Tinting your taillights...

[twofourzeroSX]

Hey guys,

I dont have the money to buy those crazy smoked red and clear tails for like 400 bucks. i was wondering can you tint them to make it look cleaner on a black car. how dark of tint do u use and how do you aply it? ThanxDave

[AZhitman]

Not too hard to do, but time-consuming.

I have kinda "perfected" plastic lens mods (smoothing, removing the lettering, polishing and tinting).

I'd be glad to write a quick how-to if there's enough interest.

[Ace 2.0]

i think you should because im poor but i want sexy lights

[Beemen550]

not the greatest pic but u can see what it looks like, $10 can of transparent spray paint, i forget the name of it, u can go a little lighter than i did so it dont look so black but i didnt want to see any yellow turn signal so i went pretty dark and taped of the reverse lights

[Thrwnsprkz]

Ill post some pics of mine later... i gotta find them on a CD and i have class in 20 min... its not that hard, just make sure you CLEAN them real good... Summit Racing sells a type of paint called "night shades" specially desighned for tinting lights but ive also heard of people using "window tint" paint for model cars (R/c Cars) that you can buy at your local hobby shop

I have 3 coats on my side markers, and their BLACK black...my tail lights have one coat and their just tinted so its only noticable when up against another 240sx

...it is technically illegal

[Ren]

we need a write-up.

[rico05]

Yep. Write up please. I think that smoked tails on a white coupe would be teh hawtness!

[Thrwnsprkz]

Step one remove the tail lights, I have an S14 so mine had a few screws that are easily seen behind the trunk liner, the tricky part is to get the adhesive Nissan used to seal the taillights off... I advise doing this in warmer weather so that they are easier to pull off... it may seem like their not budgeing but they just need a lil arm muscle.

Step two, once the tail lights are removed the next thing is to clean them, i used acetone i belive or a type of alcohol, however once applied it tended to cloud the tail lights, thats because any wax built up on the tail lights needs to be removed. the acetone seems to move it around, you just need to get the tail lights as clean as possible, preping is the key to painting... esp when working with clear coat.... (ie: tint)Also remove emblem on S14 tail lights to be sure that you clean compleatly

Step three mask off plastic areas around tail lights, here you can also mask of rear turn sighnals etc... but be sure that no gum from the tape is left on the tail lights if you plan on tinting that area (if you change your mind 1/2 way through

a warm dry enviornment is best for the tinting of clear coat... if its too humid it'll cloud and looks just plain nasty... if you do it, do it right...

use sparingly if you just want to tint, use many layers of light tint to acheive a dark black out effect...

I chose to do this b/c my tails were incrediably scratched up, but now they look crystal smooth... great effect, and since my tails are only tinted I can argue if im ever pulled over since some VW' come stock with taillights of the same effect. most people dont even notice, but it looks clean and light shines right through



i'll try and post some before and after shots if i can find any later... gtget to class tho, hope this helps!

[Arrow]

Yeah Greg, if you can post a write up of smoothing and polishing either the tail lights or sidemarkers that would be greatly appreciated!!! and good steps there ThrwnSprks! One question: how long have you lived in Erie, PA? I used to live there about 9 years ago, went to elementary school there... I lived in Millcreek township, it was a nice place.. but it was almost always gloomy from all the lake affect storms and such... thanks again all!

[Thrwnsprkz]

I live in Pittsburgh, since forever... Im up here in Erie for school starting this year, I like it up here, the lake effect doesnt bother me, in fact i like it more than home b/c i love snow... the only kind of snow i hate is the stupid bothersome kind that just puts 1/10th of an inch on the ground to get everything messy... if its gonna snow, it better do it hard... and here in Erie it does just that...

Also... i dont have very good rear shots on my car in past history for some reason... but heres before...

and after

[devonhynes]

Hey really nice tails, what was the name of the product you used Thrwnsprkz?

[gabossie]

I keep meaning to do this, as I hate the oragish red of the S14 tails. This will definatly be one of the first summer projects for me.

[brisknfade]

How can you hate those tails? They're Be-utiful!

I always thought that smoked tailights just looked funky on a s14. I like how the red and orange tailights match with the rest of a red car.

But, yea. It looks sexy on dark cars. Which I guess is also why I like Kouki tail's on black cars, since those are already a smoky color to begin with.

[twofourzeroSX]

ok so what product is this and where can i buy it. also has anyone ever used normal window tint. and if you have post some pics!

[w1ngzer0]

and of course my post was deleted becase i mentioned zilvia

[ArticDragon192]

[Thrwnsprkz]

"Night Shades" Summit Racing sells it by the can... i think its like 8 oz or somethin... enough that i did my lights, and a buddy of mines celica... still some left over but i dunno if Id trust spraying with it anymore... probibly has clogs in it now that its been sitting so long and would drip on the lights

[twofourzeroSX]

i bought it and succesfully put 3 coats on my sidemarkers. they look great. i went to go remove my rear tail lights and i cant get them out. i unscrewed all the necessary things but it wouldnt budge. suggestions?

[DriftingJesus]

You know what i'd love to have on my 95 240? Some rx-7 style blackout rear taillights. Those things would be so damn sick

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

not the greatest pic but u can see what it looks like, $10 can of transparent spray paint, i forget the name of it, u can go a little lighter than i did so it dont look so black but i didnt want to see any yellow turn signal so i went pretty dark and taped of the reverse lights

Man, that is one hot looking arse your car has Beemen. That mod goes pretty well on dak cars. Gotta do a photochop to see how it would look on mine.

[Atomic-S14]

is this a red tint you did on your s13?what did you use and did you polish the tail lights?how do i polish the tail lights you guys?