Tinting taillights

[Toddasaurus]

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I think this looks awesome!

Oh dang. Yes it does.

 

[Nd1017]

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I think this looks awesome!

Shit. Tempted now.

 

[dareckibmw]

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I think this looks awesome!

Looks like crap ~$500 Civic. If I was a cop and see those blackout tails, I'd pull him over and ask him to remove it.

 

[KusaKusa]

In some states, I believe it's not illegal to tint your taillights. I think a dark tint is nice for contrasting brighter paints.

I don't mind the white turn signals since they sorta match the silver wings of the emblem, but I can understand that they do kinda awkwardly stand out and darkening them can be good. Plus, darkening the turn signals will match well with the brightness of the LED replacements people have mentioned lol.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Looks like crap ~$500 Civic. If I was a cop and see those blackout tails, I'd pull him over and ask him to remove it.

Haha, yeah, this is true.

I've got my fingers crossed that the most basic tint option will be light enough to not make it super noticeable, but still look factory. Last thing I want is to attract too much attention. We will see on Monday.

 

[dareckibmw]

I just added tinted film on the white part of the tail lights. It's perfect IMHO.
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This, I like. Classy and European style.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Finished applying the tint. I like the look of it... Here is just the right taillight done.



And here is a picture with both tinted. I like it. My wife also said she really likes it. Not a huge difference, it seems to fit nicely with the rest of the car in my opinion.



Now, after applying it myself, would I recommend doing it? SHIT NO. This was the biggest pain in the ass to put it on. Several times I wanted to give up because I couldn't line it up properly, and/or there were huge creases I couldn't work out - it's nearly impossible to apply properly.

After countless times having to start all over again I began to think it wasn't worth it. But, somehow, I got both of them on. Here are some closeups of mistakes I made after finishing.... This is literally the best I could do...




Now, Lamin X offers universal tinting kits. Instead of getting the G70 specific tint, if I were to do it again, I'd go with one of those. You have more material so you wouldn't have to line things up perfectly, instead you could just focus on applying it without bubbles and creases. It would be a lot easier (though still VERY tedious).

Anyway, there it is.

 

[Beefer]

I like it!!

 

[NLJ]

Finished applying the tint. I like the look of it... Here is just the right taillight done.

View attachment 18864View attachment 18865View attachment 18866

And here is a picture with both tinted. I like it. My wife also said she really likes it. Not a huge difference, it seems to fit nicely with the rest of the car in my opinion.

View attachment 18871View attachment 18872

Now, after applying it myself, would I recommend doing it? SHIT NO. This was the biggest pain in the ass to put it on. Several times I wanted to give up because I couldn't line it up properly, and/or there were huge creases I couldn't work out - it's nearly impossible to apply properly.

After countless times having to start all over again I began to think it wasn't worth it. But, somehow, I got both of them on. Here are some closeups of mistakes I made after finishing.... This is literally the best I could do...

View attachment 18873View attachment 18874


Now, Lamin X offers universal tinting kits. Instead of getting the G70 specific tint, if I were to do it again, I'd go with one of those. You have more material so you wouldn't have to line things up perfectly, instead you could just focus on applying it without bubbles and creases. It would be a lot easier (though still VERY tedious).

Anyway, there it is.

Looks exactly like my wife Sorento with the deeper red which I want!
When I first looked into it a few months ago, I was tempted to get the universal kit since the G70 kit wasn't showing up. It also came with more tools.
My tint shop wanted $150 for the tail lights alone!

 

[danygenesis]

It looks very nice on your silver G70.

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[Nd1017]

Did the kit come with any tint for the reflectors? Least I think that's what I saw on the drawing on Lamin X site.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Looks exactly like my wife Sorento with the deeper red which I want!
When I first looked into it a few months ago, I was tempted to get the universal kit since the G70 kit wasn't showing up. It also came with more tools.
My tint shop wanted $150 for the tail lights alone!

If you plan to do it yourself, GET THE UNIVERSAL. It will be substantially easier to apply.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Did the kit come with any tint for the reflectors? Least I think that's what I saw on the drawing on Lamin X site.

It sure did! Haven't done them yet. Should be easy peezy, though.

 

[Edmguy]

Looks great. Any pics with the lights on? Does it affect the brightness much?

 

[Toddasaurus]

Looks great. Any pics with the lights on? Does it affect the brightness much?

I don't think it changes the lighting much, but I'll see if I can snap some pics a bit later so you can see how it looks.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Applied the reflector tint. Not much of a difference, but hey, it's there! Pretty easy to apply these little guys.



Also, I tested out the blinkers now that the tint is on, and there really isn't any change. My wife wasn't home to help test out the brake lights, but I doubt those are any different either. Here you go..



I'm really annoyed with the creases and bubbling on my taillight tint. I'm contemplating just buying a universal sheet and replacing my crappy tint job. Problem is they aren't cheap, costs about the same as the G70 specific kit. Hmmm... I think my OCD is gonna get the best of me on this one.

EDIT: Tested out the parking lights with the tint on. No difference that I can see.

 

[jaxsully]

Last year on my son's BMW 330ci I used VHT NightShades (2 coats). I did this on all lenses front to rear. You have to mask off the car but it is a very low cost, but permanent DIY. I will post pictures later when I am home. Now when I say permanent I repeat that is what the can says. However I have seen over time the darkness does fade a bit with car washing etc. Probably would need a fresh coat every 2 years.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Last year on my son's BMW 330ci I used VHT NightShades (2 coats). I did this on all lenses front to rear. You have to mask off the car but it is a very low cost, but permanent DIY. I will post pictures later when I am home. Now when I say permanent I repeat that is what the can says. However I have seen over time the darkness does fade a bit with car washing etc. Probably would need a fresh coat every 2 years.

Definitely post some pics when possible. I'd be worried about having a nice even tone across the taillight with a spray method. I assume overlap would be really visible.

I've been watching a bunch of videos on how to properly apply the universal tint on the taillights. I'm hopeful that it will turn out better the 2nd time around. But considering the cost to buy 2 sets, I may as well just paid a shop to do it in the first place. Oh well. Hopefully my learning experience will help others debating on doing this.

 

[jaxsully]

Definitely post some pics when possible. I'd be worried about having a nice even tone across the taillight with a spray method. I assume overlap would be really visible.

I've been watching a bunch of videos on how to properly apply the universal tint on the taillights. I'm hopeful that it will turn out better the 2nd time around. But considering the cost to buy 2 sets, I may as well just paid a shop to do it in the first place. Oh well. Hopefully my learning experience will help others debating on doing this.

So what I did was go to the junk yard and bought the cheapest tail lights I could that were clean and clear. I then polished them to remove haze and swirl and then tested on them. When you follow the directions the VHT lays flat and I didnt have varying depth. What is interesting is you think it might be too dark but it lets through more light than you would think.

 

[Buckdes]

Would love to do this but here in Alberta it is illegal, also if you ever get rear ended and they say they could not see your tailights you can be held accountable for all damages no matter how much they are tinted , totally not worth the risk