Buford17

iTrader: (4)

Well I recently bought some black rims for my truck (need to get new pics) and was telling people it would be awesome to black out the lights.

So today my girlfriend surprised me and bought me some VHT tint from pep boys for me because she knows I really wanted black tail lights

Some of my friends tell me VHT tint is fine if sprayed with that many layers and some say to get covers. For instance my friend bought a black 01 Mustang Bullitt with plack painted tail lights (dont know if it was tint or paint because it was DARK) and he always got harrassed by cops so he bought new lights and got covers.

But iv seen people with black "tinted" lights that you can still see a little red behind them so idk what to do......

Spray light coats or return the spray and get covers? I do want it to be at least noticably dark.

If anyone has pics of thier Silverado with covers or tint it would be great! Or any car really lol

ls6firebird

i would go with the vht. a buddy of mine has the covers and im not a fan of them. my taillights are darker, but still let just as much light through. not the best picture, but its all i got. dont have the truck anymore or id get some more

Buford17

iTrader: (4)

Look nice you do them yourself? I was looking up videos and alot of them have them doing them the "correct" way.

Which is: wet sanding them with 2000 grit, paint thinner, then tint, then clear coat, then wet sanding again, then polish them

ls6firebird

i wet sanded mine with 1000. i think anywhere from 600 up should be good, but i was happy with the 1000. then i sprayed a bunch of thin coats, cant remember how many. i think most people say 3-4 coats. but i didnt really do full coats. if your not careful, that stuff can run pretty easy. also, i didnt want to get too dark. i think i did 3 or 4 at first. i waited to clear since i wasnt sure yet. the next day i decided they needed to be darker, so i did 2 more coats. then i sprayed to coats of duplicolor clear coat. most people wetsand after that. i didnt tho cause they looked alright and i figured if i kept messin with them i was bound to **** it all up and have to start again haha.

i think there are write ups on here that would probly be a better way. main thing is not to spray too heavy and they'll turn out good. the more effort ya put in, the better results you will get

Buford17

iTrader: (4)

Hmmmmmmm I will for sure wet sand then. I didnt know you had to do that before I saw the video lol good thing I did!

I dont exactly know how to post pictures of videos on here or else Id show you the video but he also used paint thinner after he wet sanded it. Idk if thats really needed tho...?

ls6firebird

ive done them before without wetsanding. bought a 90 silverado that had the stupid euro lights. it was a pile of junk so it wasnt worth puttin any money or time into, and i sure as hell wasnt gonna be caught drivin with them so i just sprayed them real quick. they looked good, but its definately worth the time to wetsand, the results are 100 times better.

the paint thinner may have been used to clean them up good after sanding, but im not for sure, havent seen that either.

Buford17

iTrader: (4)

Well I will deffinately wet sand. Not sure if I will after the clear coats tho. Need to go get some clear coat and sand paper tommorrow after my truck gets out the shop

jmm98LS1

iTrader: (28)

It's not a truck but.......I personally went with covers for the tails on my camaro. Didn't know if I'd get hassled by cops or not and didn't want to have to buy new lights if I sprayed them. Been almost 12 years now and never had a problem. I VHT'd my spoiler brake light and rear corners, they match the tail light covers perfectly.

dabest09

iTrader: (1)

^Those covers look great but I heard that they melt the lights

Buford17

iTrader: (4)

Yea thats why I was hessitant to get the covers but your look nice!

Well I did it today. I am very happy with the blackness/light being seen ratio

But they do look dull in most areas and glossy only in one corner. I put 3 coats of VHT and about 4 coats of clear. Woulda donr more but the damn nossle on the can broke!

What can "fix" that?

Iv heard Meguiars Ultimate Compound works awesome but didnt have time to get it today

jmm98LS1

iTrader: (28)

Mine have been on there for 12 years and the lights look brand new still......

Buford: You can wetsand/polish that clear coat once it's cured for a few days and it'll shine right up.

DukesOfHazard

What pad/compound should one use to polish the lights?

Buford17

iTrader: (4)

Wet sand then polish with like a wax? Iv got his stuff called Miguiars Ultimate Compound now and I tried to polish them, shined it up a tiny bit. Will that stuff work? Im dying for them to be glossy lol I was thinking if I should throw more coats of clear on there since I wasnt able to do as many as I wanted to....

Slow94Formula

iTrader: (18)

Wetsand it smooth then buff it back to shine.

Buford17

iTrader: (4)

But would it look all scratched up if the polish comes off? It just doesnt make sense to me lol

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

yes they can, I've seen it in person on my buddy's '96 Z28.

DukesOfHazard

I believe it's going to depend on the pad and compound you use. Each compound is going to have a different "cut" than another, and use the pad that matches the compound you want to use. If it's pretty rough use a more abrasive compound and work your way up. It's the same concept as sandpaper. I don't quite know what to buff it with though to be honest. Nor do I know what compound and pad you should use for your application without pics of the lights if you've already done them.

Buford17

iTrader: (4)

Ill try to get a pic... The compound stuff im using is supposedly really good for this type of stuff. I used a regular sponge type thing that usually comes with wax



Sorry I can only get one. See how dull it is compared to the paint?

jmm98LS1

iTrader: (28)

^^^You've got major orange peel in that clear. You need to wet sand with 1000 grit to level out all the high spots and make it all even. Then move on to 1500 grit paper to get rid of the scratches from the 1000 grit. Then get a polishing compound(s) and start rubbing the bejesus out of it until the gloss comes back. Follow the same steps that you would when working on a vehicles paint. Do some research online about how to wetsand/buff automotive paint, there's tons of information available on processes and techniques.

DukesOfHazard

There's definitely some orange peel but I've seen way worse. Like he said though, just wetsand with 1k grit until it's smooth then upgrade to 1500 and buff and polish the hell out of it. Might want to grab a hand held polisher that can do it so you don't have to put so much elbow grease into it. There's a lot of sharp edges on those lights though which could cause some burning I think it's called. I know there's compounds out there specifically for plastic, so just use the pad it suggests and test on a small area if possible.