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Taillights Tinted

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Old Dec 1, 2007 | 01:13 PM
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Default Taillights Tinted

Took the taillights out today, and cleaned them with soap and hot water, then rubbed the lenses down with rubbing alcohol. I took some blue painters masking tape and masked off the black plastic from the lens so as not to get overspray on the black plastic. Took some 800 fine grit and lightly sanded the lenses down till the surface became scuffed and cloudy. then I took some 1500 grit to remove the big scratches, and make every nice and smooth. I sanded straight up and down on the right and left sides. then took some more soap and hot water, cleaned them off, and rubbed down with rubbing alcohol again. I dried them off with a microfiber towel, and let them air dry a minute or so.

Then I took a can of VHT Nightshades, and sprayed on light even coats. until I got the desired darkness. They are currently drying, and will dry until about 8:30 pm, at which point I will go back to the garage and spray several even light coats of clear on to seal them from the rain, and elements. The clear will also add the shine back in to the lens, and eliminate the sanding scratches and imperfections.

here's the pics from start to tint phase.
 
Attached Thumbnails Taillights Tinted-dscn1125.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1124.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1126.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1127.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1135.jpg  

Old Dec 1, 2007 | 01:13 PM
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more pics
 
Attached Thumbnails Taillights Tinted-dscn1139.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1140.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1142.jpg  
Old Dec 1, 2007 | 01:48 PM
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wow thouse are really black is that street legal?
 
Old Dec 1, 2007 | 02:27 PM
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Originally Posted by 3.8for the win
wow thouse are really black is that street legal?
i don't think so, but at night it won't matter, cause the bulb light will be shining through them, and i left my 3rd brake light untinted. during the day, the light from the sky will penetrate and cause the internal lens to refract, but im sure it will probably be noticeable.
 
Old Dec 1, 2007 | 02:35 PM
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i like them, i want to see some pics when you put them back on the car.
 
Old Dec 1, 2007 | 03:05 PM
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Originally Posted by 3.8for the win
i like them, i want to see some pics when you put them back on the car.
i just went down to check on them ,they are dry, but im gonna wait till 8:30 before I go back down and spray them with clear. the can says to wait 6 hours so I will wait.

then I will let the clear dry overnight, and probably wetsand and polish a little bit and then put them on tomorrow afternoon.

pics will be taken once I'm done.
 
Old Dec 1, 2007 | 10:09 PM
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Thats hott
 
Old Dec 1, 2007 | 11:07 PM
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Will look alot better once you get the clear on them.
 
Old Dec 1, 2007 | 11:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Lances03SVT
Will look alot better once you get the clear on them.
yup, im letting them cure till tomorrow after church, then i need to wetsand them just a little bit to get some dirt out, then i'll throw on another coat, let it dry for 2 hours, and clear them....then they should be good.
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 12:55 PM
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wet sanded them again this morning, and threw on a couple coats of clear.

here's the pics.
 
Attached Thumbnails Taillights Tinted-dscn1151.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1152.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1155.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1146.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1148.jpg  

Old Dec 2, 2007 | 01:02 PM
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they look better, now i want to see them on the car.
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 01:05 PM
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i got the driver side lens on after church, but I had to spray some more clear on the passenger lens.

so the psgr side is still drying till about 8:30 or 9:00, then I'll go stick it on as well.

here's the pics of the driver side lens.
 
Attached Thumbnails Taillights Tinted-dscn1184.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1163.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1168.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1173.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1182.jpg  

Old Dec 2, 2007 | 01:08 PM
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they look good what stuff did you use and ware did you get it from i might do that.











do you ever wash your car?
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 01:15 PM
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Originally Posted by 3.8for the win
they look good what stuff did you use and ware did you get it from i might do that.

do you ever wash your car?
yep i wash it, but it's been raining here, so haven't been able to.


