Sooo i got bats overlays and reserved this whole afternoon to try and install them. Soo i first installed the 3rd brake light overlays since it was easier, and felt pretty confident at that and decided to attempt to install the rear brake light overlays. Lemme tell you, that **** was hard lol. I was out there for a good 3 hours installing em and they didnt turn out perfect but descent for a first try ( oh and i almost burned my thumb from having to use the hairdryer for soo long)..... heres some pics



Looks kinda good from a distance....but then BAM!






hrm...im most likely gonna take the rear brake lights ones off and then go to china town or something to get them professionally smoked. lol. ima see how well it looks like at night though. most likely ill take em off. Comments/Opinions??

Oh and Bat how long does installing rear brake lights for the tc usually take you?!

 

There's a DIY here somewhere. Try to follow that so that you'll get better results.

 

I did and i studied that sucker, but the rear taillights have such an odd curvature. I practiced it before putting a piece of paper on the taillight.

 

lol no worries. i was on that same boat. it took me a good 2 hours to install mine. and yeah, i almost melted off my thumbs as well. i actually screwed up the first time and bat sent me another set and yeah. i already sent him pics of it and i'm waiting for him to post them here.

its pretty much ... apply overlay with soapy water, put overlay onto rear light, push out air bubbles and water, stretch and blowdry.

easier said than done. lol

 

So did you get it yours well done the second time?? if so what did you do differently to make it just right

 

if its anything like a vinyl then when applying do a mixture of water and soap (little amout of soap) and apply a lit mist w/ spray bottle then use a small squege and squege out the water... any small bubbles or ripples use a heatgun or hair dryer to get them out. if you get a bubble that wont go away use a small need and pop it.

 

it was my first time applying overlays. the second time i knew how to get rid of all the ripples and such but it was still tough. i'd have to say that the 2nd time was 1000% better than the first.

use the blowdryer from a distance. the film was much easier for me to stretch out when it was semi-warm and not blazing hot.. just keep stretching. i had a hard time trimming the edges off the overlays though :X i kinda have little ripples on the edges.. i wonder if it would've been easier if i took the tail lights off.. but then again, that would be too much of a hassel for me

 

I want to get the overlays for the head lights but this is making me weary...is it really that hard?

 

Im not sure about the headlights, but for the rear lights its a little difficult cause of the odd curves on it. Try putting a piece of paper flat on the lights to get used to the shape of it.

The only problem i had with em was gettin out all the little ripples on it. I blew my hairdryer on high like 1 inch away from the overlay and was stretching it little by little while using the squegee but there'd still be ripples on it.

 

when you stretch the vinyl, make sure you are stretching it straight. its kinda hard to explain. you cant stretch the vinyl diagonal or anything cuz then it forces the opposite side to wrinkle up even more. i learned that after i screwed up on my first set.

idunno about the headlights, those look easier .. but then again, looking at the DIY thingy, it looked easy. lol

 

i think it wasn't as hard as i thought it would. i did it and it was my first attempt. i didn't have ripples or creases. only tiny tiny air bubbles that u can hardly see.
here are pics of them.
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...923&highlight=

yeah, i decided to sell them cause i already have a set of smoked overlayed taillights on my car.
i find them easier to do with the taillights out of the car.

 

When you say "stretching it straight" do you mean pulling the vinyl upwards? Thx for the feedback btw.

How did you take your taillights off? I might try taking em off first the next time i attempt to do it.

 

its kinda hard to explain so here is a picture..



you dont pull upward .. but you pull towards the direction of the overlay..

 

I did the same thing to mine. Took me 1 1/2-2 hours to do mine, and I screwed it up, too. Kinda looked like yours. I'm pretty sure all I did wrong was that I didn't spread the ripples to the edges evenly before I used the blowdryer.

 

yup, stretch it out at the corners where u think u are going to have creases or ripples. then use a fine needle to poke any air bubbles and squeeze the air out. very simple.

 

hmmmm, normally bluebat would jump in by now and smile or something. hahah i'm waiting for him to post up my pics of the new TYC overlays :D

 

I'll do it for him. He's a busy guy.

OP: You did alright for your first time. I think what you need to do is put the blowdryer on low, not high and just wave it back and forth on a small area. don't just keep it on one spot so you can pull just that one part. you want to stretch it evenly. it's kind of hard to explain.. but just as the picture explains, you want to pull out from the center of the overlay. I'm sure if you talk to BBM, he can send you another set at a discounted price. He's good about that.

 

Thanks for the help and comments guys, ill possibly be trying it again next weekend...do you know if bat does a buy 2 sets of overlays get a set free deal???? hehe jk =P

 

So basically, you set it on slow, and do it slowly from spot to spot, pulling on it to get all the wrinkles out?

 

what?! 3 hours installing them?...
u gotta do it quick before it dry out and sticks
and pull it slightly