Kelli_Kitten

Apologies ahead of time if there has already been a thread about this! Does anyone know the process of tinting your own tail/head lights? I would assume spraying them would be the easiest and most cost effective way… A.) What kind of paint should I use? B.) Would I apply the paint to the inside or outside of the lights? C.) What are the problems I would encounter with this process? D.) Has anyone gotten pulled over for this? I asked my local guy how much it would cost to tint all of my lights and he said 400$... I can buy the overlay kit for a total of 100ish, but from what I’ve heard they are difficult to put on. Any help would be great! Thanks .

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Smirnofsoldier

Danger Will Robinson! lots of people have trouble seeing stock taillights at night because they are drowsy ext. plus isnt it illegal? but ya i dont like the concept of the idea but im sure it would look good

reaper1

Do a search and you'll be suprise how many here have done this.........

Jedi54

Hey kitten, believe it or not, most people dont' spray them. There is actually a tint type material that you can apply to them that will 'smoke' out the lights.
I'm sure a search would yield some results, let me see if I can find anything for ya

CarAndDriver

Don't tint. Ick.

dondo

i think the tinted headlights look great but there is the concern about visibility and all. look around for some pics; i know they're on here.

here's one i found of smoked tails: http://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php?...&postcount=664

Razz1

Very hard for people to see you back up.

BBQdDude

I used VHT night shades, 5 coats, Then two coats of clear coat. I polished and then waxed.

Look under the DIY forum you will find a DIY to remove the tail lights. It takes maybe 15 minutes once you have done it once.

Check with you local PD and state highway patrol. Between both if it is not illegal go for it.

With mine I did a day test ten car lengths back, totally visible.

I did NOT do my head lights, only tails and side running lights.

Oh, the tint material, I ripped it in like 5 minutes when I tried it on my tail lights.

Take care and keep purring (sorry couldn't help it),

Brian

Kelli_Kitten

Thanks for all of your help guys!

I definitely agree that it presents a danger issue... which sucks... but it does look really sharp.

I may not end up doing it just because I am so OCD with everything being even and symmetrical, doing only the rears would bother me... I guess I'll call the local PD and see what they have to say about the matter.

This morning I saw an SUV with blacked out rear lights... it looked totally retarded.

Bunique

I personally don't like blacked out tails.

I have "tinted" headlights tho. It works nice to settle the front end of my car with the black and red two-tone. They are very lightly t"tinted". The HID's still work great. It is a Laminex film made by 3M that cover my headlights. It's the "smoke" shade.

Jedi54

the local PD will tell you they're illegal.
Since you're so OCD, I say go for the vinyl layovers. they'll look awesome if you take your time in applying them.

Silver06

+1 with what Jedi says.

If the cops issue you with a fix-it ticket, that's not the time to be pricing NEW HID headlight housings...

I have had the 3M (clear) headlight overlays on for over a year and a half, (with the clear bra). No problems with adhesion or anything. Can't even tell they're overlays.

PSTNLSS

It's legal or illegal. Honestly depends on where you live. What the cops are like. State Regulations will say illegal.

I bought VHT Nightshade about $15 bucks a can.

You need a lot of patience if you do this. If you consider "spraying them" Pm me and I'll give you a quick run down unless there is a better thread on it already

Hope this helps!

Kelli_Kitten

Yeah I totally agree, blacked out = not so classy.

I would love to tint my headlights, where do I find this film? How difficult is it to apply?

Bunique

Well for me, I would go to tintmasters.....lol that's our local shop and they specialize in tinting as well as many other areas in motorsports.

But idk, maybe try going to any place that does good tinting in your area. Tell them you are looking to Laminex your headlights. Laminex is a thicker film made to be applied on plastics where as your normal window tint works best on glass.

It's not that hard to apply if you know how to work the material. I've seen it done a lot on fogs, headlights and tails. The shop that I go to charges 120 bucks to do both headlights.

Davin

i would recommend the film. people that race use them so it does not crack thier lights. i just use painters tape on my jdm lamps to protect them becuase they are hard as **** to find in mint condition. but note, my FD tail lights are smoked from the factory and i get pulled over alot. if yours are smoke, and you dont have any red reflectors visible, prepare to have a fix-it ticket

http://www.headlightarmor.com/04-08-...ction-kit.aspx

jjc3925

i have my tails pretty dark tinted on my BB.
they are completely visible and i get absolutely no cop troubles....but as others have said it depends where you live and how cops are.

as far as problems...the only thing that sucks is backing up into dark areas cuz once u tint the tails ur reverse lights are completely useless.

i wanted to lightly tint the headlights but was afraid of how dull my headlights would be.

i used the spray on tint by the way and some clear coat and polish and wax

RX-8GT6spd

I used vht spray on the tail lights and it looks good. I bought tint laser cut for a rx-8 and it ripped in like three minutes so i would buy the spray tint.

kersh4w

another vote for the vinyl overlay material. all you need is water with baby shampoo, a hot day, a hair dryer, and patience.

it shouldnt be that big of a deal. the headlights dont have some crazy shapes. try applying the clear bra to the entire front of the car! hah. that took some time.

rodjonathan

i smoke painted mine looks good and comes off when i want to take it off ... done it like 3 times now ...

Kaiser bun

nice thread resurection... haha

DRFTGTO

IMO i think darker tails look really good on RX-8s, but i dont like how they look on black ones, just seems like overkill to me