Few questions, Taillight tinting Odd painting etc

[Harrison]

Ok a few other questions now, can i fit VZ SSZ headlights and a VZ front bar to a vy without any problems? like will anything conflict the guards or the bonnet?

cheers for help

Alright, another one of my boring threads of endless questions...

I'll start with taillight tinting.... Is the tint applied to the outside of the lights? I for some reason always assumed it was done internally... and is it better to do the shade along with some clear coats or whats the go...

As for the odd painting anyone have an idea of the amount of painting involved in painting up the exec skirts (like the black plastic on bottom of bumpers, sideskirts) Side mirrors, and the black plastic stripping along the doors.. people suggest removing it but i like the stripping.

As far as DIY goes... do the side mirrors pull apart into pieces or if i was to do it myself would i just be masking and spraying whilst fitted to the car? ( i just want the top half painted like ss etc.)

all help much appreciated!

[tyrone]

i can answer the tail light tinting question if your refering to a product called nightshades it gets sprayed on the outside of the light and depending on how dark you want it just keep adding coats and it will get darker and darker also its illegal and suppose to be for off road use only so if you get pulled over more than likely you will get stung for it

as for painting the skirts there are two options one easy and cheap on expensive the cheap option sand it back buy some plastic primer from a car place spray that on then get them to paint match your colour and then presure pack that on over top then a couple of coats of clear from pressure pack as well or the expensive way take it into a painter and pay them to do it lol

as for the plastic strips in my experience id leave them on cause 9 times out of 10 youll get to the last door and it will peal some of your paint off and really ruine your day and look like crap then youll be up for getting the whole door resprayed

[danieLOL]

get the moulds and skirts painted properly, dont do it yourself or else in 2-3 months time after you've gone to the car wash etc it will be peeling/chipping off

[Harrison]

get the moulds and skirts painted properly, dont do it yourself or else in 2-3 months time after you've gone to the car wash etc it will be peeling/chipping off

ah good to know... is this even if i use paints of the highest quality though?
im thinking id be better off with a pro job anyway for peace of mind, plus i need some touch ups on my drivers door. had a nissan patrol make my car his bitch!

[Harrison]

i can answer the tail light tinting question if your refering to a product called nightshades it gets sprayed on the outside of the light and depending on how dark you want it just keep adding coats and it will get darker and darker also its illegal and suppose to be for off road use only so if you get pulled over more than likely you will get stung for it

as for painting the skirts there are two options one easy and cheap on expensive the cheap option sand it back buy some plastic primer from a car place spray that on then get them to paint match your colour and then presure pack that on over top then a couple of coats of clear from pressure pack as well or the expensive way take it into a painter and pay them to do it lol

as for the plastic strips in my experience id leave them on cause 9 times out of 10 youll get to the last door and it will peal some of your paint off and really ruine your day and look like crap then youll be up for getting the whole door resprayed

yeah thanks i bought the nite shade today and did a few searches but it never directly said where to spray, i understand now though thanks. and as for the legal side of it i only want to make them as dark as the SS lights i would just rather pay $20 instead of a few hundred.. i guess it's one area i can save on. (i have a silver car anyway i dont think it would suit black lights)

yeah i know about the strips i definately wanna keep them on i like them but i guess pro painting is 4x the cost atleast (but knowing it will last is worth it i guess) thanks for all your help though i do appreciate the input...

[danieLOL]

ah good to know... is this even if i use paints of the highest quality though?
im thinking id be better off with a pro job anyway for peace of mind, plus i need some touch ups on my drivers door. had a nissan patrol make my car his bitch!

not too sure to be honest, i think its got to do with the way you prep the plastic itself so the paint bonds to it better

[Harrison]

not too sure to be honest, i think its got to do with the way you prep the plastic itself so the paint bonds to it better

yeah fair enough, i think im gonna just go a pro job.. but the damn panel beater around me was closed yesterday so couldnt get any quotes... frustrating

[a1k3m1]

yeh dude, get the pros to do it, coz then you can take it back if it screws up lol

[Harrison]

just tinting the lights now, got the second coat on... few little traces around the edges and ill be happy
masked up over the indicators and reverse lights too didnt want them entirely dark.. would be kinda gay on a silver car.

looks really good!

[Harrison]

lights came up awesome! i think so anyway...

[a1k3m1]

looks sweet dude!! .. what do they look like when their switched on?

[Harrison]

looks sweet dude!! .. what do they look like when their switched on?

look fine, it will be proper dark where i live in about 30 mins ill get some photos... (reverse and blinkers are exactly the same but the brakes are the only question)

i love it.. amazing how excited one can get about tail lights, haha

[a1k3m1]

haha, awesome as dude, ya get even more excited than normal when ya can do it yourself i thinks lol

[Harrison]

haha, awesome as dude, ya get even more excited than normal when ya can do it yourself i thinks lol

yeah definately.. ss lights on ebay.. few hundred... tint execs to look similar a little darker... $20. way better... i think the lights are actually a bit darker in person that pic looks kinda light

[danieLOL]

looks good dude, what did use to mask the reverse circle? just tape or?

[tyrone]

tail lights came up a treat man and as for painting the bottom i did the whole bottom of a vl with plastic primer and some decent can stuff and painted the whole bottom in the calais silver had that car for two years and never pealed and vl's have lots of little spots that you have to be carful with just prep it properlly get some decent paint and as far as im conserned 2 years is as long as i keep cars for anyway lol

[Harrison]

yeah mate just masking tape then i could slightly see the outline of the circle and the indicator so i just drew it on with a pen, lefted the tape as much as i needed to and cut it along the line... worked awesome (i saw 'Timmos' had done it to his car and it looked awesome)..

Just went outside and gave it a hit... it's sweet makes no difference on anything... i mean from just looking at it anyway. sister has a brand new 2 day old mazda 3 and the brake lights are still brighter than hers so i cant see it being obvious to the fuzz. ill chuck some pics up soon...

[Harrison]

(brake, indicator, rev lights)

(some car parked behind me... brake lights on)

(a pic before i chucked em back on the car)

(just another pic)

(i think i take too many photos)

[danieLOL]

came up real nice, im giving mine a go tomorrow (Y)

[Harrison]

came up real nice, im giving mine a go tomorrow (Y)

yeah awesome mate, seriously the cheapest thing i've done to my car and couldn't be happier with the look now, doesn't look like bright cheap china plastic anymore...

one little tip though, theres an edge of mine that i missed, it isn't too noticeable but still kinda annoying...

[danieLOL]

ahk, thanks for the tip

[danieLOL]

just finished mine now came out alright i reckon, dont mind the dirty car haha:

before:


after:


might give the headlights a crack next week if i can be bothered