Smoking Tailights

[E36ForL!fe]

I have been debating to either buy smoked tailights or paint mine that i have now. They are the clear tails, also known as the m3 tails, and i was wondering which option i should do. I have been told by one of my friends that it is possible to paint them, i dont know if he meant profesionally or if i can do it. But end the end i want it to look like this

i know 325isRed has his done like this and i will probly pm him, but i was wondering if anyone else had any other opinions, thanks.

[propr'one]

i used to have smoking tails, i bought em the patch

[BennyL]

prop, i think you get a 2/10 on that one. at the most...

[E36ForL!fe]

naw 2 and 1/2 just because of the added on smiley face, no seriously ne one want to really answer my question? where is justin when u need him lol.

[Understated]

how do you plan on 'smoking' it yourself?

depending on the technique i would decide whether to just go buy it or doit urself

[propr'one]

ugh i gotta do everything for you dont I

justin doesn't have smoked tails. he has crystal tails. If you're going to smoke them yourself, you can use a tint (buy it at can tire, princess auto) and tint it from the inside. (take them out and spray em from the inside.) that method looks pretty decent for smoked tails. Personally im not a huge fan of smoked tails to begin with, and if you had a 4dr i would buy you some smoked tails for your clears.

generally speaking, whatever you sell your tails for +20-30$ will get you smoked tails that will look much better than any tails you "smoke" yourself.

good enough?

[Understated]

Originally Posted by proprone

generally speaking, whatever you sell your tails for +20-30$ will get you smoked tails that will look much better than any tails you "smoke" yourself.

this is all u had to say man

[spooner_dee]

yeah you can buy the product called nightshades and spray on tint on your tails.

But its not the easiest thing in the world to do. Unless you have some good experience with painting, i wouldnt really recomend it with out practicing on some junk lights first or just mask off a surface of some kind and work on your spray techniques to see if you can get the look you want.

I personally would say if you want to save your self the trouble and possible aggony of having to sand your lights over and over again if you make mistakes just buy new smoked tails and sell the ones you have now to make your money back. Save your self the trouble and get what you want the first time faster and easier.

Hope this helps

[moto-menace]

if u wanna sell those and buy smoked lemme know

[Justin e36]

Originally Posted by E36ForL!fe

I have been debating to either buy smoked tailights or paint mine that i have now. They are the clear tails, also known as the m3 tails, and i was wondering which option i should do. I have been told by one of my friends that it is possible to paint them, i dont know if he meant profesionally or if i can do it. But end the end i want it to look like this

i know 325isRed has his done like this and i will probly pm him, but i was wondering if anyone else had any other opinions, thanks.

First off.. don't call the red/white tails M3 tails... Sickfinga will get all pissy. .. there are no such thing as 'M3 tails.'

You can smoke them yourself using a few light coats of paint if you like, but it won't look like stock smoked tails. 325isRED has the white part on his tails smoked, take a look as his signature, or ask him for some pictures.

You will need to mask the area not to be painted, and either spray 5-6 very light coats if you want a matte look, or 2-3 stronger coats for a shinier look. You may clear coat it if you wish. Only put enough paint to cover the tails, never more, as then the light will not shine through.

Another option is to open the tail light assembly, and paint the reflectors from the inside.. this will give a much cleaner look, and you don't have to worry about the paint scratching off... but it will need a clear coat so the bulbs don't damage the paint.

The last option, is by far the best and will give your tail lights the look closest to the picture you provided. You will need to open your tail lights, but don't spray the reflector... instead spray the chrome reflector housing around the light bulb. Sand it lightly with 400-600 grit, then apply high temp black paint. Make sure it's still shiny to reflect some of the bulb/light. (engine paint, or caliper/rotor paint will work fine.) It will make the white part of the tail light look a little bit darker and look very stock.

I've painted quite a few tails, and turn signals... in fact, the turn signals I have now have been cracked open, the reflector removed, around 6 light coats of paint, wet sanded between each coat, and 2 coats of clear.

btw, you can ask Chitown for a pic of how the actual lights look on a car. He has the turn signals, fender signals, and tails.

Justin

[325isRED]

see sig... check pm...