Auto Parts Store
800 Grit Sand Paper
1500 Grit Sand Paper
1 Can of Duplicolor Clear Lacquer (Spray Can)

You'll need a bottle of rubbing alcohol
2 Cans of VHT Nightshades (got mine on ebay).

get some microfiber towels to dry them off with, otherwise you'll scratch the hell out of them.
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 01:19 PM
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also I don't know what kind of crack "some" people on here are smoking, but i ran both of the lens under cold water at full stream for 15 minutes, and the stuff didn't wash off. i also ran it under hot water at full stream for 15 minutes, and the stuff didn't wash off....so not sure what those people did who claim it comes off in the rain, but im pretty sure they didn't use the spray correctly, didn't let it cure, and didn't spray the clear, or let the clear cure either.

so if it's applied correctly you won't have problems with it running off in the rain.
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 01:23 PM
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ok thanks.
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 02:50 PM
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well the lacquer dries pretty fast, so went down about 20 mins ago and the lens was dry, so i took a damp microfiber cloth, gently washed the lens, and pried loose the dirt on the surface (from the air), then dried it off, and put it back on the car, fastened it all down. i they look great.

here's the final results.

pics have lights off, lights on with no brakes, lights on with brakes.

as you can clearly see, they are visible during the day, and will not create a traffic hazard.

i also left the 3rd brakelight alone, as a precaution.
 
Attached Thumbnails Taillights Tinted-dscn1195.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1193.jpg   Taillights Tinted-dscn1200.jpg  

Last edited by Mixedbreed02GT; Dec 2, 2007 at 02:53 PM.
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 02:57 PM
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they look good.
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 03:04 PM
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Looks sharp, man. Good job!
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 03:17 PM
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Looks good man, very nice job!!
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 05:21 PM
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thank ya, thank ya very much
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 05:51 PM
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It looks pretty good. But I'm still getting vinyl tint just to **** you off, haha.
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 05:59 PM
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Originally Posted by PColav6
It looks pretty good. But I'm still getting vinyl tint just to **** you off, haha.
and it will take 23 less hours, LMAO


JFWY
 
Old Dec 2, 2007 | 09:24 PM
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Originally Posted by PColav6
It looks pretty good. But I'm still getting vinyl tint just to **** you off, haha.
Originally Posted by stanger00
and it will take 23 less hours, LMAO JFWY
to each his own!
 
Old Dec 3, 2007 | 06:08 AM
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So this can be done and finished in 24hrs? Looks really "MEAN" now. Great job!
 
Old Dec 3, 2007 | 07:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Kains03GT
So this can be done and finished in 24hrs? Looks really "MEAN" now. Great job!
i think it's more like 31 hours. i started at about 11:30 Saturday morning, and it was all finished by around 6 pm Sunday.

the key is to let the VHT stuff cure, so it won't clump up and get moisture in it,and end up getting ruined by the rain/elements. after the VHT cures, then you need to get the clear lacquer on there to protect the VHT, and be very generous with the lacquer. the more coats, the more protection...just make they are sprayed on evenly, and lightly. you should use the whole can of clear.
 
Old Dec 16, 2007 | 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Mixedbreed02GT
also I don't know what kind of crack "some" people on here are smoking, but i ran both of the lens under cold water at full stream for 15 minutes, and the stuff didn't wash off. i also ran it under hot water at full stream for 15 minutes, and the stuff didn't wash off....so not sure what those people did who claim it comes off in the rain, but im pretty sure they didn't use the spray correctly, didn't let it cure, and didn't spray the clear, or let the clear cure either.

so if it's applied correctly you won't have problems with it running off in the rain.
That's because you used the VHT nightshades not the stuff sold on AM's site. I've used the VHT stuff on my previous car and it was quality stuff. Apparently AM's brand is not. Also I did not go through all of what you did when I sprayed mine. All I did was clean the tails, spray and let dry. I didn't use clear or anything and I only let them dry for about 4 hours outside. Sanding and clear coat is not needed...granted it may look nicer but it's not needed.
 

Last edited by redfire04; Dec 16, 2007 at 07:00 PM.
Old Dec 16, 2007 | 07:56 PM
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they look good, he did a nice job.
 
Old Dec 17, 2007 | 09:56 AM
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man, i love nightshades!!
they look great
here's what mine looked like on my ex.
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Old Dec 17, 2007 | 09:59 AM
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Originally Posted by 3.8for the win
wow thouse are really black is that street legal?
hell no


i have the smoked ones
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