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well mines came out really shitty... the compound and wax didnt work and damn my hands are hurting from so much trying....just gonna sand all the way down and try again

 
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sucky deal

 
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What kind of paint did you use?

 
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i know the best way to tint and its becoming the only way since its like impossible to find a can of nightshades anymore. Get a spraygun and put some clearcoat in it. Then add a few drops of black paint to it and mix it up. Test it out. Keep adding black to the clearcoat until it becomes as dark as u like. It doesnt peel and if u wanna get rid of it just sand ur tail lights down and apply a fresh clearcoat.

 
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i blacked mine out using i believe the brand is finish somthing its a small can but it did the job, as far as the clear coat goes.......it was a disaster, i used krylon glass something it said that it was a clear coat that was intended to give glass or plastic a clear shiny exterior, well........ it didnt instead it made it look frosty, i had to get gasoline put it all over the passenger rear light and rub off all the black paint and start all over again, the black is nice but its lacking some shine since i have no clear coat on it, i waxed my car yesturday and they still look dull, do you guys suggest any ways of getting it shiny, i dont have a buffer or anything like that so what else can i do ?

 
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i used the pactra tint paint.... and i had the same problem as vane... so im starting from scratch, and ideas on what clear you guys who were successfull would help

 
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I used this stuff...

http://www.stuffforyourranger.com/st...ec175341842456

 
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as for the frosty look, you may be putting to little or too much clear on that initial coat. i had that happen. start off with a real light coat. then make the coats a little heavier. mine took about 9 coats to become glossy. its all about patience.. cant expect to get gloss right away. [ill try to find some pics]

 
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I guess i can always try it again, lol, its frustrating, i didnt put alot of clear coat on it though thats for sure i only sprayed two misty coats over it and it looked like a frosted wine glass, i freaked out thank God i had some gas laying around to rub it off cause it looked horrible. i think im gonna go buy some different clear coat and try it again. do you guys recommend any clear coats?

 
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This is the one mod I dont understand. I think it makes the car look more ghetto for some reason and you are putting your car at risk for gettin it rear ended at a stop. Its not worth it and just plain dumb....thats just me though....

 
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The clear coat we used was just a 3 or 4 dollar can from wal mart, it wasnt anything special. If you can find nightshade then that is way to go. But i have a buddy that a body shop done with the clear and a little bit of black paint and it looks good! But with that i guess you just have to keep tryin to get it where you want it.

 
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i guess.... well i found some nightshade paint online....... so gonna try that. hope that one works out for me

 
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you can still see the brake lights fine...i had it on for 2 years with no probs of getting rear ended and i drove a lot...i dont think it looks ghetto and apparently many feel the same...

 
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I posted a method for tinting headlights that works as well for tails in the post in the 7th gen section titled Tinting tails, or something like that. It's on the first page in the 7th gen section. Night shades is alright, but it's pretty pricey now days. You have two alternatives. You can go to a hobby store and go to the model car section and buy tinting spray made for models. (It's made for plastics). Mist light coats until you have the desired tint. DO NOT SAND AT THIS POINT, you'll cause uneven spots in the tint. Mist two light coats of clear onto them, waiting 15 minutes between coats. Then you can wet sand with 800-1000 grit. Dry, wipe with tack cloth and spray 5 additional light coats of clear, waiting 15 minutes between. Let dry completely. Wet sand with 2000 grit and then dry completely. From there use a polishing compound and then a wax to polish them to high gloss. Make sure you remove all wax because you'll bake the wax into them that wasn't removed because you hurried the first time you have extended use and it heats up.

The best method, however, it to go to an auto parts supply store. (You'll need an HVLP gun for this method) and have them add 2-3 drops of black into some clear coat for you. I didn't go with black, however (the second set I tinted). Instead, I had them add 3 drops of NHBP paint so the tint would be an identical match to the stock color. I still did real light coats until the desired tint was acheived (if I remember correctly, I did 11 coats total). I wet sanded with 2000 grit paper, then 2500 and then polished and waxed. The tails looked phenominal, and matched perfectly. I sold the car, or I'd post pics.

 
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hmmm sound like i should try this method... but will it hurt that im sanding down the old paint? and trying this method?

 
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No, as long as you cmpletely remove the paint, and get the surface smooth so you don't see the dimpling from using a low grit paper (I'd say 80 grit or so would get them smooth while still allowing the paint to adhere. They don't have to be completely clear when you smoke them because it's going to be smoked over anyway. They just need to be smoothed out well, and free of paint. I actually sanded mine to remove the slickness of the lens and allow the paint a little more to adhere to.

My current truck has smoked tails on it that I did with the hobby store paint. I smoked them beacuse they had an amber insert in them that I didn't like. And they also had alteezas on it when I bought it, which I made the previous owner throw in the stock tails so I could smoke them. I then used the teexas for target practice. I'll take pics of them tomorrow. It's my beater for getting back and forth to work, but the tails look good. They're a little dirty though because I've had it two years and washed it once. It's only to drive back and forth to work anyway.