Smoking my tail lights!

[tylerxfire]

First layer of clear and I haven't even buffed them out yet. Will buff them with 2000 grit and polishing compound tomorrow. Letting the 2nd coat of clear cure overnight.

Whatchall think? This is at least 6 coats of VHT and 2 coats of clear with wetsanding between each coat.

are u also sanding between clear coats?

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

are u also sanding between clear coats?

Yup! 2000grit between clear coat layers.

I have 2 coats of clear pretty heavy so I may 2000 grit sand and put 2 more coats like suggested.

 

[Kuro!]

Looks sick man!

I was talking to a DPS officer, and he said that you can have them nearly blacked as long as the reverse light is noticeably visible, don't know the validity of his statement but it's something to consider.

 

[BLKBULLITT]

holy moly batman thats A LOT of coats!

Im doing this to my side markers and blinkers this spring when it gets warmer out and was THINKING about doing 2 coats on the tails but damn 6 is daaaaaaaark!

 

[LAStang1234]

Well it looks like you can still see some red, so I guess 6 coats are good! lol

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

Looks sick man!

I was talking to a DPS officer, and he said that you can have them nearly blacked as long as the reverse light is noticeably visible, don't know the validity of his statement but it's something to consider.

Ruh Roh!!! My reverse lights are anything but visible now! LOL!!

Here are some mock up shots with my crappy iPhone3G. I still have to sand and shoot 2 more coats of clear and then sand and buff for the finale. I'll break out the Canon DSLR for hi-res pics when I'm finished but this will give you an idea of how it looks.

Whatchall think?

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

I think I'm gonna get a ticket................................or 2.

 

[LAStang1234]

Wow those look damn good Ultra!

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

Wow those look damn good Ultra!

Thanks!

The lenses should come out slick as glass when I'm done. I think I nailed it with shooting the clear coat.

 

[Jeffs FRC]

Those are DARK! To finish it all up you have to do the 3rd brake light and the side markers. Make sure to sand the letters off the side markers and the little circle on the third brake light completely off.

I sprayed mine with 3 coats of VHT and 5 coats of clear. Wet sanded the shit out of them and they came out awesome. Ive since removed them and went back to stock cause I dont think they looked quite right on my car.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

Those are DARK! To finish it all up you have to do the 3rd brake light and the side markers. Make sure to sand the letters off the side markers and the little circle on the third brake light completely off.

I sprayed mine with 3 coats of VHT and 5 coats of clear. Wet sanded the shit out of them and they came out awesome. Ive since removed them and went back to stock cause I dont think they looked quite right on my car.

Damn they looked good on your car! Looking good Ultra.

 

[3VPOWA]

I was talking to a DPS officer, and he said that you can have them nearly blacked as long as the reverse light is noticeably visible, don't know the validity of his statement but it's something to consider.

And I had a DPS Trooper tell me something different back in April.

I tried to beat a stop light once and lost (didn't notice the DPS Trooper near by). He pulls me over and gives me a warning for the stop light as well as a warning for the tail lights. He went back and forth on my car looking at the front and the rear several times before talking to me about all of the lights.

He asks me if I had ever been pulled over for the tail lights (mind you they've been tinted since February 2008). I told him no, and that I even lived in Austin for about a year and was never bothered about it. He then proceeds to tell me that they're "legal but not legal." He explained that he could see my brake lights and turn signals just fine (at 1 PM on a sunshiny day) but that the "reflector" part of the light was now obstructed. He mentioned that if I were pulled over on the side of the road at night, headlights from another car wouldn't reflect properly off of my tail lights. He told me that he'd give me a warning since they were painted and not those stupid covers everyone and their mother uses.

Anyway, sorry to thread hijack OP. Just wanted to share the information I was given by a Texas DPS Trooper.

 

[BLKBULLITT]

^

Thats exactly the look im going for!

What kind of grit paper did you sand them with? Did you use ultimate compound like most people do to polish them?

 

[Jeffs FRC]

^

Thats exactly the look im going for!

What kind of grit paper did you sand them with? Did you use ultimate compound like most people do to polish them?

I used 2000 for the wet sanding and iirc, I used 3M perfect-it rubbing compound to buff them out.

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

Those are DARK! To finish it all up you have to do the 3rd brake light and the side markers. Make sure to sand the letters off the side markers and the little circle on the third brake light completely off.

I sprayed mine with 3 coats of VHT and 5 coats of clear. Wet sanded the shit out of them and they came out awesome. Ive since removed them and went back to stock cause I dont think they looked quite right on my car.

Thanks! I completely forgot about these. Might as well do them too since I have the paint!

In all reality, I can lighten my lenses up from being so dark by just sanding them down a bit more and re-clearing them.

The determining factor to how dark they stay is determined by how much VHT I leave on, or take off.

and Jeff your car looked AWESOME with your tails painted dark! You should have left them on!

Thanks for the replies and input from all!

 

[Silversurfer]

Looks good Ultra..

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

Looks good Ultra..

Thanks!

 

[06z28eater]

good stuff dude looks good! i have done several sets, i did my roush fog's and clear corners last week and used like 6 coats or so and you can barely see any light from them now LOL

 

[Kuro!]

And I had a DPS Trooper tell me something different back in April.

I tried to beat a stop light once and lost (didn't notice the DPS Trooper near by). He pulls me over and gives me a warning for the stop light as well as a warning for the tail lights. He went back and forth on my car looking at the front and the rear several times before talking to me about all of the lights.

He asks me if I had ever been pulled over for the tail lights (mind you they've been tinted since February 2008). I told him no, and that I even lived in Austin for about a year and was never bothered about it. He then proceeds to tell me that they're "legal but not legal." He explained that he could see my brake lights and turn signals just fine (at 1 PM on a sunshiny day) but that the "reflector" part of the light was now obstructed. He mentioned that if I were pulled over on the side of the road at night, headlights from another car wouldn't reflect properly off of my tail lights. He told me that he'd give me a warning since they were painted and not those stupid covers everyone and their mother uses.

Anyway, sorry to thread hijack OP. Just wanted to share the information I was given by a Texas DPS Trooper.

I think it comes down to the fact that they can do what ever they want... If they want to ticket you they will

 

[bigpappy33]

Looks great man. I need to do this. Want mine a little darker now and am sick of the vinyl overlay.