Well, i took the crappy headlights i got shafted on from that seller on eBay and tinted them yesterday. I hoped to be able to open them and paint the chrome, but the lenses were all scratched & scuffed so i decided to go a different way.

I thought i got them just right, but they're a little off. One has some clearcoat on, the other doesn't, which may explain the difference. One is a little darker and hazier than the other too. Neither has gotten buffed, so they're a little rough. I'm not keeping these but i wanted to have some pics before i sell them on eBay or through the forums.

There is very little light output from my 8000k hids through these, but it would be sufficient for those city dwellers that have streetlights everywhere they go (like me). I hit a couple dark areas last night and they did illuminate the road, but not enough.

However, they look bada$$ with the fogs & amber running lights on

Anyway, enough of me...on to the pics:

 

Looks real nice, good job!

 

What did you use to tint yours? Nightshades? Seems like yours have more of a purple kinda base color.

I had my headlights tinted by jons tinted tails. I like the dark headlights, but what i don't like is when the sun directly shines on them, the chrome reflects back a brownish hue.

On a cloudy day or at night they look nice though. I'm thinking about going darker and getting HID's so that I don't kill my light output as much.

I really wish they would just come out with a black version (the chrome part black) of our headlights like the ones you fabbed up. That way they wouldn't reflect the brown color in the sun.

Here's a pic:

 

Yeah, hexx, i used Niteshades...and it does give that deep purple color which i don't like. If i were doing it for myself, i'd use Jon's now that i have a spare set of lights to work with, but b/c i had no intention of keeping them, i didn't even think of it. However, seeing your setup again, i might have to reconsider...what level did you go with?

I may break these apart in the oven, send the lenses to Jon's and paint the chrome myself. I'd save on shipping, but i'd really need to be careful putting it all back together.

 

You got my PM reply, but I'll reply to you here too just for the sake of other people following the thread.

I went with a medium tint. In the sunlight they don't look as dark, more brownish as I said before. At night or cloudy day, they look wicked. Nice and dark.

Painting the chrome housing a flat black would DEF make a huge difference on the brown hue...probably even eliminate it. And yeah if you could just send him the lenses, that would save you a TON on the shipping. Not to mention he could tint them from the INSIDE and make the overall results more durable.....damn, i might have to buy a spare headlight myself and give this baking thing a shot.

 

eMail sent, hexx. Before you go buying a set of headlights, let me get the last one i need from eBay, then go for it...don't need to be competing with fellow members at this "low cash" stage in the game. LOL

I wonder if Jon could even work on the lenses if they were off the housing...might make maneuvering them tough should he need to get edges right or something...? Plus, doing it from the outside would fill in the little stone chips/marks and make the headlights look better.

 

I love the look of all black headlights on these cars. I just wish someone like GTS or AV would make blackouts for our cars.

 

How long does it normally take for them to come out? 1-2 years, or more?

 

Wow....sick lights. I wonder how this would look on a white monte?

 

Well, i stripped the tint and baked them last night to separate them for chrome painting. The first one came apart SUUUUUUPER easy...like they used chewing gum to put it together. After 20min in the oven @ 225* it split apart with very little force and a screwdriver. The other one (and the previous one) were a biatch to do...it's like melted plastic joining the two. The channel in the black housing takes a beating while trying to break those ones free. The first housing held up great.

I previously used 300* and it melted the amber reflector. This time, after 20-30min, the reflector was fine...so stay away from 300* LOL I'm probably covering the amber reflector in reflective black vinyl, and will attempt to make an "SS" cutout in each that would be illuminated. Wish me luck, as i do not have those kind of skills.

Anyway, i had the black painted insert from the previous headlight i did so i popped that in and put it back together with a new reflector. It looks great, but i'm still going to get it tinted. There are minor scuffs from the reasons stated above, and they'll hide behind a "medium" level tint done by JonsTintedTails.com.

