My attempt to smoke my tail lights(05 Civic sedan)

[fbi90909 0]

well after seeing Sec's explorer with his recent smoked tails and having someone mention the use of VHT nite shade got me into thinking. with as cheap as people say it is i figured well why not take a shot at it? plus, i really really needed something to do!

so i went on for a few days and researched, researched, and well researched even more. a lot of users on other forums have used VHT nite shade with good results. so finding out that a 7oz can of the stuff was only 9 bucks and usually 2 cans is what is needed for most tail lights so i went ahead and ordered 3 just to be safe.

also most people say that the tinting process takes usually 4-6 hours, most of which is waiting time. most sites people said to just clean the lens, tint, then clear and your done, the process i used from a 350z site that had a tutorial was, clean lens, sand 800, clean lens, tint, clear, sand 1000, sand 1500, sand 2000, buff with rubbing compound, buff with polishing compound, finish off with quick detailing or wax.

so i gathered the things i needed and began.

List:

3x VHT Nite Shade

2x Duplicolor Clear Top Coat

Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol

1 Pack of 800 grit sand paper

1 pack of 1000 grit sand paper

1 pack of 1500 grit sand paper

1 pack of 2000 grit sand paper

Rubbing Compound

Polishing Compound

Quick waxing

Orbital Buffer

3x Micro-Fiber towels

Roll of Painters Tape

pics of stock appearance:

removing the tail lights was a BITCH!! took me an hour just to remove the passengers light(cause i didn't know that there are screws UNDER that damn car). total time was 1hr 30 min to get the lights off.

next was to tape off areas that i did not want to get over spray or to have sanded on.

next i had to wet sand the lights with 800 grit sand paper so the VHT nite shade would have a nice hold onto the tail light and help prevent chipping.

heres what one set of lights look like sanded compared to un-sanded.

after the lights were sanded and washed off of sanded dust i needed to clean off the tail lights with a microfiber towel and rubbing alcohol, the towel was used so that NO lint would be left behind on the lights.

next i designated my work area. before i set up i washed down the table from any dirt and dust. then opened up a box and laid it against the wall so i wouldn't get tint over spray on the wall. remember guys. safety first, gloves and mask! the fumes off the VHT nite shade were STRONG!

i then placed my tail lights in an arrangement where all needed areas that were to be sprayed could be with ease and not leave me with over spray on certain areas. basically to let me give every light an even coat per spray session.

first coat.

Note: every coat is a light thin coat. it's better to use thin coats because if you go to thick you will most likely end up with drips as the VHT is quite watery if over sprayed. plus with the light thin coats i was able to achieve the desired level i wanted. so here we go!

second coat:

third coat:

fourth coat:

fifth coat:

Sixth coat(final):

after i was done coating the tail lights with the tint i carefully placed each one in small boxes i have. then closed them off to allow them to dry in a dust/particle free.

sorry no pics of that.

total time from the start 4hrs 30min.

well about 5 hours later i take my tail lights to a friends house to clear coat them cause his porch is well lit and mine isn't.

i had 2 cans of clear coat and began with a thin first 2 coats.

as i progressed on adding more layers i added them thicker and thicker.

after the 2 cans were done the tail lights had a white haze to them. as i kept adding clear coat onto the semi dried base coats they just hazed up. i don't know why so i put them in their boxes and a few hours later they cleared up. sorry no pics.

day 2:

got up at 9am and well started wet sanding.(not many pics of the sanding process)

heres what a corner light looks like to an unsanded with clear coat on it. there was still some orange peel on the tail light in the pic but i took my time and removed all the orange peel before i began on the next light.

5 hours later it was finally time to buff them, and yes I'm sick of seeing sand paper right now.

i decided to mount them onto the car because the orbital buffer i have is a 2 handle 10" which is kind of hard to handle with one hand and holding the light in the other.

(the passenger side was slightly compound buffed before i decided to mount it from the difficulty i had)

i then taped off areas i did not want affected while buffing, then began buffing them out.

then polish buffed them

then waxed them.

pics of final results.

pic with lights on, brake not pressed:

pic with brake pressed and lights off:

pic with lights on and brake pressed:

pic with lights on and car in reverse with brake not pressed:

and a few shots of the car parked in direct sunlight:

well that concludes my experience with tinting my tail lights. the difficulty is not that hard but you have to have a care full hand with spraying the paints on. plus if you don't have the patience to properly sand for a LONG period of time than this is really not for you.

right now i really like the turn out. there are some tiny imperfections but well they are the results of a DIY first timer and not at a professional level.

the cost of the project for me was:

2 of 3 cans of VHT Nite shade: $25 shipped

2 cans of clear coat: $13

4 types of sand paper: $17

rubbing compound: $8

polishing compound: $8

3 pack microfiber towels: $7

orbital buffer: $19 on sale(actual cost $28.99)

rubbing alcohol: $1.50

Green painters tape: $6

total: $104

total time about 10-11hrs

lol i could of had them done for $115 shipped, professionally.

either way it was a great learning experience.

[Supa_c 1]

Nice job. Better than when I smoked my friends lights.

Most people usually have some sort of buffer/polisher and/or rubbing/polishing compounds they use for their normal paint detailing. As well as some microfiber towels.

Basic masking tape will work as well, the fancy green or blue scotch is a bit overkill for a small job like this.

Typical cost if you've already got most of those things already would be around $50-$80, depending on where you shop and what product you buy.

[fbi90909 0]

Nice job. Better than when I smoked my friends lights.

Most people usually have some sort of buffer/polisher and/or rubbing/polishing compounds they use for their normal paint detailing. As well as some microfiber towels.

Basic masking tape will work as well, the fancy green or blue scotch is a bit overkill for a small job like this.

Typical cost if you've already got most of those things already would be around $50-$80, depending on where you shop and what product you buy.

true. most of the materials i didn't have. lol the only thing i had was rubbing alcohol and my quick wax. i never really buff my car with any compounds. but i will eventually now that i have them. i have a ton of micro fiber towels which i use when i dry my car after washing they their all quite dirty so i wanted to keep the project clean.

[ANeonRider 3]

Hope you don't get rear ended.

[mazzasec 0]

Hell yeah nice man i love how it looks on grey cars

[Acidburn 10]

Hope you don't get rear ended.

While they do look better than stock, this was my first thought as well.

[mazzasec 0]

at night getting rear ended would be pretty hard cause the break lights do show up very well at night but i must admit during the day damn u really dont even see the break lights

Edited December 2, 2007 by SEC

[flakko 1]

at least you have the orbital buffer for future projects

[fbi90909 0]

from the looks of the pics in day time it looks like the light looks bare but in person it is well lit and visible from a good distance. the pics of the car in direct sunlight do not have any lights on btw.

here are some night shots i took before i went to my friends house.

first lights on brake not pressed, then brake pressed at half a car lenght:

then at 2.5 car lenghts:

at night it is clearly visible so it should all be good. i like the way it turns out a lot and am very happy with it.

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

great tutorial..looks good.

[stratusrt01 0]

exactly how I did mine a while back. You do have to have a ton of patience, and yes, it freaked me out when the clear fogged up also.

Nice Tutorial, too bad you can't really show all the time involved in this simple mod.

Edited December 2, 2007 by stratusrt01