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I noticed there wasn't really a tutorial for tail light tinting on the forum so I decided to make one. The method I will be going over is the VHT Niteshades method which is a spray. I will also be showing you guys how to remove this stuff if ever necessary. There is a lot of misconception of people claiming you cannot remove this stuff but that is untrue and I have done it personally on numerous occasions.
Description of VHT Niteshades
A simple transparent black lens coating. I would like to add that this does give "gloss" look. If you want a matte look, this is not for you!
How Do I Remove It?
In order to remove this stuff you will need a product called Goof Off. Goof Off is available at any Home Depot, Rona, Lowe's and for the Canadians, Canadian Tire. You want to put this liquid on a paper towel and wipe a part of the tint off and then toss the paper towel aside and not use that same piece again because it will have the tint on it and you will smear it all over your lights again. That's why I do not recommend using a cloth. Use as much as this stuff in order to remove the tint. I used a 474 ML bottle of Goof Off to completely get rid of everything. That cost me around $10 in Canada so I'm guessing it'll be much cheaper in the States.
Availability:
As far as availability goes as far as Canadians are concerned, I have noticed this stuff being offered at Canadian Tire so you can pick up a can from there. You will only need one can anyway. If they do not carry it you can go to any tint shop and they should have it. That goes for Americans as well, you guys can probably pick it up at a tint shop (if any of you guys know any other places, please do post it up)
Price:
$14 bucks in Canada. Not sure how much it is in the states but it's not going to be much different, if not cheaper.
What You'll Need:
-(1) Spray can of VHT Niteshades for a set of Tails and other accessories typically speaking
-Degreaser/soap & water to clean lights
-Cloth to dry up lights
-Simple tools to take tail lights off
Process of Removing Tail Lights:
I strongly recommend you take the lights off the vehicle because this stuff sprays in a "wide" fashion and can get on your car even if you tape/cover the surroundings up. Plus if you by accident have some over-spray it can go through the tape, etc and get on your paint. I have had a friend of mine who owned a C300 gott his paint screwed up over this. For some reason the Goof Off doesn't work on vehicle paint like it does on plastic tail lights.
Here is a link to a how-to to remove the tails on the 2003-2008:
http://matrixowners....__1#entry375096
Not sure how to remove tails on 2009+ but I'm sure someone will tell us on here.
Before You Begin:
I want to stress how important it is not to go too dark with your tail lights. Make sure your brake lights are still visible during the day otherwise if you get rear ended they can pin it on you for having your tails too dark and not visible. Also you will be a victim of the cops pulling you over for having it too dark. Furthermore, before you begin check the tinting laws in your state or province and see what the laws are in case it is illegal.
Process of Tinting:
1. After your done removing your tail lights off your car you want to start cleaning the tail lights with a degreaser or soap and water properly in order to get all the dust and road grime off.
2. Lay something down so you can put your tail lights on top of in order to start spraying. You will want to do this in-doors. This is important because outdoors your going to get dust, etc on your tail lights and it's going to look like s*** when it dries. I do this in my garage.
3. Okay so the spray can calls for numerous coats in order to get a dark tint or what not but I have always done this in one coat but the key is to have the spray can far so that the liquid just sits on the surface and doesn't start getting thick and runny.
4. Once your finally ready to begin spraying, hold your spray can about 15-18" away. The spray can label says to do it closer but I don't really recommend it (this stuff gets runny) especially if you want to do this in one coat. Start spraying away and keep it an even coat all across the tail light and make sure you match both the tail lights to the same level of tint (otherwise it's going to look pretty stupid after lol). Do not go too dark because then your lights will be hard to see during the day time when you hit the brakes. Also you run a high chance of having the cops pull you over for visibility.
5. After you're done spraying let it sit for 3-4 hours before you handle it and put the tail lights back. If you have more time then by all means let it sit there longer. What I usually do is, I do this at night and let it sit over night.
6. When it's all done put your tail lights back on and enjoy. If you screwed up, don't stress just remove it with the Goof Off and start over again.
Here are some pictures below. Sorry no close ups. What you will notice though with the Matrix picture is that I didn't go too dark with it so it does look a bit red (the tail lights are on - you can see even during day time the light shines through and is safe). But you can choose to go darker. The RSX looks black though because I went heavier with it. Also you will notice that I have the reverse light area and turn signal area on the tail lights of the Matrix still white and that was from taping that part up. You can choose to do the same. I went around the rim with electrical tape because it is stretchy and straight then put regular painters tape in the middle. Enjoy:
Thanks for sharing!
