Tail Light Tinting

July 8, 2004

Hey all, quick question for ya. I've got an '02 Jeep Liberty that I'm slowly but surely "personalizing". I've been seeing a lot of Euro Taillight sets for the Jeep, but I'm not much for the BLING BLING look of lots-of-chrome-and-little-red-dots.

So I got to thinking. . . . Take some of those ghetto Euro tails

and tint the chrome parts to match the red lenses (taking off the clear cover and tinting the chrome plastic underneath). Much cleaner and cooler looking than either the stockers or the Euros.

However, this genious idea relies on A) someone making a "taillight red" tint film, and B) someone being able to lay film on the curves of the taillight.

Is this impossible? Is there some easier way of doing this? I'd love for this to turn out like the Jaguar-style red-chrome tails I see around (mainly on Jag's), but if it comes out crappy I'd rather keep the stockers.

Thanks in advance!

-Bob

P.S., for someone with no knowledge of the tinting business and a penchant for learning, this forum rocks! Thanks a lot everyone!

July 8, 2004

Not gonna happen. Tint won't stick to the plastic. :lol

Image Tint · July 8, 2004

You try it first Wellington & tell us how it comes out :beer

July 8, 2004

July 8, 2004

Yeah, I figured the plastic wouldn't hold film, but then again I've gotten into a lot of trouble "figuring" in the past.

How do people tint their taillights the illegal way (I.e., "smoked lenses") then? I know there's spray tint for taillights, but that usually comes out looking like crap. Is this the only way there is to tint tails?

-Bob

July 8, 2004

Last time I checked, the darkened tail lights were illegal. Are you in PA? If you are then I think they're illegal. But, back when they were popular, the taillights were'nt tinted, they were actually plastic covers, that were attached with velcro to the car. :beer

RICHat22 · July 8, 2004

You don't want to break the seal on the lenses anyway. Once you do, they're through. You'll have moisture problems from then on.

July 8, 2004

Yeah, I've seen the fit-over smoked lenses, I think the biggest manufacturer of those is Auto Vent Shade. However, I've also seen cars which have the actual lens tinted. I believe it's a spray-on process.

As for breaking the lens's seal, I've heard that if you run a bead of RTV silicone sealant around the inside edge it eliminates any moisture problems.

-Bob