I didn't have any more black Krylon plastic paint, or i should say i coudn't remember where i put it (but i just remembered now, of course), so i tried Duplicolor GM Black. Guess i didn't sand enough b/c it didn't stick well. Some goof off cleaner got all the paint off and after some more sanding, it will be painted & ready for reinstall this weekend. I'll make sure to get pics before i send them off to get tinted (if he ever gets back to me). She's gonna look HAWT!

When i'm all done, i'll have two extra sets of lights. One would have relatively clear lenses (currently installed with eyelids...minor pitting as you'd expect) and the other would only be suitable for tinting with or without the inside blackouts. I may pre-make a set of these interior blackouts without the tint (Jon's expensive and the Niteshades has to be too darn dark to look right). Maybe i can get a can of 1/2 black 1/2 clear made up at the local auto paint store to try tinting again...??? That's what the pros use.

Anyway, i would also be willing, as i stated in the other thread about the "Blackout Headlights," to use the Laser Blue or Red paint for those interested in seeing how they look. I'd just need some cash to buy that color paint.

 

Mehh....stick with black.

Colors are

 

Can I ask why in the world you would tint your headlights??? I can see having removable covers, but this is permanent.

 

Because they're our cars and we can do what we want? Really though, the new imapala\monte carlo headlights are all bug eye'd and it's our way (well my way anyways) of toning it down and giving it a more aggressive look. Sure I lose some light output, but I should be recover most of that when I get some HID's. Even without the HID's, it's reasonable light output...however, I do throw the high beams on a little sooner on dark roads than I would without the tinting

 

Solely for the bada$$ look...and to cover up the minor damage to the lenses. I've got HIDs in there now which when tinted will be brighter than stock halogens, and i'm actually upgrading the bulbs from 8000k to 6000k which will provide more light output in the end.

I'm likely keeping my non-modified headlights just in case this doesn't work out to my liking. I know for certain that i could easily get $300 for the blacked out/tinted headlights on eBay...if not more...only b/c no one has done this before for the Imps/Montes.

EDIT: I started my reply...had to leave for a meeting...and then finished after Hexx chimed in. So if what i said seems redundant, it wasn't on purpose.

EDIT #2: I forgot to mention that i'm going to need to rip these apart and think of something else to do for the reflectors. They are warping like crazy, likely due to being previously heated in the oven. After a couple days, the pass. side started to pull out from the top of the black housing...and now the driver side is pulling out from the top and bottom. It's crinkling the vinyl and looks like crap. I don't know if it's the heat of the sidemarker bulb or the ambient temps, but i don't think there is any way to avoid it. I may remove the bulb altogether and just put the reflective vinyl in there with a non-reflective off-color "SS" behind the cutout (which will have to be cut from scratch all over again).

Will keep you posted, but if you think of something i can do there, feel free to chime in.

 

Yikes! You have any pics of the problem? I just got my two spare headlights in today and planning to bake one of them soon.

 

I'll get you some pics soon. It's pretty bad. Maybe the combination of intense underhood temps and heat from the bulb did it...i don't know. I like what i did, so i may consider cutting the reflector where the "SS" is and using a filler for what i cut away...then laying the vinyl over that. I'm no good with bondo and the like, or i'd fill it in permanently and do what i want then.

 

I just realized what thread this was. Regarding the tint, it won't look nearly as dark as that, Reidonly. If you check out the "Evolution of a Headlight" thread i started recently, it shows what i did to my lights after this tint job. I removed the tint and painted the chrome inside. After i break back into them to fix the warping reflectors, they will get a very light tint...nothing like i did in these pics.

 

Cool thanks. I'd be nice to see what I'm getting into. I'm actually considering going with a full blast darker tint on my existing medium tinted headlights and then just swapping in my clear spares whenever I'm going to do any extended night time driving. You ever consider that option?

 

I do enough nighttime driving that would be affected, so i wouldn't want to have to swap them all the time. I'll put the pics in the other thread...

 

Nice photos