Smoked tail light question

[preston]

What is the preferred method to smoking tail lights??? Night Shades followed by clear coat or just tinting some clear coat with some black paint???

I am no stranger to painting (did that for a job and hobby for a while) but I am new to smoking tail lights. I want to smoke some G3's for my Yukon and I want to go pretty dark while retaining the most visibility possible.

Any advice from those who know is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[chevyhoe]

i was about to ask the same thing i did mine a few months ago and i ended up taking it off this weekend because it looked horrible.. it faded and cracked and was roughh!!! i just sprayed them with vht night shade(spraytint) local hobby shop ****!!! is there anything i can do short of painting them, i am going to bit the ass one day and buy the after market tails and i dont wanna ruin these i have now, in the even i get pulled over with them! what we do wrong boys>

 

[HitandRunDriver]

there should be a thread around on this but i'll give you the basics

Sand down the tails with 300 grit sandpaper, move up to anywhere from 800 grit to 1000 grit. Start with very light coats of night shade, tint them as dark as you want. If the finish isnt even, wait for them to dry and wetsand them lightly. That also helps the clearcoat adhere. I'd say 4-6 passes with clearcoat and you're golden. I had my stock tails on my 01' done like that and they were beautiful until I was ticketed for them....

 

[nerotxc]

I spray mine. I did my mustangs whole rear not too long ago, and will have the yukons done here shortly.

 

[DwDrummer]

I did a write up last month! Hope this helps! http://www.tahoeforum.com/showthread.php?t=13484

Thanks,
DwDrummer

 

[PatrykKoul]

Good prep work is key. I sanded mine with 800 grit just to get them slightly buffed dull to get the VHT to stick. Remember to sand evenly across the entire light and keep the paper wet. Make sure you do the edges of the lights good. After sanded I did like 6 light coats of VHT on mine, they're pretty darn dark but I like it. Make sure you don't do thick coats. My friend has like 2 coats on his and they look purple in the sun. Don't paint inside, this stuff smells nasty. Let the lights sit over night, VHT dries really slow. The next day I wet sanded with 1500 grit. The lights turn dull black, but once you clear them they look perfect. I used an enamel based professional clear coat that I bought from Wesco. They put it in a spray can for me. Do not use a laquer based clearcoat because it will strip all of the night shades off the tail lights. I did about 3 coats of clear. After you clear them and it dries, you can wet sand really light with 1500 grit to get any orange peel off, but mine didn't have any so I skipped it. Once the clear dried, I used polishing compound to get them even more shiny and then a put a layer of synthetic wax on them. They match the paint of my car perfectly. Hope this helps!

 

[DwDrummer]

Good prep work is key. I sanded mine with 800 grit just to get them slightly buffed dull to get the VHT to stick. Remember to sand evenly across the entire light and keep the paper wet. Make sure you do the edges of the lights good. After sanded I did like 6 light coats of VHT on mine, they're pretty darn dark but I like it. Make sure you don't do thick coats. My friend has like 2 coats on his and they look purple in the sun. Don't paint inside, this stuff smells nasty. Let the lights sit over night, VHT dries really slow. The next day I wet sanded with 1500 grit. The lights turn dull black, but once you clear them they look perfect. I used an enamel based professional clear coat that I bought from Wesco. They put it in a spray can for me. Do not use a laquer based clearcoat because it will strip all of the night shades off the tail lights. I did about 3 coats of clear. After you clear them and it dries, you can wet sand really light with 1500 grit to get any orange peel off, but mine didn't have any so I skipped it. Once the clear dried, I used polishing compound to get them even more shiny and then a put a layer of synthetic wax on them. They match the paint of my car perfectly. Hope this helps!

Let see some pictures!

 

[preston]

Thanks for all the tips!!! I think I got it under control. It will be a few weeks until I get around to it but I'll post pics when it done.