45sport]

Tinting your taillights! The only thing more stupid is tinting your front windshield! Just pull the bulbs out so you can not be seen at all! Auto makers do all they can to increase safety and in the case of our cars do it while looking outstanding from the rear with LED lamps, and you want to take that all away and make it so you cannot be seen from the rear. Really stupid!

[yosM45]

Tinting your taillights! The only thing more stupid is tinting your front windshield! Just pull the bulbs out so you can not be seen at all! Auto makers do all they can to increase safety and in the case of our cars do it while looking outstanding from the rear with LED lamps, and you want to take that all away and make it so you cannot be seen from the rear. Really stupid!

That's good and all......but tell us how you really feel?

[nolmt50]

Tinting your taillights! The only thing more stupid is tinting your front windshield! Just pull the bulbs out so you can not be seen at all! Auto makers do all they can to increase safety and in the case of our cars do it while looking outstanding from the rear with LED lamps, and you want to take that all away and make it so you cannot be seen from the rear. Really stupid!

The LED taillights on these cars are brighter even with tint on them compared to cars with regular lights. I looked into it and to be legal they must be visible from 300 feet away, Which they are!! So If someone hits my car from not being able to see my lights, they must be blind and it is there fault! And from the amount of people out there who tint taillights on there cars, It must look outstanding to them!

[EniGmA1987]

Did everyone elses tints come out good? I just got mine on and it turned out absolutely horrible. The pieces were not cut even close to the right size and the angle of the cuts was all wrong on 2 of the pieces. Due to the large amount of stretching I had to do, one of the pieces ripped from being stretched so thin and both of the larger pieces have all kinds of wrinkles that wont come out from stretch marks. I am probably going to take them off tomorrow if after sleeping on it they still look so bad

[nolmt50]

Did everyone elses tints come out good? I just got mine on and it turned out absolutely horrible. The pieces were not cut even close to the right size and the angle of the cuts was all wrong on 2 of the pieces. Due to the large amount of stretching I had to do, one of the pieces ripped from being stretched so thin and both of the larger pieces have all kinds of wrinkles that wont come out from stretch marks. I am probably going to take them off tomorrow if after sleeping on it they still look so bad

You should send the company an email, They might send you new ones. just explain what happened. Or take a picture far away from the lights so they dont look bad, and send it to the company and get that $20 rebate..

[yosM45]

I got mine at my house. I've been out of town so I wont get to it until this weekend.

[a.blanco0905]

Tinting your taillights! The only thing more stupid is tinting your front windshield! Just pull the bulbs out so you can not be seen at all! Auto makers do all they can to increase safety and in the case of our cars do it while looking outstanding from the rear with LED lamps, and you want to take that all away and make it so you cannot be seen from the rear. Really stupid!

Wow... it's crazy how you're telling these guys, who are only tinting their tail lights, that that's a stupid thing to do... imo opinion you've done far more stupid shyt than that... for instance driving your car at crazy speeds but yet "doing the wise thing" by slowing down when there's traffic and giving advice to people on how to use radar detectors... saying those things wouldnt be as stupid if you werent a COP, but since you're one, THAT's pretty stupid to me.

Did everyone elses tints come out good? I just got mine on and it turned out absolutely horrible. The pieces were not cut even close to the right size and the angle of the cuts was all wrong on 2 of the pieces. Due to the large amount of stretching I had to do, one of the pieces ripped from being stretched so thin and both of the larger pieces have all kinds of wrinkles that wont come out from stretch marks. I am probably going to take them off tomorrow if after sleeping on it they still look so bad

That's exactly the same thing that happened to me on my BMW, it ended up looking like crap and I got so mad that I took it off and never bothered with that stuff since... and I remember paying far more than u guys for that crap at the time. I'm not against tinting tail lights at all, I actually like it, but I'd prefer that ppl actually painted them instead of using film, obviously it's more expensive and at the price u can do this mod with film, is a no brainer, but it's just much more clean looking when painted... just my 2 cents.

[AlbuquerqueM45sport]

a.blanco0905, I want to first say you're correct! I was driving way too fast and slowing down for traffic does not make it any better, I should not have been driving that fast on the streets. Second, I likely should not have been giving advice on how to defeat police radar, I certainly won't do that again. And finally, I see you served in the US armed forces defending our country, for that I thank you!

[a.blanco0905]

[InfinitiEric]

From a year ago..

[EniGmA1987]

Nice pic!

[a.blanco0905]

Very nice pic... but those rims, ughhh... I call 22" wheels and up "rims" lol...

[InfinitiEric]

Very nice pic... but those rims, ughhh... I call 22" wheels and up "rims" lol...

[TylorTank]

Very nice. Did the same to mine as well.

[Larz]

Always wanted to tint my taillights, Shops around here are charging $80-150, so I bought some cheap film on ebay for $12 and decided to give it a try when I had time, If I didnt like it or did a bad job its only a few buck and comes right off. Better then spraying the lights and being stuck with it.

Absolutely brillinat job, mate! And it does enhance the 'look' of the rear end - minus the lonely 'M' label sat all alone up in the corner. Perhaps consider replacing the entire badge or, like me, remove all the badges except the Infiniti symbol.

