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Tinted my tail lights last night

Since I got the diamond black headlights, I wanted to get rid of the ugly orange turn signal section on my tails, so I set out to tint them using the steps many on the board have done.


As if you haven't already seen enough photos of my truck
:rolleyes:, here's a "before" shot:

CR2.jpg



Here's the sprays I used: Pactra Candy Red, Pactra Window Tint, and Testors Ultra Gloss Clearcoat.

IMG_0221.jpg


After cleaning the mud off the tails:

IMG_0218.jpg



Masked:

IMG_0223.jpg



After a coat or two of red:


IMG_0227.jpg



After a couple coats of tint:


IMG_0238.jpg



After the tint, I un-masked it, and coated the entire light in clear:

IMG_0243.jpg



Did the second one following the same steps. The finished product:

IMG_0260.jpg



And some photos of them on my rig:

IMG_0271.jpg



IMG_0275.jpg





Here's a shot with the turn signal on:

IMG_0278.jpg


And off:

IMG_0281.jpg






Overall, I'm happy with the finished product. If I had to do it all over again, I think I'd go a little easier on the red and tint, just to have them a litttttle brighter. I'm pretty sure I'm going to catch crap from cops for these, but I like the look. I think they'll look a whole lot better when my truck is actually cleaned and shined up, right now it's a dusty, sandy, muddy mess. I'll get pics up at next weeks truck show all shined up. It was a really easy process, took me only a few hours in my dorm room and only $15 worth of paint. Hope this helps people out.
 



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Looks good, but I think you should do a light coat of tint over the red and leave the reverse alone or a really light coat of tint over the reverse part. I would like to do something like this on my truck, being black and all, but there is that warranty thing.... I suppose I could always grab a spare set of tails... Nice work though. Should look sick all shined up. If you have never done it, I would try using clay bar on your truck, it really makes a difference, and the smoothness of the paint is incredible afterwards.
 






Dan, yes, I've clay-barred once. I'll prolly do it Friday again before waxing.


Question for you guys - could I spray my signal bulbs (they're clear) with yellow transparent paint to try to get the turn signals to look closer to amber? As you can see from the photo, they're pretty reddish. I figure if I get pulled over by a cop for the dark look, and the signal still lights up relatively amber, I can talk my way out of a ticket. Don't know if the paint would burn off, discolor, etc. I would imagine it would not, considering the signal bulb is never on long enough to get hot.
 






Dan, yes, I've clay-barred once. I'll prolly do it Friday again before waxing.


Question for you guys - could I spray my signal bulbs (they're clear) with yellow transparent paint to try to get the turn signals to look closer to amber? As you can see from the photo, they're pretty reddish. I figure if I get pulled over by a cop for the dark look, and the signal still lights up relatively amber, I can talk my way out of a ticket. Don't know if the paint would burn off, discolor, etc. I would imagine it would not, considering the signal bulb is never on long enough to get hot.

that mite possibly work but i think if u get some strong paint thinner or acetone and start over u mite have better results and u can keep the amber look... im sure it didnt take too much paint to get them to look like that... if u spray the bulb it mite make the light dimmer too... i love the look tho nice work
 






Thank man. I don't really want to do them over, everything is covered in clear and shined up really nice. I think I'm gonna try the yellow bulbs.
 






Or you could try some amber colored bulbs too.
 






Just wanted to say IMO it came out pretty nice, I like the final product especially the clearcoat.
 












Looking good!!!
 






im prety sure if u get yellow bulbs the lights is still gonna be red
 






looks awesome keep up the good work
 






Nice work, as usual. I like how the finished product came out- I need to redo my tails, they've faded over the couple years I've had them tinted. I think you should give the same treatment that you gave to your amber lenses to your main taillight lens, the red part. It will look sweet, trust me.:thumbsup:
 






don't know what the big worry over the yellow turn signals is,, look around there are tons of cars and trucks that don't have yellow turn signals,,

or do you think a cop is going to single you out just cause yours are different ??
most cops wouldn't be able to tell you what kind of truck it is at first glance ,,
:salute:
 






don't know what the big worry over the yellow turn signals is,, look around there are tons of cars and trucks that don't have yellow turn signals,,

See, that's the reason why I have no issue with tinting them in the first place, however, my truck is a giant "pull me over" beacon, and I feel like this is one more excuse for a cop having a bad day to pull me over and give me a stack of tickets. Tons of cars have red signals, how many have black? That's why I'm a bit concerned. I figure the law has got to be something along the lines that it's OK for the signal to be red unless it was amber from the factory. If they lit up amber, I'd have an easier time defending myself. Maybe I can just find brighter bulbs. Any suggestions?
 






my truck is a giant "pull me over" beacon
I know the feeling. I'd say if you are looking for a good amber bulb find yourself a pair of Sylvannia Silverstar turnsignal bulbs. They're great, I have them front and rear in my truck.
 






I know the feeling. I'd say if you are looking for a good amber bulb find yourself a pair of Sylvannia Silverstar turnsignal bulbs. They're great, I have them front and rear in my truck.

That will solve my 'problem'. Do you know the specific bulb/part #?
 






See, that's the reason why I have no issue with tinting them in the first place, however, my truck is a giant "pull me over" beacon, and I feel like this is one more excuse for a cop having a bad day to pull me over and give me a stack of tickets. Tons of cars have red signals, how many have black? That's why I'm a bit concerned. I figure the law has got to be something along the lines that it's OK for the signal to be red unless it was amber from the factory. If they lit up amber, I'd have an easier time defending myself. Maybe I can just find brighter bulbs. Any suggestions?
Where are you at exactly? Most places don't define a specific bulb color for the rear turn signals, they can usually be either red or amber. And typically they need only light up one of those colors when used, otherwise the color they are when not in use doesn't matter provided the reflectors still reflect red (that's how those nasty clear lenses work on most cars). Heck, my father's Bonneville has clear turnsignals on the taillights straight from GM, but it has amber bulbs which illuminate a proper color, and it gets away with the clear because the reflectors in the brake lens still illuminate red when light hits them at night (where people with tinted covers get in trouble, it blocks the reflection). Front turn signals are typically the only ones where the light has to be amber in color, but that doesn't mean that's always the case. You should be able to find out your local laws online to verify for your particular situation, but here in Texas, I long ago painted the amber on my taillights red to match the rest of the lens on my Silverado and have never had a problem.

Tom
 






I just did a light tinting on my tail lights with Night Shades...soon as it drys ill get some pics up.
 






Where are you at exactly? Most places don't define a specific bulb color for the rear turn signals, they can usually be either red or amber. And typically they need only light up one of those colors when used, otherwise the color they are when not in use doesn't matter provided the reflectors still reflect red (that's how those nasty clear lenses work on most cars). Heck, my father's Bonneville has clear turnsignals on the taillights straight from GM, but it has amber bulbs which illuminate a proper color, and it gets away with the clear because the reflectors in the brake lens still illuminate red when light hits them at night (where people with tinted covers get in trouble, it blocks the reflection). Front turn signals are typically the only ones where the light has to be amber in color, but that doesn't mean that's always the case. You should be able to find out your local laws online to verify for your particular situation, but here in Texas, I long ago painted the amber on my taillights red to match the rest of the lens on my Silverado and have never had a problem.

Tom

I've searched and cannot seem to find any NJ or PA laws (the two states I'm most likely to end up living in after graduation in a month) for vehicle details such as turn signals, lighting, etc. Where the hell can I find this info? Very frustrating.
 



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not sure if its the same for 2nd gens, but third gens use 3157 turn signals for the sylverstars
 






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