covance

Is it possible to slightly smoke my tail lights and the side yellow markers by just getting them tinted by any tint shop (with a super high percentage like 90%?) instead of buying different lights that are already tinted and give the errors everyone complains about?

wnunez89

simply put...yes. most tail lights are smoked/tinted using paint though

covance

hey man thanks for quick response.

how would you go about using paint to do that? and is there a reason/advantage to buying the lights already smoked from ebay or whatnot?

Matt_Eurojerks

http://www.amazon.com/VHT-Shades-Cov.../dp/B00290CBGA

...go as light as you want.

AskDrTodd

Painting isn't difficult, but it also isn't easy. If you've never painted anything like this before I don't know if I'd recommend starting out on these lights (due to their odd shape). Go to a junkyard and ask for the cheapest tail light they'll sell you, and practice on that first. You can buy the tint spray at most auto parts stores now.

AZN Optics

A lot of body shops can tint your tails for you and it's a really simple process. Pricing will depend on region, but here in Socal, you can get it done for about a hundred. VHT Nightshade is good for the DIYers, but I've seen plenty of botched jobs to defer to pros who will give it a good even tint. Most will spray tint on the outside, but some will spray tint on the inside. The advantage of doing it through the inside is the paint is protected from exterior contaminants, chips and scratches. Disadvantage is you might not get as dark a shade as you want. You can get to the cherry/cranberry level doing inside tint, but won't be able to black it out that way.

If you don't have a shop near you that will do it, what most on the forums do is send their tails to Jon's Tinted Tails (www.jonstintedtails.com/). They have a 2 day turn around time. If you search you'll see they're pretty big with not just Mercedes, but BMW, Audi, VW, and JDM line forums.

Matt_Eurojerks

But then you have the chance of running into moisture problems and fogging up if you dont seal them properly.

AZN Optics

Which is why not as many shops will do this option. It's a risk, but no different than those who paint the inside of their headlight housing black. As long as you find a competent shop that can reseal it, it shouldn't be an issue.

covance

thanks guys for all the advice. i think i will try and get them tinted from wherever i do my windows too. do most people request the cherry color for the tails and just plain black for the yellow sidemarkers?

wnunez89

I've painted before but i wouldnt even attempt to paint these tail lights, there kinda odd shaped and would be difficult to get even layers and there kinda pricy if i mess up. id go to a paint shop and shell out the $100-$200 to get it perfect.

krewcial

A shop tinted my lights using film; I think it was lamin-x but i forget. It doesn't look as nice compared to paint, but its reversible at least if you change your mind.