Jus one thing though, mate. I need to correct you when you say the quote above. VHT nightshades is removable in seconds with a product called "goof-off" or similar, and having done a totally buggered job on my first try, I can confirm that it is not only MUCH MORE EASILY reomved than any tint film mistakes I removed, the lens was even more cleaner and newer looking than I started with, LOL.

Having actually used film sheets, pre-cut films, and paying a shop that speciazlizes in this job, I can say that there is absolutely NO film anywhere at any price that does what VHT Nighshades does for $15. All films no matter how well they are installed, have the same finish - it still 'looks' like a film was pasted on top of the lens. Absolutely nothing wrong with that! However, VHT, when done properly, makes the lens look like it came that shade form the factory - very clean and it refracts AND reflects light much better coz it is mere microns adhered to the surface, not a plastic coating pasted on top of the surface. Also, since VHT is merely microns thick, it lets nearly 100% of the bulb brightness shine through (again ONLY if done properly) while still making your tails darker - and it allows one to see the inside fixture reflecting against itself.

Example:

,
Now I've re-done them to add bars over the turn signals, making them look very unique, but allowing the turn signals to shine brightly at the same time. All that for $15 and a roll of electric tape to make the bars.
Notice how with VHT and my black car, I was able to go heavier along the leading edges so the plastic tail light fixture actual meshes and blends into the black colour of the car. You can't do that with any tint film.
.

.
Here is the rear end, ALL lenses tinted with VHT including reverse lenses - running lights ON, flashers ON, and reverse lights ON.
.

.
Also did HVT on my side turn signals:
.

.
I'm not poo-ing on your mod, mate. it truly DOES look absolutely brilliant and you did a fab job! The staggering amount of effort and skill needed to heat and stretch the film to accomodate the angles, curves, and surfaces on our tail lights can only be appreciated by someone like you and I who have actually done it. To make it look as great as you did, was a staggering effort and yours came out so MUCH better than mine doing it on my own. Just wanted to clarify that there are more options with VHT, and more importantly for blokes like me, it really IS easy to remove it and start over - again. You cant peel tint off and then do it over - I found out the hard way, LOL that a fresh sheet of film is needed for every re-do, or you wind up with uneven coverage, and stretch marks.

[TXT]

Very nice. Did the same to mine as well.

Where in NC are you from TylorTank?

I like the contrast you have on your tailights with the flat black tint on the tailights. I think it works well with the color of your car.

Larz did it correct by matching the tint and making it shiny, just like the rest of his black car.

[Larz]

TXT that looks fabulous. Ever noticed how absolutely BLOODY HUGE our stock tail light fixtures are? Brake lights for the blind! With the red section (or all of it) tinted, it decreases the look from bloody huge to almost normal size. It's a great effect - not to mention how cool dark lenses are to begin with.

[Larz]

Very nice. Did the same to mine as well.

Where in NC are you from TylorTank?

I like the contrast you have on your tailights with the flat black tint on the tailights. I think it works well with the color of your car.

Larz did it correct by matching the tint and making it shiny, just like the rest of his black car.

Thanks! It's actually VERY shiny with a deep gloss. After the application of VHT, I did 4 coats of DupliColor Clearcoat, then wet sanded (by hand to allow for varying pressure) with 2000 grit sandpaper to an even foggy appearance. Then I applied Meguiars Ultimate Polish with my random orbital machine. Then as a final coat to protect against UV, I did a hand wax with pure carnuba from Griot's Garage. The only 'flat black' areas are the trunk trim pieces coz that's Plasti-Dip and it gives a matte finish unless you use glossifier (which I did not).

[TXT]

Although this mod is very nice and pleasing to the eye, after some thought, this is something I won't do.

Yes our taillights are huge, but it gives off a very nice presence I think but tinting it will take my car to a different direction. I want a very stock look with minor tweaks to make it look even better.

[Larz]

Point taken, mate. All this stuff is subjective, meaning it's value and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder. Personally, I think blacked-out tails are too far over the lne for me, but I appreciate the look it adds and the way the car owners feel about them. On a non-black car, painting the trunk trim pieces to match the factory color looks quite good without looking tricked-out. Someone on here did it to his silver M and it looks brilliant. Adding a black roof also makes it stand out without looking tricked-out. My car is already black so not for me.
It's all in the eye of the beholder.

[SD_M45]

Here's my recent Mod... Chose to go a Dark Cherry vs blacked out, tinted with a Clear/Paint mix. Output is still excellent

[Wangtang408]

For those of you who used VHT nightshade, did you remove the tail light?

[Larz]

I removed mine. It takes maybe 10min to remove them. The DIY is in the FAQ thread. I suppose you could mask around them but removing them makes a much cleaner mod and you are able to lay them on a soft surface and are free move about them and change angles whilst spraying them.

[fat3oy]

clean. be careful with the film, especially if you live in a hot climate... they have been known to cause spider cracks in the plastic...

[Wangtang408]

I removed mine. It takes maybe 10min to remove them. The DIY is in the FAQ thread. I suppose you could mask around them but removing them makes a much cleaner mod and you are able to lay them on a soft surface and are free move about them and change angles whilst spraying them.

Hey Larz, did you remove the trunk piece as well? Also did you wet sand the lights?
When I got the M, it came with 2 scratches on the light, I figured if I remove the lights then I might as well wet sand them and try to get ride of those scratches, they are not deep.

[Wangtang408]

Nvm Larz, I just read you DIY in FAQs. Thanks.