My Smoked Tail Lights.....:) [Archive] - Toyota Yaris Forums

View Full Version : My Smoked Tail Lights.....:)

hasher22

08-31-2006, 12:53 AM

Hey guys i finally went around to smoke my tail lights. Tell me what u think.

P.s i didnt smoke the white parts cuz thats the reverse light, and if i did smoke em the cops will def. pull me over.

The downside of it, is that the final outcome is a matt finish. Does anyone know what clear gloss spray to buy so i can layer it with a gloss finish??

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/4722/p7310753ku4.jpg

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/4428/p7310758og8.jpg

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/561/p7310759pq0.jpg

DVS YARIS

08-31-2006, 02:23 AM

... its different im not a big fan though, maybe if it wasnt so dark and over the whole light, but congrats on getting it done. do you ever sleep!!!
cheers curtis

oscarying

08-31-2006, 04:31 AM

what material did you use?can you teach me how to do it?

hasher22

08-31-2006, 04:53 AM

... its different im not a big fan though, maybe if it wasnt so dark and over the whole light, but congrats on getting it done. do you ever sleep!!!
cheers curtis

Ha thanks for u opinion, i was shittin myself today cuz there were 2 cops driving behind me for like 5 mins......but i didnt get pulled over :)

oscarying sure if u wanna do it. I dont know how to take out the echo tail lights, there should be a tutorial somewhere. All u need is some tail light smokin spray paint. I its called "Nite-Shades from VHT" just go down to ur local autobarn, repco, supercheap auto and they will have it. and u need some maskin tape. (I used some cheapo crappy one. It worked like a charm")

tape up whatever parts u dont want sprayed and off you go. Unless u really want a detailed tutorial

Boo

08-31-2006, 07:04 AM

hasher22

08-31-2006, 07:08 AM

Looks very good! I like it :smile: !

I found an interesting thing.. the lower section of the reverse light isn't white (red instead), isn't it the rear fog light? Since ours are the same on both side.

yup the right red light is my fog light. though u have 2 rear fog light things??

cuz in australia we only have 1 reverse light that lights up!! how stupid is that.

SimmZ

08-31-2006, 07:51 AM

Humm, too much dark and too much matt... is it a film or a paint? If it's a film I suggest to try another darkness level. :)

oscarying

08-31-2006, 09:50 AM

Ha thanks for u opinion, i was shittin myself today cuz there were 2 cops driving behind me for like 5 mins......but i didnt get pulled over :)

oscarying sure if u wanna do it. I dont know how to take out the echo tail lights, there should be a tutorial somewhere. All u need is some tail light smokin spray paint. I its called "Nite-Shades from VHT" just go down to ur local autobarn, repco, supercheap auto and they will have it. and u need some maskin tape. (I used some cheapo crappy one. It worked like a charm")

tape up whatever parts u dont want sprayed and off you go. Unless u really want a detailed tutorial

haha,i would rather give u $30 bux and do it for me
coz i don't want to fuck up my tails

Chris07LB

08-31-2006, 10:09 AM

Not really a fan.. :iono:

JustAnotherAsian

08-31-2006, 10:41 AM

it's a little dark for my taste (well, not my taste, but the cop's taste if you know what i mean), but i like these smoked tails. :thumbup:

approximately how many coats did you go through?

don't quote me on this, but if i remember correctly from other tutorials, regular clearcoat would do. :iono:

hasher22

08-31-2006, 04:59 PM

I put on 3 coats....ummmmm yea the matt finish i have to buy gloss paint to gloss it up....

everyone has their likes and dislikes.......i personally like it cuz its different....would like it even better if i glossed it up....

riceboy

08-31-2006, 05:39 PM

glad to see that you got it done!

Yaris_PR

08-31-2006, 10:58 PM

Hey Hasher you finaly did it. It's looks great for me. Just get some clear paint and end the job. ohhh and take some night pictures...

hasher22

09-01-2006, 05:25 AM

Hehe yup......

update : I glossed it up......looks hella legit now!!! ill take nite pics soon and glossed up pics soon!!

Ill make a tutorial if anyone is interested....

Katana

09-01-2006, 06:40 AM

Come on, you know that I am a huge fan of your tutorials, so please get to work now!!!!

hasher22

09-02-2006, 04:35 AM

Look mum! ITS SHINY!!!

