tinted tails

has anyone tried tinting their tailights? i think i am going to tackle this project soon.

or u could just smoke them like 99% of the other people who want black tail lights do. if u want to tint them, tint goes on the inside, so u would have to pull them apart. i knon headlights go into the oven at 325 degress for 5 minutes or so to get the silicone all melted up between the plastic pieces and u can pull them apart

I bought the special spray poina tnd clear coat for my taillights and not only did i use too much and my lights look like shit, but i got a ticket for my reverse lights not being visible, so i tried to scrub it off with paint thinner and a brush. it wont come off.
as for 'ovenbaking' your taillights it works better with integra lights than civic lights, i did it with a spare pair of 4th gen lights before and they got all warped, and you still have to peel off the red/orange if that particular light is even oven-bakable (spelling?). on the 4th gen lights the plastic itself was actually colored. ive seen some integra lights that were s uccessfully baked and came out light pink after peeling off the coloring.

so if you do use the special spray paint you can buy at an aftermarket parts place, get 'nite shades' spray paint and some clear coat, and make sure to use a very small amount.

I did mine all red..i got a can of transparent candy apple red by Testors at a hoddy shop..I put tape over the reverse light..put afew coats..then a few clear coats..they turned out better then i thought..look great in person..i couldn't find black so i got the red...take a look in my info to see some pics of them..i know u want black but reds just an idea

I used a spray tint called Night Shades by VHT. Sold on ebay for $15 shipped

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/12/web/528000-528999/528935_4.jpg

hey! i want mine tinted!

Sofasts's lights look nice. Good work on those.

How do these look?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/Schister66/Sirearpic.jpg

I don't have any close-ups but what do you guys think of these taillights??

anyone know if there are different levels of that nite shades, like if you don't want them to turn out that dark?

You just don't spray as much on them; if you want them lighter. You're supposed to put 3+ coats to get them dark black, so if you put 1 or 2 light coats they will be a lot lighter.

makes sense, thanks CivicSpoon

Schister those look bad ass, I'm gonna have to try the same thing, cuz mine's that same color, model, etc. and that looks very nice.

Exactly what parts of the tail light can you smoke/black to make it street legal?

Exactly what parts of the tail light can you smoke/black to make it street legal?

from what i have heard, at least here in washington, light tint for all but back up lights, unless its stock such as some VW's.

Aslong as the proper color light shows up you'll be fine. I had tinted the bumper lenses on my 4g civic and was a little over zealous with the paint. They ended up turning out just about completely black. But with the amber bulbs it worked perfectly.

You can tint the reverse lights too, just make sure that when you are in reverse they light up well.

Aslong as the proper color light shows up you'll be fine. I had tinted the bumper lenses on my 4g civic and was a little over zealous with the paint. They ended up turning out just about completely black. But with the amber bulbs it worked perfectly.

You can tint the reverse lights too, just make sure that when you are in reverse they light up well.

ive been pulled over with "blacked out" tails on my dropped hardbody... so it might also depend on the cop

that was probably because the red reflector wasn't visible. They will get you for that. Reason why all clears are illegal. When headlights hit that reflector it looks like the person is in reverse.

But yah, it really is highly dependant on the cop too. Some are nicer than others will just let you off.

that was probably because the red reflector wasn't visible. They will get you for that. Reason why all clears are illegal. When headlights hit that reflector it looks like the person is in reverse.

But yah, it really is highly dependant on the cop too. Some are nicer than others will just let you off.

who knows, im going to do it again, but just do a softer tint...

so if you tint the tails you have to pull the pieces apart and put the tint on teh inside, but if you want to smoke them, you have to do that on the outside?

You just don't spray as much on them; if you want them lighter. You're supposed to put 3+ coats to get them dark black, so if you put 1 or 2 light coats they will be a lot lighter.


If you're going to use less coats for a lighter look, be carefull. Make sure each coat is even.