Red/Clear Taillight DIY?

ncstatewolfpack · Oct 7, 2005

do you have any more pics of the smoked taillights and maybe a DIY? i have an 99 emerald green so the smoked idea might work pretty well.

skabone · Oct 7, 2005

ncstatewolfpack said:
do you have any more pics of the smoked taillights and maybe a DIY? i have an 99 emerald green so the smoked idea might work pretty well.

as for a DIY, I didn't end up doing one. but in hinde sight I wish I did. its real easy to do. go out and get some spray tint, you can find it via google by typing in spray tint. once you get the tint spray take off your tails. clean them up real nice before you start painting anything. if you want to smoke out the pink section like I did get out some masking tape and some newspaper. take some time with the prep, I masked off the area pretty well with an inch border of tape. then i took some newspaper and covered up the red part of the tails and used that tape border to attach it to. once its all prepped up lightly apply a coat of spray tint. let it dry, and apply another coat untill you achieve the desired darkness. after its fully dry apply a coat of clear coat to protect the tint spray. you can go to wallmart or someplace that sells a clearcoat that you can use on plastic. after the clear is all dry, take off all the masking tape and reinstall and it should come out nice like mine did.

ncstatewolfpack · Oct 8, 2005

so just making sure, you did this all on the exterior of the light correct? i'm assuming so since it requires a layer of clearcoat. what brand spray tint and clearcoat did you end up using?

thanks in advance for the help

skabone · Oct 8, 2005

yes correct.

this is the stuff I used, but I got it from a different site. I no longer have the site I got it from.
http://shop.autoi.com/osb/showitem.cfm?Category=179

you could also use this if you don't want to worry about messing up. its a lot quicker, and you can always take it off if your not happy with it.
http://www.stickercity.com/store/home.php?cat=2230

ncstatewolfpack · Oct 8, 2005

appreciate it, i think i'll use the spray tint, how much does it affect light output of the signals? i'm sure it makes is a lil darker, but does it affect the color any? i'm guessing you're still using stock bubls correct?

skabone · Oct 9, 2005

it really doesn't effect the output that much. other drivers will be able to see your turn signal just fine. if you've seen jetts, some saabs, some mercedes, its similar to their effect.

JMillerUA6 · Jan 15, 2007

I went to a hobby shop and Testors makes a spray tint that worked really well and it's made for plastic. I also picked up a can of clear while I was there. Both cans cost me about $10.00. If you want to go real dark I would suggest getting two cans of tint bacause the cans are small.

steadypimpin · Apr 20, 2007

skabone said:
as for a DIY, I didn't end up doing one. but in hinde sight I wish I did. its real easy to do. go out and get some spray tint, you can find it via google by typing in spray tint. once you get the tint spray take off your tails. clean them up real nice before you start painting anything. if you want to smoke out the pink section like I did get out some masking tape and some newspaper. take some time with the prep, I masked off the area pretty well with an inch border of tape. then i took some newspaper and covered up the red part of the tails and used that tape border to attach it to. once its all prepped up lightly apply a coat of spray tint. let it dry, and apply another coat untill you achieve the desired darkness. after its fully dry apply a coat of clear coat to protect the tint spray. you can go to wallmart or someplace that sells a clearcoat that you can use on plastic. after the clear is all dry, take off all the masking tape and reinstall and it should come out nice like mine did.

Do your tails look shiny after the tinting? I'm asking because I did mine last year and they didnt look shiny and I want them to look like they are OEM for police purposes. I've seen other cars with spray tinted tails and theirs look like a rough finish too. Does anyone know how to make them look smooth after the painting? I wanna do this to mine soon but dont want the rough looking finish.

skabone · Apr 20, 2007

steadypimpin said:
Do your tails look shiny after the tinting? I'm asking because I did mine last year and they didnt look shiny and I want them to look like they are OEM for police purposes. I've seen other cars with spray tinted tails and theirs look like a rough finish too. Does anyone know how to make them look smooth after the painting? I wanna do this to mine soon but dont want the rough looking finish.

no, not too shinny but the clear coat will help shine it up a bit. what you can to that will help is use some fine grit sandpaper and that should make it appear shiny.
Its cool to see those old pics of my car with the old rims, brings back some memories. :afro: