View Poll Results: Tail Light Tinted on E55s?
Love it, Hell yeah
35
61.40%
Hate it, ugh
10
17.54%
Can't decide
12
21.05%
Voters: 57. You may not vote on this poll
*** Tinted Tail lights, Loren & a Spray Can, oh my God ***
#1
Super Member
Thread Starter
*** Tinted Tail lights, Loren & a Spray Can, oh my God ***
Ok, so this is huge. Its right up there with the washer thing in terms of results per dollar. I was reading the recent thread on tinting lenses, smoking them, Nite Shade, etc. I've had all my cars done professionally at paint shops before. I like the smoked look... but then again, they are all BLACK CARS... what would happen on my Silver E55? Further, should I leave the clear backup unsmoked or not? Painting it all is easy... stenciling out that area takes most of the time.
But I did it. INSTEAD of Nite Shade, which has LOTS of complaints about rough texture, followed by all sorts of methods of wet sanding, polishing, clear coating, polishing again... INSTEAD of that I did some research and found "VANS Smoke Tail Light" imported from Japan was purported to be much better. Many people put it on and didn't need a clear coat, etc. I wonder if it has clear coat mixed in already... dunno.
So, I ordered 2 bottles (used 1.25 of that), cleaned with alcohol, taped and masked, got down to stenciling the clear area (razor blade, find the very very thin crack between red and clear and follow it slowly).
First two light coats... very rough. Crap... how is this going to look smooth? Two more and if I saturated a little more, it was shiny and smooth. Let it dry and its pretty damn good shine and polish wise...not rough like the Nite Shade stuff I've read about. I was trying to balance a darkness level that was like my window tint but not too dark. Too dark won.
Dramatic... with the dark tint (did the center brake light too) its going to be controversial... people here will probably love it or hate it. Some poeple would say I should have smoked all of it... but the clear part goes with my silver well... it just gives the rear more business going on like the front.
Dunno, tell me what you all think... Here's the link to the ebay site... one of a handful of people selling Vans.... 3 times as much as Nite Shade, but worth it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EAFB%3AIT&rd=1
So, 1.5 hours and $70 later, I did it myself. When it dries I am going to run the 3m 1500 grit rubbing compound on it everyone is recommending on the internet and see if it brings it up from a B+ to an A+. Overall I'm happy... still getting used to it... but happy. Its almost as good as the pro jobs I paid way more money for. YIKES! I'm trying to get used to it... it IS menacing appearance wise...
Make sure you do it yourselfers mask the entire backside of your car and use brief sweeps and spurts at first... clean with rubbing alcohol and let dry, then paint away. DOUBLE YIKES! Still can't get used to it, but I love it for some reason! The pictures don't capture it all...
Tonight I'll take pics of lights... I can see them easily in the daytime... brake lights are a deep red...
Loren
But I did it. INSTEAD of Nite Shade, which has LOTS of complaints about rough texture, followed by all sorts of methods of wet sanding, polishing, clear coating, polishing again... INSTEAD of that I did some research and found "VANS Smoke Tail Light" imported from Japan was purported to be much better. Many people put it on and didn't need a clear coat, etc. I wonder if it has clear coat mixed in already... dunno.
So, I ordered 2 bottles (used 1.25 of that), cleaned with alcohol, taped and masked, got down to stenciling the clear area (razor blade, find the very very thin crack between red and clear and follow it slowly).
First two light coats... very rough. Crap... how is this going to look smooth? Two more and if I saturated a little more, it was shiny and smooth. Let it dry and its pretty damn good shine and polish wise...not rough like the Nite Shade stuff I've read about. I was trying to balance a darkness level that was like my window tint but not too dark. Too dark won.
Dramatic... with the dark tint (did the center brake light too) its going to be controversial... people here will probably love it or hate it. Some poeple would say I should have smoked all of it... but the clear part goes with my silver well... it just gives the rear more business going on like the front.
Dunno, tell me what you all think... Here's the link to the ebay site... one of a handful of people selling Vans.... 3 times as much as Nite Shade, but worth it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EAFB%3AIT&rd=1
So, 1.5 hours and $70 later, I did it myself. When it dries I am going to run the 3m 1500 grit rubbing compound on it everyone is recommending on the internet and see if it brings it up from a B+ to an A+. Overall I'm happy... still getting used to it... but happy. Its almost as good as the pro jobs I paid way more money for. YIKES! I'm trying to get used to it... it IS menacing appearance wise...
Make sure you do it yourselfers mask the entire backside of your car and use brief sweeps and spurts at first... clean with rubbing alcohol and let dry, then paint away. DOUBLE YIKES! Still can't get used to it, but I love it for some reason! The pictures don't capture it all...
Tonight I'll take pics of lights... I can see them easily in the daytime... brake lights are a deep red...
Loren
#4
Super Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by BeNzTeK
wow I love it a whole new look!!!!!!! Again where can I purchase this paint???
Loren
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#8
Super Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by jangy
I like!!
I wanna do mine, too but i want the whites done, too. I am a bit scared of trying it myself though.
I wanna do mine, too but i want the whites done, too. I am a bit scared of trying it myself though.
I will say the darker you go, the greater the shine. But you may be able to make any degree of darkness shine merely by using the 3m rubbing compound 1500 grit a day or two later... everyone says that shines up everything, even the nite shade stuff.
I'll know tomorrow when I try it.
Hey, did you see we have the same engine builder?