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/4428/p7310758og8.jpg

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/9095/p8020848ml9.jpg

tutorial cummin soon when i can be bothered...

im kinda bothered, its not dark enough for me, the gloss coat made it lighter.....damn thing!

Chris07LB

09-02-2006, 05:42 AM

Looks way better, even though it turned out a bit lighter. :cool:

Katana

09-02-2006, 06:16 AM

Οh yeah, now it looks great.Please give us a tutorial!!!

riceboy

09-02-2006, 08:04 AM

Agreed.. this looks better than the initial finished product....

Boo

09-02-2006, 09:28 AM

Look mum! ITS SHINY!!!

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/9095/p8020848ml9.jpg

tutorial cummin soon when i can be bothered...

im kinda bothered, its not dark enough for me, the gloss coat made it lighter.....damn thing!

Very OE feel. Looks great :thumbsup:

ChinoCharles

09-02-2006, 02:45 PM

Wow, you got saved there, because the flat black looked like crapola. Looks nice now.

casterqc

09-02-2006, 03:04 PM

hasher22

09-02-2006, 04:28 PM

It looks real good know!!...I am still looking for a place here where I could get smoked film installed for not much $$...and if I find nothing and the only way to do it is the spray paint...that's what I'll do!

yea just get spray paint. Thats what i did. U wanna spray on even coats. If your gonna buy the brand i used. Get some clear gloss paint too...

Katana

09-03-2006, 05:26 AM

Please mate give us a tutorial!!!

Katana

10-22-2006, 07:25 AM

Up!!

When you have the time, give us a tutorial, or some basic instructions.

hasher22

10-22-2006, 08:09 AM

Hahaha what an old topic................ill give u guys the tutorial on how i did it tomorrow..... its 10 21pm and i really need to get some sleep :(

Katana

10-22-2006, 08:21 AM

Υeah fine!

Yeeehhhhaaaa!

littlecarlove

10-22-2006, 10:06 AM

I didn't like the matt finish - but now they POP!
Looks nice.

Hays

Katana

10-22-2006, 11:39 AM

Υeap, the gloss finish is excellent.

ChinoCharles

10-22-2006, 02:06 PM

You can also buy vinyl to do the smoke jobs, It applies easily, and is removeable...

Rvinyl

http://www.rvinyl.com/cart/store.php?crn=61&rn=2304&action=show_detail

Also Bluebatmobile

http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/BlueBatmobile2005/

Cheers

I thought so... but the question becomes for a sloping headlight like on the Yaris how does it make any sense that a flat piece of vinyl would fit over it... I mean wouldn't it stretch around the curves and leave you with lighter spots and darker spots? I always wondered this.

Katana

10-22-2006, 02:58 PM

Chris07LB

10-22-2006, 06:15 PM

I thought so... but the question becomes for a sloping headlight like on the Yaris how does it make any sense that a flat piece of vinyl would fit over it... I mean wouldn't it stretch around the curves and leave you with lighter spots and darker spots? I always wondered this.

*almost* had it perfect with a scrap piece of tint and my heat gun.

These kits are supposed to be even more flexible then standard window tint and "give" when going into corners and "slopes."

ChinoCharles

10-22-2006, 06:32 PM

Alright, I'm sold. Its on my "cheap mods" list along with that grounding kit.

More questions...

(1) What would you need to install? I'm assuming a hard squeegie, maybe a heat gun and some alcohol or something to clean it off?

(2) Is it REMOVABLE. *big one

Katana

10-23-2006, 01:17 PM

I am thinking of buying them.

ChinoCharles

11-07-2006, 10:58 PM

Ordered two 2'x1' lengths of vinyl from rvinyl.com today with a graphics squeegie. I'm going to be smoking the tail lights (I may cut out the center portion where the USDM tail lights are white) and the side markers, and if all goes well I will be following suit with the headlights... actually I might copy vodkalushes headlights, they look awesome. I'll do a DIY. It cost me a whopping 25 bucks shipped. Can't beat that.

Chris07LB

11-08-2006, 03:37 AM

Katana

11-08-2006, 05:54 AM

Cool.

We are waiting for the pics and the DIY!

ChinoCharles

11-13-2006, 02:08 PM

Vinyl came in today, and I've got the day off. WOOT! Another cool thing... rvinyl.com offers money off a second order in exchange for high-res pics of your install. A date with my buddy's 8 megapixel digicam is in order... I'll be using the discount for more vinyl for the headlights and a vinyl YW.com decal. :thumbup:

I'll post the DIY in the approprate forum later on.

vodkalush

11-13-2006, 02:29 PM

you ordered the "vinyl roll" right, not the kit?

Chris07LB

11-13-2006, 03:31 PM

You could always let me use the discount for some tails....... buddy. :tongue:

ChinoCharles

11-13-2006, 05:14 PM

Yes, I ordered two rolls of vinyl. Nothing special. The tail lights and side markers get smoked tonight... I just got back from getting everything I would need. Drop cloth, gloves, isopropyl alcohol, etc...

Chris, I'll let you know when I am going to order more vinyl for the headlights. I'm going to see if they will come WAY down if I put an rvinyl.com decal on the Yar.

Chris07LB

11-13-2006, 06:30 PM

Chris, I'll let you know when I am going to order more vinyl for the headlights. I'm going to see if they will come WAY down if I put an rvinyl.com decal on the Yar.

Lemme know, as I have been putting this off WAY too long already... it not, ill just drop them to the painter.

ChinoCharles

11-13-2006, 06:32 PM

Oh god don't do that... just be patient. Who would want painted lights?

:wink: I'm just kidding fellas, don't get all defensive now...

Chris07LB

11-13-2006, 06:34 PM

Oh god don't do that... just be patient. Who would want painted lights?

:wink: I'm just kidding fellas, don't get all defensive now...

Well these would be done correctly the firs time. :tongue:

BMGYaris

11-13-2006, 08:24 PM

well post those pictures as soon as you can, im interested in how it looks.

ChinoCharles

11-13-2006, 09:05 PM

Halfway through right now... tails and side markers are drying off from their alcohol bath. Soon, soon.

KSIbucky

11-13-2006, 10:15 PM

here some i saw

ChinoCharles

11-14-2006, 01:48 AM

Oh, what a night!

OK, I'll begin by saying that this is the first mod I have attempted to do myself on this car... any car really for that matter. I took the dash off an Eclipse once, but other than that I'm not much of a DIY-er.

Having said that, I was REALLY geared up to get these lights smoked. I love the look, and I was excited to get there. Now that the entire situation is over, I can tell you three things.

1) There are lines and bubbles everywhere in my tail lights right now
2) I now know without a doubt how to do this perfectly
3) I only made one mistake

The one mistake was that I didn't bring a friend, because flat out, those tail lights are too angular to do this yourself. You need to stretch this film a whole bunch to get it over that big ridge on the tail light without any imperfections. In order to stretch it, you need to apply constant high heat. I found that 2-5 second intervals of heat from a run-of-the-mill hair dryer at about 6 inches was perfect. Ideally, you want to heat, stretch, squeegie, spray, heat, stretch, squeegie... etc. Throw taking pictures for a DIY in there and this is officially a two man job. Rvinyl didn't suggest the heating or the spraying of the adhesive surface either, those are just tricks I figured out through a little trial and a little more error. :tongue: That being said, I'll at least give you guys what I have so far...

Excuse the poor quality images, camera phone...

2265
Stuff I used
2 2' x 1' rolls universal vinyl, 20%
Graphics squeegie
Blow dryer
LED flashlight (night install)
Spray bottle
10mm ratchet
Plastic drop cloth
Exacto knife
Gloves
70% isopropyl alcohol

MISTAKE:Using a plastic drop cloth for sticky vinyl was the stupidest idea ever... it was a nightmare any time the vinyl touched the surface.

Our first suspect, the side markers.
2266

Drivers side, with your fingertips toward the rear of the car, slide the entire piece toward the front of the car.
2267

While holding the marker forward, pull from the back and the clip should clear the skin. Then just pull her out.
2268

See that tab just below the wires?
2269

Push it and remove the harness.
2270

Next, tail lights. Start by removing the two vented panels in the rear. Just wedge the tip of a knife or a flathead screwdriver into the slot on the top of the panels and a little leverage will have them loose in no time. (Images of right tail light)
2271

This shot is looking up behind that panel into the rear of the tail light housing. You'll see two bolts on your left. They're 10mm. Remove those.
2272

Once those are off, the light will come out. They're stubborn though, so be a little careful. I had a lot more luck pushing them out from inside the trunk than I did pulling them out from the rear.

Once you have them out, remove the silver plastic panel on the back that has the parking/turn signal light in it. It just pulls off. The brake light bulb in the back screws to the left a quarter turn and pulls out as well.

