Tinted taillight question

Pitch Black · Nov 8, 2005

I want to get the tails tinted. I have an extra pair of taillights so I figured I'd just take those to where I got my windows done and have them tint them. Good idea or not? Are brighter bulbs needed or not?

03REDFIRE · Nov 8, 2005

do a search for "SMOKED TAILLIGHTS"

DIY with VHT nightshade

that is all

gtvertsoon · Nov 8, 2005

I did mine myself with vinyl window tint. Don't use the adhesive stuff. I got a windshield tint strip at walmart and cut it to fit. Cost 5 bucks and I've never done any kind of tinting before. Its worth it to try it before you pay someone else to do it.

jgarcea · Nov 9, 2005

I tried doing my rear lights last night. Couldn't get the film to sit properly. Could you give a little more detail on how you did yours? Have to admit, yours look awesome.

sgarlic · Nov 9, 2005

The vinyl stuff you have to stretch a little to get it to conform to the bend on the outer edges. You just squeegie the water out on the flat edge, then start from the middle and work your way up, then when you get to the top, go back to the middle and work the bubble back down. Stretch if needed.

Mine started bubbling off after about 2 weeks. There's dust everywhere here (Arizona) and wind constantly.. I'm surprised it lasted that long.

jasonh_86 · Nov 9, 2005

ninosport.com has some.. it's a 3M I think.. i know it's what is on my car and they look good

And no, you don't need brighter lights.. only if you want

twogts4us · Nov 9, 2005

We did my wife's 01 GT with static vinyl - and it looks great and has lasted about 2 months - not showing any signs of lifting, peeling or bubbling. They actually look just like the ones I got from www.fordpower.net, but these only cost $11. plus we also did the third brake light and side markers on both GTs and the fog lights on my 02 and have plenty left over.
Honestly, I'd avoid stretching as it will try to contract over time. We really had no problem installing these. The hardest part was creating the templates - it took a bit of time to get them perfect, but then we just transferred that pattern to the vinyl, cut them out and stuck them on the cleaned and wet taillights just like any tint. Allow to dry and your good to go.

WillDuhhBeast · Nov 9, 2005

Making the Templates for the tail lights, at least, was a waste of time in my books.

I did it differently. I used water and a little bit of baby lotion, and I cut the piece just a little bigger then the section i was working on, squeegee'd it out and got i all flat, with no bubbles and then i gradually cut some off, squegee's some more, and then made the final cut with a box cutter, very simple.

Making the templates requires VERY accurate measurements and perfect placement, whereas mine takes very little effort and a steady, delicate cutting hand.

Either way, vinyl window tint seems like the most effective for the money, awesome deal. I'd suggest going that route.

sgarlic · Nov 9, 2005

Ditto for not using a template. I used to tint windows on the side a few years back, and we never did it like that. We cut the tint an inch bigger than the window (using the outside of the window as a guide,) then used an anti-static cutting board to make the major trim after we determined the correct shape had been cut originally. After applied we only had to trim a tiny bit, and it was usually at the bottom edge. I did the same for my taillights, just cut a little bigger than the light, trimmed it on a cutting board, then applied it, and made final cuts before I started squeegie-ing the soapy water solution out.

Serper3 · Nov 10, 2005

twogts4us said:
We did my wife's 01 GT with static vinyl - and it looks great and has lasted about 2 months - not showing any signs of lifting, peeling or bubbling. They actually look just like the ones I got from www.fordpower.net, but these only cost $11. plus we also did the third brake light and side markers on both GTs and the fog lights on my 02 and have plenty left over.
Honestly, I'd avoid stretching as it will try to contract over time. We really had no problem installing these. The hardest part was creating the templates - it took a bit of time to get them perfect, but then we just transferred that pattern to the vinyl, cut them out and stuck them on the cleaned and wet taillights just like any tint. Allow to dry and your good to go.

this sounds really cool... but, where do u buy the static vinyl tint...does it also come in 50% tint, because thats probably what i will do.
thanks for the help.

jgarcea · Nov 10, 2005

I will make another attempt once I store the car for the winter. Won't be as pressured to finish.

The stuff I bought was from Canadian Tire and had the film protector sheet on it that needed separating prior to the install. Apparently this may not have been the right type of tint to buy. Can anyone give me more info on what's the right tint I am looking for?

sgarlic · Nov 10, 2005

50% won't be dark enough. That notorious picture of the cobra is definately darker than that. I tried 35% first, and it was way too light. You couldn't even tell you did anything. Then I tried 5%, way too dark. I finally settled on 20%, it looks just like the cobra picture. You can buy it at walmart in the car accessories department.

Serper3 · Nov 10, 2005

sgarlic said:
50% won't be dark enough. That notorious picture of the cobra is definately darker than that. I tried 35% first, and it was way too light. You couldn't even tell you did anything. Then I tried 5%, way too dark. I finally settled on 20%, it looks just like the cobra picture. You can buy it at walmart in the car accessories department.

thanks, i am going to try it. do u guys have the fronts tinted to? i dont want em black though, i want em just dark. i guess if i have the 20% i might as well use that but i hope it wont be too dark.

the reason before i said 50% is because those are the two they usually have for sale for our cars. they have the completely black and the lesser "50%".

thanks though, i hope it works.

ponysarepretty · Nov 10, 2005

Serper3 said:
thanks, i am going to try it. do u guys have the fronts tinted to? i dont want em black though, i want em just dark. i guess if i have the 20% i might as well use that but i hope it wont be too dark.

the reason before i said 50% is because those are the two they usually have for sale for our cars. they have the completely black and the lesser "50%".

thanks though, i hope it works.

the fronts already have are smoked, putting vinyl would be superflous and idiotic. The rear ones ony need to shine through and inform otehrs, the front ones are your bread and butter at night.

twogts4us · Nov 10, 2005

Making templates wasnt that hard. I did the same thing with paper that you guys did with the tint. I just cut a piece of paper a bit bigger than each taillight panel. Then sized it up, trimmed, sized and trimmed, etc. It was time consuming, but the advantage of templates is that you can make them for one side then flip them over and use them for the other side.

jgarcea · Nov 18, 2005

Hey gtvertsoon, I bought the product by Gila, is this the right one?

chris08 · Nov 18, 2005

is you go to www.jonstintedtails.com he paints them with tailight tint i did it myself on my old car cam out awsome just coulda used some wet sanding.. he charges 75 dollars + the shipping price of your tails there and back.. as far as im concerned he does an awsome job.

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