How To: Tinting Your Tail Lights

Submitted By: Pointblanksta

Overview

This mod is a common one which looks great and is a hell of a lot cheaper than buying expensive aftermarket tail lights. It costs roughly $15 and is fairly easy to perform.





Required Material

• (1) 7oz. can of red or black tinting spray (Night Shades by VHT, Testor's Model Tint Spray)
• Phillips screwdriver
• (1) can of clearcoat (7oz.)
• Tape
• Paper Towels
• Maintenance Manual for your Vehicle's Year/Make/Model
• 800; 1,000; 1,500; & 2,000 grit sandpaper (Optional)
• Rubbing Compound (Optional)
• Polish (Optional)

Procedure

1. Start out by taking a beginning shot of your vehicle "as is." It's a good to compare before and after shots.
   
   
   
   
2. Remove the tail lights from your vehicle. Refer to your maintenance manual for the proper procedure.
   
   
3. Clean the tail lights with soapy water. (NOTE: Lightly sanding with 800 grit sandpaper has been shown to be beneficial at this point.)
   
   
4. Take the tail light and tape off all sections excluding the red center part.
   
   
   
   
5. Spray one (1) coat of tinting spray on the entire tail light. In the picture above you can see the difference one coat makes. Let this coat dry for about 30 minutes.
   
   
6. While not necessary, quality results have been achieved by wet-sanding with 1,000 grit sandpaper between coats.
   
   
7. Next, remove the tape over the amber turn signal section and spray. Once again, you can see the difference that only one coat makes in the picture below.
   
   
   
   
8. Let this coat dry and then proceed to remove all the tape.
   
   
9. Spray the tail light with one coat and let dry. Again, look at the difference.
   
   
   
   
10. Let this coat dry and then put one (1) more coat of tint on the tails to achieve a quality level of darkness.
    
    
    
    
11. Let this coat sit for about one (1) hour and then spray down with a coat of clearcoat.
    
    
12. Let this coat dry for about 30 minutes and then spray one more coat of clearcoat. (NOTE: Be sure to let this coat dry for at least four hours.)
    
    
13. While not necessary, quality results have been obtained by wet-sanding with 1,000; 1,500; & 2,000 (in that order) grit sandpaper after the final coat has dried. Follow this wet-sanding up with an application of rubbing compound and polish per directions on the bottles.
    
    
14. Once dry and sanding/polishing is complete, re-install the tail lights (again, your Maintenance Manual is a good reference here) and check to ensure that all bulbs are visible and working properly.
    
    
15. Proceed to pimp out your $15 mod!
    
    
    
    
    
    

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