Its been a project of mine for about a month now,but finally got it done. And a thank you to erinwalter3 for hanging there while a few little mishaps happened while tring to get your stock tail lights from ya
And decided to get an extra set of stock tail lights and try this.Just incase I messed up my only set
Just got it done and snapped a few pics,its 3 very thin coats of Nightshades.You can still see the red and the reflectors so its not to dark.Perfect bloody red I think
And 3 wet coats of clear.I let it dry over night then used some 3m polish stuff and a coat of zaino.Came out nice and shiny.
All done with rattle can,total cost minus the tail lights was $8 for a can of night shades and $4 for a can of clear.Very cheap alternative to buying aftermarket.
**Update** Video
Just a quick little video going through the blinkers,parking,brake and reverse lights and quick start of the car with the SW catback at idle
And this last one here is teh pontiac emblem on the rear,I popped it off and did 1 coat of nightshades and 2 coats of clear,nice little touch I thought
Guiltlessly turning gallons of gasoline into teary-eyed bliss at every opportunity!
2004 Pulse Red GTO LS-1
1995 Black Chevy Impala SS LT-1
1995 Dark Cherry Chevy Impala SS LT-46 speed
2003 Blue Yamaha FZ-1 2010 Yamaha VMAX on the wish list...
I would say probally not but they still lite up pretty bright and when shining a lite on them you still see the reflector in there.I don't see me getting harased for them.Alot brighter than tail light covers and I had tail light covers on my Trans Am and got a ticket for it for unable to see the reflector.
Like reading the side of the VHT can it recommends no more than 2 coats which in all I probally have because the coats I put on there were very very thin but I did spray them 3 times,so I'm sticking with 3 thin coats
I would say probally not but they still lite up pretty bright and when shining a lite on them you still see the reflector in there.I don't see me getting harased for them.Alot brighter than tail light covers and I had tail light covers on my Trans Am and got a ticket for it for unable to see the reflector.
Like reading the side of the VHT can it recommends no more than 2 coats which in all I probally have because the coats I put on there were very very thin but I did spray them 3 times,so I'm sticking with 3 thin coats
Sounds cool. I think Ill have to do it. Was it hard to make them smooth?
what do you mean by 3 wet coats of clear? did you do anything to the clear between coats, or just spray on 3 and thats it
Ive used night shades before with good results but never put clear on them.
thats exactly the shade/look I want.
Where I work at we always lay clear on wet to make it look more shiney,just a term used at work really . I did nothing between the coats,sprayed 1 wait 15 minutes sprayed 2nd then waited 15 like that to 3 coats then waited to the next day before I handled them or wet sanding.Probally 20 hours or so was the time from last coat til they were on the car.Unlike basecoat or VHT being 12-16" away and spraying to get more of a dry look so it don't run. Kinda hard to explain but putting clear on the same way with out going over it 100 times so it don't look dry I got a little closer when spraying the clear and when its wet it looks like glass so to speak.And alot smoother looking,but don't get to close because clear coat can run real easy or turn a real milky white color when sprayed in one spot for to long.
As far as making it look smooth you can wet sand it with some 2000 grit then use some rubbing compound or like I did was just use a 3m 1500 grit rubbing compound then some zaino and it came out really good.For something as simple as a pair of tail lights you can get them to come out really close to factory without having to take them to a body to be sprayed.For me though,I love to paint and being doing it for over 10 years so using a rattle can was quite easy to me. Good luck
Thank You for doing this. Ive been photoshopping tinted tails on my CGM but its hard to tell how it would really look. The only other way I would tint them is to leave the clear circles untinted.
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05 CGM A4 ----> 06 CGM 6 speed ----> 2009 G8 GT Black/Red Sold Looking for another GTO 2006 Traiblazer SS- VMS Intake l A.R. Headers l SLP Catback l 224/230 Cam l Ported LS2 Heads l Circle D 3000 Stall
Chops look good Junior,some of my pics came out dark and they actually almost look like the shade in the first pic you did.I don't think you could go wrong doing it like either one of those 3 pics.
what brand clear coat? when ive sprayed tails with vht, then clear coat they only looked shinny when they were wet (rained on) ive never been able to get that perfect shinny look.
did you sand before vht, then after the clear coat?
I used Dupli-Color Clear from Auto-Zone.No sanding at all between coats,I sanded the whole tail light with 2000 grit before I even started painting and that was just to prep it a bit for the paint to stick to it.After that I just waited 10-15 between each coat,I took my time with it so it took about 1.5 hours.Then after it was done it sat over night to dry and then I used the 3m 1500 grit rubbing compound,but no sanding at all.
I did the 3rd brake light on my Ram truck too, only thing I did different was after it was done I wet sanded the clear with 2000 grit and it looks about the same as the tail lights.I try and get a pic of to see.
perfect... Good thing we live in different states because our cars might look similar by the time we are done. Im doing the tail lights and the exhaust but most likely different wheels.
i have a cyclone gray too, and this lookis killer! i usually handle myself well around body and paint work but im nervous to start cranking on a $30k car that ive only had two weeks. might have to drive over to your place, CGM. lol.
IF CGM doesnt want to do it, contact me becuase there is a guy somewhat local to me that has done them for a chrylser 300c forum my dad belongs to.
Be my guest Junior No harm done
I'm always a little nervous working on other people's cars.Thats why I bought an extra set of stockers to do this project on my own car ...lol
Be my guest Junior No harm done
I'm always a little nervous working on other people's cars.Thats why I bought an extra set of stockers to do this project on my own car ...lol
I know the feeling, I dont like working on other poeples cars either. If I break something on my own car its one thing but to mess up on someone elses is another. Thats why i wont detail other peoples cars. Im buying an extra set aswell but just to keep incase I get hassled.
Thought about doing this with my TA but didnt want to completely black them out like I have seen other people do with the VHT. How well does the VHT lay down? I was thinking of just spraying a Black candy which would give me a nice even coat and then spraying several coats of clear on top. Might have to try my own recipe and see how it turns out. Love the look though...not too dark, and not stock
Pictures of tail lights going thru Night Shade Process
After reading so many posts on VHT Night Shade, and also not really being fond of the HUGE RED tail lights my 05 IBM GTO has...I decided it was my time to try my hand at this.
First off let me say that this is a great mod and anyone should be able to accomplish really good results regardless of their artistic abilities. Preparation is the key to success in this project.
I took a few pics of the tails undergoing their transformation. I am no photographer so work with me here.
2005 GTO Owner
IBM M6
