The Black Out Continues...

[Blackedout1500]

I blacked out my taillights and third brake light today. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I would like them to be a little more gloss looking but I do like the way they look on the truck. I may have to redo them came out darker than I expected. I will drive with them like this for a couple week and then redo them. I actually liked the shine they had before I wet sanded them and put the clear on. Let me know if anybody has any hints to bring out the shine a little more. Thank you

 

[Pigeonman]

Interested to see how it affects the light output and reflectors at night?

Looks cool tho!

 

[DavidRam]

Looks really cool! Nice job masking the reverse lights, too, very clean!

 

[Blackedout1500]

My truck has the stock LED taillights and they have a little tint to them to begin with so I only did 2 coats. It came out a little darker than I thought it would, but it during the day the lights are visible so I will take a picture tonight and post it up. Masking off the reverse lights was the hardest part. Maybe because my OCD kicked in and i wanted it perfect.

 

[BlkExpress]

3 light coats tint/3 coats clear......wet sand with 2000 grid then polish

 

[BlkExpress]

HOW TO TINT YOUR TAIL LIGHTS WITH VHT NITESHADES (VIDEO 2 OF 2) - YouTube

hope this helps

 

[Blackedout1500]

That's the exact video I followed to do mine. Don't get me wrong they look great just wishes they had a little more of a gloss look. I think I may try to wax them a little more while they are on the truck. After I am done with these I think I am going to pull my headlights apart and paint the housing.

 

[012RAMbo]

I don't know if you hand polished them or with a buffer. I did some on my last vehicle and spent an hour or two hand polishing and wasn't happy. Used a buffer and polish and made it look a ton better. Then I put a coat of wax on top and they looked like glass.

 

[Blackedout1500]

I polished by hand for about a hour on all 3. I will have to see if someone I know has a buffer if not I will have to swing by somewhere and grab one. I am going to redo the third brake light and mask of the cargo lights I like the look of blkexpress light.

 

[bigbadram1500]

nice! looks good

 

[012RAMbo]

I polished by hand for about a hour on all 3. I will have to see if someone I know has a buffer if not I will have to swing by somewhere and grab one. I am going to redo the third brake light and mask of the cargo lights I like the look of blkexpress light.

I have seen others online get good results from a Mothers power ball on a drill with a non abrasive polishing compound. Don't use a rubbing compound, as it could introduce new scratches instead of filling the ones leftover from wet sanding and look dull.

 

[BlkExpress]

I use the 3m scratch removal kit

 

[Blackedout1500]

I am going to go by the store pick up the plastx polishing kit. It comes with the polish and a drill attachment and see if I can get them a little more glossy looking. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[WhiteExpress]

Don't use a sealer / wax on them for a month or so.
You have to let the paint out-gas.

Often times a dull finish comes from not following recoat directions, allowing too much (yet then, not enough) time between coats. The flash / cure times on things like this are super important to get good adhesion between coats.

All that said, I really like how it looks!

 

[2batruck]

Add some red LEDs on the front or back and call it your night rider. Looks awesome