ChinoCharles

11-14-2006, 02:02 AM

In a spray bottle, mix two parts water to one part alcohol. Spray the lights... I mean douse them. Drown them. I sprayed the lights and wiped them clean with a lint-free microfiber towel probably a dozen times. You don't want any oils or dirt on the lights. It won't allow the vinyl to adhere. This is the same reason why you should use gloves.
2275
2276

OK, no pictures from here because, well, my hands were tied. Basically I spent 15 minutes trying to squeegie bubbles out of the tail lights. It wasn't happening... paralleling my original fears, the vinyl wouldn't bend over that huge ridge in the tail light without making a ton of bubbles. I tried a little heat (dryer on low) to no avail. Finally, I said screw it... at that point I was convinced this was going to be a total loss if not a good learning experience. I cranked the hair dryer to high and started stretching and was finally having some luck. The second light I did came out close to perfect. The side markers are perfect. The first light is a wreck, and even the second light has some bubbles, but again, it was a learning experience at this point.

The proper way to do this would be to have someone standing over you applying high heat to the vinyl at sporadic intervals. In the few seconds after the vinyl is heated, it is extremely flexible and can be formed to anything. A quick stretch with two hands, hit it with the squeegie and you're good to move on. A couple other imperitives are to spray both the adhesive side of the vinyl and the tail light liberally with your alcohol/water mix often and to NOT work from the center out as you may be tempted to do right off the bat.

So for now, I roll around with my less-than-perfect install until payday on Thursday when I can order some more vinyl and try again. The nice thing is the vinyl was only 20 bucks, so it isn't like I broke the bank learning the hard way. The next install will be perfect. I'll be doing it next Monday, at which point I will post it as a DIY. For now its just a LITHWY (learn it the hard way yourself).

Here are some night preview shots of what it will look like. Since it was in pisspoor lighting and done on a low-res camera, you wouldn't know I screwed up. Haha.
2277
2278

hasher22

11-14-2006, 03:12 AM

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ya ya i like, since i cant see it very well. Tomrrow i expect some daylight high-res pics!! :)

Very nice tutorial, though i might make one for those who want to smoke spray them.....and steal some of your pics :P

Chris07LB

11-14-2006, 08:12 AM

:thumbdown: Booooooooo.... We need better pics then that!!!

vodkalush

11-14-2006, 08:17 AM

:laughabove:

the pics do make me wanna :barf:

:rolleyes:

ChinoCharles

11-14-2006, 10:36 AM

Its morning. I'm tired, frustrated, pissed. Sorry for the shit pictures, the botched job... ugh. :frown:

2282

There they are. Looks great from afar, up close it makes me laugh. I'm ordering more vinyl and a real digital camera today. I'll do this right by Monday next week.

Chris07LB

11-14-2006, 10:42 AM

That looks HOTT! :thumbup:

........ from a far. :laugh:

vodkalush

11-14-2006, 11:07 AM

well hell, my hats of to you for creating/doing a blackout solution thats both cheap and removable :thumbsup:

ChinoCharles

11-14-2006, 11:44 AM

Thanks vodkalush. This really is a great mod... it is cheap as hell and is easily removable, but will still last a really long time. It just requires four arms. You can try growing two more, but I would suggest employing a friend.

Luckily my buddy saw them today and thought the same look would go well with his 94 escort hatch, so he is on board. We're going to do both cars next week, and he is going to bring his 5 megapixel digicam.

the_saint

11-14-2006, 12:18 PM

A little advice on getting clear pictures (kinda overkill, but it works)
Use a tripod and use the countdown (portrait) timer on the camera. That way you virtually eliminate camera shake...one of the main causes of crappy/blurry pictures. Also, maybe try getting down to the same level as the tail lights...play around with different angles.

The vynil does look good rom here :biggrin:

Katana

11-14-2006, 01:07 PM

Greaaaaat job ChinoCharles!!!

Well played.

vodkalush

12-03-2006, 03:37 PM

Any updates on the re-do?

KSIbucky

12-03-2006, 04:06 PM

they kind of look unclean

ChinoCharles

12-03-2006, 04:28 PM

EDIT: Post moved to new thread to allow for easier searching.

http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?p=40082#post40082

Chris07LB

12-03-2006, 05:19 PM

hell yeah! :headbang: