Smoked Tail Lights

[xTRELLx]

I've been doing a lot of research on smoking out my tail lights. I'm not trying to be crazy and black the fucker out. Just want it to be a little darker. My first thoughts were to buy some film from RVinyl.com but the shipping to alaska was like $40, so I said screw that. My boy smoked his a year ago using vht spray buy his looks a little dull, guessing it's because he didnt use the clear coat. Thinking to be cheap and run with the spray but I don't wanna fuck myself in the process. ugh...

[himurax13]

Originally Posted by xTRELLx I've been doing a lot of research on smoking out my tail lights. I'm not trying to be crazy and black the fucker out. Just want it to be a little darker. My first thoughts were to buy some film from RVinyl.com but the shipping to alaska was like $40, so I said screw that. My boy smoked his a year ago using vht spray buy his looks a little dull, guessing it's because he didnt use the clear coat. Thinking to be cheap and run with the spray but I don't wanna fuck myself in the process. ugh...

Pure RICE.

Just say no.

Sent via blown passenger side speakers.

[skeeter149]

Overlays can be removed, say you find you don't like it or fubar the application. But is for life Holmes. That can be bad if your laws don't allow it.

[blackms3_71]

You can always sand it back off if you dont like it, i have done it many times and was thinking of doing it to my own car soon

[Cevaes_64]

I used VHT on my truck and im very happy iwth the results, With VHT depending on your skills you can do it either ways, Dull or shiny, just make sure you clear coat it plenty of times. Also look for tutorials on youtube, remember this is PERMANENT, For my MS3 i just bought the Rvinyl, if you look them up on ebay its cheaper, i just paid 20.99 for the taillights tint free shipping

[6Y MAZDA]

VHT is not permanent. It is removable with paint thinner and a little elbow grease.

[Cevaes_64]

yes but you have to sand the taillight to make it stickier and smoother so you will be screwed no matter what

[6Y MAZDA]

Originally Posted by Cevaes_64 yes but you have to sand the taillight to make it stickier and smoother so you will be screwed no matter what

i never sanded mine. i just cleaned them really well. Had no problems.

[CrawlingMS3]

I had mine professionally done in a paint booth and they got a clear coat over the tint. I liked it at first but now I hate it. Only way to remove mine is to sand it off...

[Cevaes_64]

Sanding it is the only way to get it right, W/O sanding it might look ok but its not the correct way, that`s why I chose vinyl, ease and removable.

[CrawlingMS3]

Originally Posted by Cevaes_64 Sanding it is the only way to get it right, W/O sanding it might look ok but its not the correct way, that`s why I chose vinyl, ease and removable.

I'm gonna sand mine when I get home. Hopefully I don't fuck up too bad

[Cevaes_64]

This is how mine looks like after 2 years don't have any closer pics

[PUGENE]

I used isopropyl alcohol and my spray tint came off with a little sweat and effort. Three separate times.


Sent from my beard...

[jk_ms3]

I'm confused as to how smoked tail lights net you any sort of powa gains.

That being said, rvinyl has the smoked vinyl overlays for MS3 tail lights for $25 and free shipping on ebay, but if you Make An Offer of $20, they'll take it. And they're doing a promotion where if you send them 4 high res photos of your car with them installed, they'll rebate you $20. So essentially they're free. Probably worth trying at least.

[Badinfluence]

The best results I have personally seen do paint thinner before they paint the VHT or Custom Clear mix. Just don't rub to hard or you will destroy your presanded texture on the light.

Solvent Clean (Rubbing Aclohol), Sand (fine), Clean (Window Cleaner), Sand (Ultra Fine), Clean(W.C.), Wet Sand (MEGGGGGGGGGGA FINE), then Paint thinner (Light), Paint, Check for Runs, (Wet Sand if necessary), then either repeat paint, or Finish

For Paint I did Clearcoat with a hint of black and did 3 coats of it. It is pretty thick, but easy added layer made it slightly darker, so I just stopped when I was happy with the darkness. Just don't go overzelous because then you have to take off all the layers and start over.

I bought my car with VHT blacked out lights. I had a cop pull me over and get pretty pissed at me and I let him know I didn't know how to remove it and he was nice enough not to write me a ticket. I talked to a Professional I knew and he recommened Laquer Thinner. Took that shit right off and didn't burn the plastic. Go fast and in a circle and keep it wet, but not to wet. Only rub on the black parts, not the clear parts.

I have done my lights 4 times and they are still clear. Just get the 3M headlight restoration kit from Autozone for 20 bucks and redo the last step every time.

The way that works best is a cheapo paint gun from Habor Freight, Plain mixed Clearcoat from Autozone (Easy to get), and some plain jet black paint that is no premixed (The stuff at Autozone is).

Take a small scrap peice of Plexiglass or Acrylic and run the 3M Headlight kit on it and test it on the media. It will run a bit on the Acrylic, but you should practice and get your mix right. Much easier to throw away a peice of acrylic than to do your lights 3000 times.

If you want the best advise, talk to a car restoration guy. They usually know solvants and paint. If you find a local guy they may even share tips about what mixes they use. Remember the Humidity will affect the mix!

Originally Posted by jk_ms3 I'm confused as to how smoked tail lights net you any sort of powa gains. That being said, rvinyl has the smoked vinyl overlays for MS3 tail lights for $25 and free shipping on ebay, but if you Make An Offer of $20, they'll take it. And they're doing a promotion where if you send them 4 high res photos of your car with them installed, they'll rebate you $20. So essentially they're free. Probably worth trying at least.

I gave this a try. Some of the people on Ebay just suck at trimming and fuck up the shape. In addition they use cheap tint and it just falls off at the next car wash. They are nice as hell though. I had them send me some oversized peices and I trimmed them myself. I wasn't happy with how loose they were and was worried about them getting stuck to someone's windshield doing 90. I found a dealer that would do all 4 taillights and headlights for 50 bucks, professionally installed with Professional Grade tint. If I didn't lothe waititing 4 hours for stuff like that I would have done that.

[El_Diablo]

VHT, the lighting sucks but they're even, sorry for the dirt.

[Badinfluence]

Originally Posted by El_Diablo VHT, the lighting sucks but they're even, sorry for the dirt.

Hey can I ask how you got it that light? My VHT I have used has never come out that light before, even with 1 coat super super light spray. Did you Use Paint Thinner before?

Thats one of the best I have seen assuming the dirt is dirt.

[El_Diablo]

The dirt is just that, they really shine when clean. I sanded all the way to 2k grit, cleaned them with prep spray and I always heat my spray cans for better atomization. They're cleared with duplicolor IIRC. Its very important to heat spray cans to get a smooth and even finish. I typically leave them sit out in the sun and then right before use I heat them with a heat gun and continue to do so while shaking the can.

[Cevaes_64]

This is the tutorial i followed, is really easy and detailed.. here you go:
HOW TO: Tinting tail lights, The right way (PICS) - Tacoma World Forums

[xTRELLx]

Oh shit. Way more people replied than I was expecting. Thanks guys. I've been debating for months. Figured vht would be too dark so I never did it but if I could get it to be a bit clear then I'm down.

Originally Posted by jk_ms3 I'm confused as to how smoked tail lights net you any sort of powa gains. That being said, rvinyl has the smoked vinyl overlays for MS3 tail lights for $25 and free shipping on ebay, but if you Make An Offer of $20, they'll take it. And they're doing a promotion where if you send them 4 high res photos of your car with them installed, they'll rebate you $20. So essentially they're free. Probably worth trying at least.

Not worried about power gains right now. Since I'm still in Alaska.

[xTRELLx]

Originally Posted by Cevaes_64 I used VHT on my truck and im very happy iwth the results, With VHT depending on your skills you can do it either ways, Dull or shiny, just make sure you clear coat it plenty of times. Also look for tutorials on youtube, remember this is PERMANENT, For my MS3 i just bought the Rvinyl, if you look them up on ebay its cheaper, i just paid 20.99 for the taillights tint free shipping

So how is that Rvinyl?

[motherfnmonsta]

why do I think this discussion belongs on mazda 24/7 instead of here

[MTLspeed6]

Niteshade allows u to go as dark as u want (or as light). You will only notice a slight difference after the first coat. Just read up on the techniques a tips on how to use it and it will come out amazing. I put 3 thin coats on mine, with 2 coats of clear (this was 2 years ago and its still looking fiiiine)

[Cevaes_64]

Originally Posted by xTRELLx So how is that Rvinyl?

The worst 20 bucks i ever spent... they're tint sucked big time, only with a heat gun i could manage to install one piece but it didn't came out right, and i have done this several times so stay away and go vht that's where I'm heading next

sent from my Galaxy Note 2

[CrawlingMS3]

To anyone who is going to or has used anything other than VHT and wants to remove the tint. Be prepared to spend 2 days sanding the lights and also be prepared to sand off the tips of your fingers. I started sanding my tail lights at 2pm yesterday and stopped at about 8. I only got a little over half of it done

[El_Diablo]

Brake cleaner.... then lightly sand til you get an even color & spray with clear to return to stock.

