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smoked tail lights

S

slapshot

NAXJA Forum User
Location
southern alberta
hey all. looking for an opinion here.

i've been reading all the smoked , vht nightshade threads, and have decided to do it.

i was wondering how many ppl candy their rear amber before smoking, and how many just leave it alone.
also, did you paint over the reverse lights, or tape them off.

cheers
 
Why would you candy the rear tail lights, then black them out? Just seems pretty contradictory to me. If you want them red, paint them red, if you want them black, then black them out.

I would highly recommend taping the reverse lights off. After having the smoked tail light covers for a while, it was amazing once I took them off. I could finally see behind me at night.
 
They stopped sale of that stuff in b.c., bastards!,I did mt gtp and buddy did his sanoma, I was good, but he got nailed with tickets, definately mask your reverse lamps, and its easy to put too much on! looks good on darker colored cars!
 
here is mine, its dirty but when clean i think it looks good. just straight nightshades, about a whole can worth of coats between the tail lights and front signal/marker lights. definitely no seeing behind me when reversing at night though.
IMG_1354.jpg
 
bcmaxx said:
definately mask your reverse lamps, and its easy to put too much on!
Click to expand...
It really is. It really is important to follow the directions on it. When you spray the first coat on, it looks like you didn't spray anything at all, but it dries darker. When I did my front blinkers with the VHT, I didn't like how it wasn't dark, so I sprayed until it looked good. I came out after they dried to find dull charcoal gray blinkers, that no light what so ever could pass through. Nothing we used would take them off, paint thinner and all these other nasty chemicals. Finally got some stuff that did, and sanded the rest. Second time they came out nice, shiny black, and you could still see the blinker.

mitsumotors said:
about a whole can worth of coats between the tail lights and front signal/marker lights. definitely no seeing behind me when reversing at night though.
Click to expand...
:scared:
Ya and I'd be willing to bet that there is no seeing you period during the day. I'd say you used too much, and from the picture, they look pretty dark. I put way to much on my front blinkers, then did them over again, and did the tail lights as well, and I still had about 1/3-1/2 a can left.


I eventually switched the rear back to stock tail lights, it was damn near impossible to see my tail lights during the day if the sun was shinning on them. I realized being seen is a little more important than having an all black car that just got rear ended because no one could tell that they were breaking.
 
I know where he's coming from with the candy thing. He doesn't want them BLACK, he just wants them darker red, which is what I did.

I didn't candy mine, and they still turned out good. Whatever you do make sure you sand sand sand, and prep prep prep. Then once you're done hit it with a good clear coat and wet sand to your hearts content then polish them. I hate DULL looking blacked out tails. That stuff isn't just as easy as spraying it on and calling it a day. Here are mine:

DSC_0183.jpg


DSC_0188.jpg





I don't have any close up shots, but they're shiny, here are the ones I did on my saturn:

DSCF2123.jpg


gina1000.jpg


DSCF2122.jpg
 
Begster said:
It really is. It really is important to follow the directions on it. When you spray the first coat on, it looks like you didn't spray anything at all, but it dries darker. When I did my front blinkers with the VHT, I didn't like how it wasn't dark, so I sprayed until it looked good. I came out after they dried to find dull charcoal gray blinkers, that no light what so ever could pass through. Nothing we used would take them off, paint thinner and all these other nasty chemicals. Finally got some stuff that did, and sanded the rest. Second time they came out nice, shiny black, and you could still see the blinker.


:scared:
Ya and I'd be willing to bet that there is no seeing you period during the day. I'd say you used too much, and from the picture, they look pretty dark. I put way to much on my front blinkers, then did them over again, and did the tail lights as well, and I still had about 1/3-1/2 a can left.


I eventually switched the rear back to stock tail lights, it was damn near impossible to see my tail lights during the day if the sun was shinning on them. I realized being seen is a little more important than having an all black car that just got rear ended because no one could tell that they were breaking.
Click to expand...



I also can't emphasize enough how dark it'll actually get. I have two LIGHT coats on my XJ tails, and I got what you see in the pictures. They turned out perfect IMO for what I wanted, they're not black, just dark. My saturn lights turned out a bit too dark.
 
When I did my front turn signals I was suprised how dark 2 coats came. I haven't done my taillights because I don't want them that dark and don't want to ruin them
 
the two coats on your xj look perfect.

just to clarify you wetsand the clear coat? it was my understanding that once you clear your done. sanding it would scuff it up?

thx
 
Sand the tail lights before you apply the VHT. Otherwise, it will not stick, and it will run. I really should have followed the directions.
 
slapshot said:
the two coats on your xj look perfect.

just to clarify you wetsand the clear coat? it was my understanding that once you clear your done. sanding it would scuff it up?

thx
Click to expand...
No sorry, that came across wrong, I did not wet sand the clear. I sanded the tails til they were baby smooth, sprayed the VHT, got my coats on, wet sanded that once it was set up, then sprayed 3 very heavy coats of clear (light enough not to run) then polished them up with a buffer once they were cured. All in all if the process is done right it'll take around 2 days.
 
wurd. that makes more sense.

I'm planning on doing ym third light also with some sort of stencil. either the jeep logo or my monogram, or flames. undecided. any opinions
 
Begster said:
:scared:
Ya and I'd be willing to bet that there is no seeing you period during the day. I'd say you used too much, and from the picture, they look pretty dark. I put way to much on my front blinkers, then did them over again, and did the tail lights as well, and I still had about 1/3-1/2 a can left.
Click to expand...
I didn't really use a whole can but maybe 3/4. and its not as dark as it looks in the pic. that was just taken in the dark and the lights aren't on, that is just the flash reflecting off them.
 
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