Redded out RX8 Taillights
11-13-2005, 04:55 PM
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Redded out RX8 Taillights
If you're like me, you're a huge RX8 fan but could live without the taillights. (Maybe one too many civics passing you with similar lamps giving you the thumbs up)
I'm not a huge fan of the altezza style lamps of the RX8 although I think they look nice on the lighter-colored 8's, particularly the white and silvers.
Smoked lenses would probably be too much for a black 8.
So instead of altezza style or smoked lenses I opted to red out my lenses. This modification requires no baking or prying. I used 3 different layers to achieve this red plastic look. An orange transparent coat, a red transparent coat, and a high gloss enamel top coat. The orange coat created a red-orange effect which more closely mimicked red LED lights which I preferred much more than the pinkish effect red paint alone created. (This was based on me having done this to my celica orange lamps, and on the 9 water bottles I used as trial templates.) The red coat created a little bit of texture. The clear coat smoothed out the surface and made it look polished and reflective. They came out exactly how I wanted them to.
After a week and a half of spray painting I've finally finished. I'll post more pictures of the tails on the car itself once the clear enamel top coat cures completely.
I've provided pictures of the orange coat, red coat, and enamel coat on finished product, and also of light shining on the finished product to show how it still reflects light off the original reflectors. They're awesome if I do say so myself.
Enjoy.
I'm not a huge fan of the altezza style lamps of the RX8 although I think they look nice on the lighter-colored 8's, particularly the white and silvers.
Smoked lenses would probably be too much for a black 8.
So instead of altezza style or smoked lenses I opted to red out my lenses. This modification requires no baking or prying. I used 3 different layers to achieve this red plastic look. An orange transparent coat, a red transparent coat, and a high gloss enamel top coat. The orange coat created a red-orange effect which more closely mimicked red LED lights which I preferred much more than the pinkish effect red paint alone created. (This was based on me having done this to my celica orange lamps, and on the 9 water bottles I used as trial templates.) The red coat created a little bit of texture. The clear coat smoothed out the surface and made it look polished and reflective. They came out exactly how I wanted them to.
After a week and a half of spray painting I've finally finished. I'll post more pictures of the tails on the car itself once the clear enamel top coat cures completely.
I've provided pictures of the orange coat, red coat, and enamel coat on finished product, and also of light shining on the finished product to show how it still reflects light off the original reflectors. They're awesome if I do say so myself.
Enjoy.
Last edited by ddark; 11-13-2005 at 05:00 PM.
11-13-2005, 05:07 PM
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Originally Posted by ddark
Who needs back up lights when you've got a horn?
Well considering my tint is so dark I'm thankful that my back-up lights are bright.
Looks good overall though.
11-13-2005, 05:08 PM
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I actually did draw up several plans of adding back-up lights. It would have been easy to do too. Just add a cardboard shape and mask off that portion before painting but in the end I decided it looked better without the white portions.
11-13-2005, 05:10 PM
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^ It's not so much for the people behind you. White backup lights actually help you see more when backing in the dark. Looks good though. Get a picture of them installed on your car.
11-13-2005, 05:13 PM
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Nice! I can't wait to see it on the car! TrueMaggellan is currently attempting to open the tail lens by baking it. If he finds the correct temp/time, I might do a red tint on the inside of the lens so that the paint will not be exposed to the outside elements. When I was a young warthog, I did a similar mod but after a few years, the red tint paint became dull. I used Testors transparent paint. What paint did you use?
11-13-2005, 05:22 PM
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On my celica I simply used the testors candy red too. But that was on the orange surface. It worked so well that it gave me the idea for these lights. I layed down the orange transparent layer first to mimic the orange lens. Then I painted it red using stained glass paint from Krylon. By the way, anyone that's thinking about doing this go grab some Krylon stained glass red before its all gone. The associate at my local crafts store told me it was discontinued. The clear enamel suface is testors high gloss enamel which will prevent the dulling. I experienced the same thing on the Celica over the course of 3 years.
Originally Posted by RA-Eight
Nice! I can't wait to see it on the car! TrueMaggellan is currently attempting to open the tail lens by baking it. If he finds the correct temp/time, I might do a red tint on the inside of the lens so that the paint will not be exposed to the outside elements. When I was a young warthog, I did a similar mod but after a few years, the red tint paint became dull. I used Testors transparent paint. What paint did you use?
11-14-2005, 10:29 AM
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Hey, that's where I got the idea!
Originally Posted by Mikelikes2drive
darn did this before i could do it :/
i always wanted to do this after seeing it on my jada black rx8 -___-
i always wanted to do this after seeing it on my jada black rx8 -___-
11-14-2005, 11:57 PM
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I'll take some and post on friday morning. I need to wait until the second clear coat cures so I'll have good protection from the elements and an extra deep sheen before I install them back on the car. I want to make sure they'll last!
Originally Posted by truemagellen
pics on the car please 
11-15-2005, 12:10 AM
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You know my only worry is that the paint might soften or melt with extended exposure to the heat of the bulb. Does anyone have any experience with this or know just how hot it gets? I think as long as the paint cures completely it should hold up pretty well. 
11-15-2005, 12:45 AM
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Originally Posted by ddark
You know my only worry is that the paint might soften or melt with extended exposure to the heat of the bulb. Does anyone have any experience with this or know just how hot it gets? I think as long as the paint cures completely it should hold up pretty well.
usually heat bakes the paint, hardening it...if anything maybe it could overheat the paint, the paint become brittle and flake off, also unlikely