[Spoofmastafly]

Goof off, will remove the shit with no effort.

Fuck VHT. Go get a can of dupicolor black metal cast. I used red on my tails. Dries clear and shiney, the more layers the darker it gets. Just let it dry the alotted titime between coats. It will get hazy but once the stuff is completely dry its clear and shiney. Wet sand and a littlw polish leaves you with a factory finish. Never needed to clear mine. Goof off would strip the shit by just spraying it on the light. Good stuff not to be mixed up with gewgone.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[CrawlingMS3]

Originally Posted by El_Diablo Brake cleaner.... then lightly sand til you get an even color & spray with clear to return to stock.

Originally Posted by Spoofmastafly Goof off, will remove the shit with no effort.

Works through clear coat? Won't damage the lens?

[Spoofmastafly]

Wont damage the lens, I never sprayed clear on mine. Pretty sure my brother did on his Sti and had no issue removing it with goof off. Might need to use some elbow grease then.

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[blackms3_71]

Originally Posted by CrawlingMS3 To anyone who is going to or has used anything other than VHT and wants to remove the tint. Be prepared to spend 2 days sanding the lights and also be prepared to sand off the tips of your fingers. I started sanding my tail lights at 2pm yesterday and stopped at about 8. I only got a little over half of it done

It should have taking you 20 mins what grit sand paper were you using?

[CrawlingMS3]

Originally Posted by blackms3_71 It should have taking you 20 mins what grit sand paper were you using?

Started with 400 to get it off and then used 2000 to remove small scratches from the lens

[Badinfluence]

Originally Posted by CrawlingMS3 To anyone who is going to or has used anything other than VHT and wants to remove the tint. Be prepared to spend 2 days sanding the lights and also be prepared to sand off the tips of your fingers. I started sanding my tail lights at 2pm yesterday and stopped at about 8. I only got a little over half of it done

Dude Laquer thinner and 5 minutes. I didn't even have to repolish the lights after. Like I said talk to a paint guy they know solvants.

[CrawlingMS3]

Originally Posted by Badinfluence Dude Laquer thinner and 5 minutes. I didn't even have to repolish the lights after. Like I said talk to a paint guy they know solvants.

No solvent worked on what I had on my lights. Only thing that worked was sanding. Applied 3M headlight wax after I was done sanding and going over them with 2000 grit paper and they look brand new

[xTRELLx]

Finally did my lights Friday. Going to post a pic tomorrow since I work forever.

[jk_ms3]

FYI, I tried the rvinyl stuff. The color is fantastic and I've gotten a lot of compliments on it, until people get close. The vinyl wasn't really that great. I wasn't able to get it perfect, even with a heat gun and a lot of patience. I have a lot of bubbles and creases that developed after it was on the car. And the vinyl for the outside headlight is two pieces and not one, so there's a seam. Not a huge deal, but I wasn't a fan. I'm going to try VHT (or maybe Plastidip) once I peel this off.

[xTRELLx]

Use vht. That's what I used. Looks great. Well besides the little portion I poked with my finger lol. Going to redo one of my lights cause I shouldn't have poked it. But just vht Ur lights. Plastidip doesn't look so good.

[WetzMS3]

Sorry to bring up a long dead post, but I was wondering if you ever got the vinyl wrap on the tail lights? I spent hours trying on my gen pu tail lights this weekend and couldn't get anything decent looking.

I'm hoping it's my lack of experience, or there is an angle to start the sheet at that I haven't thought of. I'd rather not paint them. I started with the corner tail light, knowing it'd be the toughest, just didn't think it'd prove to be damn near impossible.

So has anyone gotten vinyl to work on the outside tail lights in one solid piece?

[El_Diablo]

Vinyl doesn't work so well on Gen2's. You'll have to use more than one piece.

Also, there is absolutely no reason to post the same exact thing in two different threads, one of which is over 3 years old.

[WetzMS3]

Originally Posted by El_Diablo Vinyl doesn't work so well on Gen2's. You'll have to use more than one piece. Also, there is absolutely no reason to post the same exact thing in two different threads, one of which is over 3 years old.

Well thanks for the input.

[Cevaes_64]

Dame happened to me I ended up using vht the vinyl sucks for our tail lights

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