Loren
#9
This actually looks pretty good. I smoked the lights on my silver W211 a whiiiile ago (you might be able to dig it up in the pictures forum) but I took them off after a while. It became too dramatic of a contrast for me. Hey Loren, where are you located in LA? Is it possible that I saw you and your ride at the Sherman Oaks Galleria a couple of months ago?
#11
Super Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Eleanor Owner
This actually looks pretty good. I smoked the lights on my silver W211 a whiiiile ago (you might be able to dig it up in the pictures forum) but I took them off after a while. It became too dramatic of a contrast for me. Hey Loren, where are you located in LA? Is it possible that I saw you and your ride at the Sherman Oaks Galleria a couple of months ago?
Loren
#12
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Join Date: Apr 2005
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2003 E55
I quite like it.
Honestly, does it look like an amateur job if you walk around the car or does it look OEM?
Did you mask the whole light with tape (then do the cut outs), if so what?
When do you remove the tape? straight after you do the last spray or wait till the next day?
Thanks
Honestly, does it look like an amateur job if you walk around the car or does it look OEM?
Did you mask the whole light with tape (then do the cut outs), if so what?
When do you remove the tape? straight after you do the last spray or wait till the next day?
Thanks
#14
Super Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by OzE55
I quite like it.
Honestly, does it look like an amateur job if you walk around the car or does it look OEM?
Did you mask the whole light with tape (then do the cut outs), if so what?
When do you remove the tape? straight after you do the last spray or wait till the next day?
Thanks
Honestly, does it look like an amateur job if you walk around the car or does it look OEM?
Did you mask the whole light with tape (then do the cut outs), if so what?
When do you remove the tape? straight after you do the last spray or wait till the next day?
Thanks
I'm totally impressed with this stuff, by the way. At night, the lights look practically the same as before. The darkness matches so well with the tint, the tires, hell, the black crap on the bumper between the exhaust. It just gives it a whole new symetry.
I masked around the entire light, then put a single wide strip of tape on each clear section... then cut around it CAREFULLY following the line between red and white... bingo, I had masked that area, the rest was exposed.
I seriously posted this thread a couple hours after STARTING the project... it went that quick. So yes, tape came off after letting it sit for an hour or so... basically when I realized I probably wouldn't need a clear coat since it was quite glossy. it was very hot today, so it got tacky fast.
Ironic that it doesn't dry as fast as you'd think. Its still tacky to the touch right now!
Loren
#15
Administrator
Loren it looks sweet!!!!! but you need to do something with your license plate. Not the "BHHH BYE" but I would suggest you tone the plate colors down. Use a slightly tinted plastic cover or even consider a slight tint with the paint you used for your lenses. I think if you do this the whole rear end will integrate better and create a more aesthetically pleasing effect.
#17
Super Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Rock
Loren it looks sweet!!!!! but you need to do something with your license plate. Not the "BHHH BYE" but I would suggest you tone the plate colors down. Use a slightly tinted plastic cover or even consider a slight tint with the paint you used for your lenses. I think if you do this the whole rear end will integrate better and create a more aesthetically pleasing effect.
Loren
#18
Super Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by korveine
Looks great!! Very menacing
It'd be interesting to see what happens after the compound grit
It'd be interesting to see what happens after the compound grit
When it firms up I'll let you know what happens with the compound... may be a few days though!
Loren
#19
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: San Diego
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2015 S212
Let us know how it goes.
Haha!! I did notice we both had our beast hearts made by the same dude. I would even bet he made my motor just after yours!!
The pics look awesome. If you say it is as good as the previous paint shop jobs, then I'll try it out.
Does anyone know how labor intensive removing the rear lights is?
Haha!! I did notice we both had our beast hearts made by the same dude. I would even bet he made my motor just after yours!!
The pics look awesome. If you say it is as good as the previous paint shop jobs, then I'll try it out.
Does anyone know how labor intensive removing the rear lights is?
#20
Super Member
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by jangy
Let us know how it goes.
Haha!! I did notice we both had our beast hearts made by the same dude. I would even bet he made my motor just after yours!!
The pics look awesome. If you say it is as good as the previous paint shop jobs, then I'll try it out.
Does anyone know how labor intensive removing the rear lights is?
Haha!! I did notice we both had our beast hearts made by the same dude. I would even bet he made my motor just after yours!!
The pics look awesome. If you say it is as good as the previous paint shop jobs, then I'll try it out.
Does anyone know how labor intensive removing the rear lights is?
Its not as good as the paint shop jobs yet... its been tacky and drying... until I completely polish it, I won't know. But right now, just spraying the stuff on, it looks very good, even up close.
HINT: After you paint, keep them covered / not exposed to dust, lint, hair... its like a magnet for the stuff while its tacky....
Probably will try and polish sunday...
Rear lights... I looked at them for about 10 minutes then said screw it and pulled out the masking tape...
Loren
#21
Super Member
Thread Starter
*** UPDATE ***
I'm not impressed with the drying time of this stuff... its been days, and if you so much as touch it with anything it leaves a mark. It better dry real soon, or its coming off! @#$@#$~!!!!
Loren
I'm not impressed with the drying time of this stuff... its been days, and if you so much as touch it with anything it leaves a mark. It better dry real soon, or its coming off! @#$@#$~!!!!
Loren
#25
Super Member
Thread Starter
See my new thread warning people about this stuff... it doesn't dry well at all, and marks easily... so while it looks nice and shiny, it won't stand the test of time...
Loren
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/148560-update-spray-tail-light-tint-don-t-do.html
Loren
https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/148560-update-spray-tail-light-tint-don-t-do.html