Back when I had a civic, I tinted the tails on that and I had to redo it cause I did a crappy job, but I got all of the paint off with EZ-Off Oven Cleaner. It was in a yellow can I think and its in the cleaning products isle at your local grocer. Obviously, you would do this with the lights off of the car, but I just laid them on the ground, thouroughly soaked them with the oven cleaner, let them sit about 10 mins and then rinsed them off with the hose, the paint just rolled right off. You might have to do it a few times to get all of the paint off, but it came out perfect with no ill effects to the lenses afterwards. I never sanded the lenses prior to paint, if you do this then they won't look too good with the paint off. Hope this helps anyone needing to get the paint off of their lenses...

 

^THANK YOU

 

Thanks for the great write-up! I think I'll give it a try cause I've got an extra set of OEM lights for my BSP xB. I'll try to post pics after it's done. Now, to find the tint? Maybe Auto Zone or Pep Boys

 

vht nightshade isnt sold at autoparts or pepboys. the only place i could find it was online. now the plant that makes the stuff burnt down few months back so i dont know how easy it will be to find.


to get the tails off the manual leaves out one important step. follow the bumper to the side where it meets the rear wheel. take that screw off, and pull out on the corner of the bumper untill it is disconected all the way around and under your taillight. then you lift the taillight up and out.
hope that made since...


just throwin my 2 cents in the pile.
there are small raindrops on the car if your wondering what the specs are.

 

VHTs are definitely the best way to smoke headlights or taillights. If you guys are too scared to do it then let me know cuz I can hook you up..

keep up the good work guys,
JOE

 

Yah after 5 coats of clear coat mine still look like this...

Any ideas? Im sick of seeing it dull....i used dupli color like in the DIY, maybe im just spraying it wrong!

 

Yea ^ I hate that when I see that on high class BMW's

Maybe wax it?

 

Wetsand. A lot. Then polish.

You should use about a 1500 to 2000 grit sand paper.

 

I want to do this in upcoming weeks since my vht niteshades is in route now but i would also like to order me a set of oem taillights that i could play around with just incase i screw up also I want to remount my hide-a-way strobes in the tails that i tint so this time i will use the grommet mount ones not the flange ones because i had to put screw holes in the underside of the tail light. Does anyone know where to find OEM tails cheap online or possibly a part number so i can see what I can find?

 

^^OEM tails are almost always on ebay for around $50.

 

also will the tails for a 2006 or 2007 fit the 2005 tc. Are the shapes and bolt patterns the same

 

if the wetsanding dont help...I know this may sound funny but put the can closer to the tail not so much to where it runs but.... when you spray it its not just blowing off. Mine are still very shiny.
What kind of clear coat are you using? Should only take 1 can per tail

 

Im using the Dupli Color Clear top....I was pretty close spraying...ive actually clear coated them alot did wetsanding a ton...i might try again this weekend.
How long does clear coat take to dry? Ive heard rumors of 2 days....
Also are u supposed to clear coat then wetsand? Or just clearcoat and let it settle.
I also might actually try and take off the lights too....harder to spray w/ them on the car.
Thanks for advice Reese and Captain...appreciate it.

 

Definitely take them off the car. (Shouldn't take longer than 10 mins. to remove them.) Makes wet sanding and painting SO MUCH EASIER!

 

Yes they both fit 2005.

 

awesome thanks etsnet

 

I just want anyone who's thinking about getting tinted tails of any kind to go to http://www.johnstintedtails.com . I just got mine back and they are unbelievable. Well worth the money and done by a pro that does tails and headlights for a living. I got the darkest they do and it blends in with the black car perfect. I've had strangers stop me in the parking lot already asking about them. It's a little hard to see in the day but at night is no problem. I'll post some pics tomorrow. My car is dirty but the lights aren't.

 

Thought I'd add mine.

 

Here's some pics I took real fast. I'll take better ones this week. Please ignore the dirty car.

 

should i buy tinted tailight housing or just the tinted covers?