View source for Rear Light Tinting

Have you ever fancied a set of those flash looking tail light clusters... you know, the ones that would lighten your wallet by about £250 if you were to buy them? They come in a variety of colours and shades to suit many tastes but many feel it unjustified to spend this sort of money on light clusters.

Well the E30zone could have the answer to your problem.  Tinting your existing tail lights is not such a gruesome task as you might think and it only took me less than an hour in total!



All you need is the following:  [[Image:Tinting_spray.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Tinting Spraaay]]

* Tin of tint spray 
* Masking tape 
* Newspaper 
* New light gaskets (optional) 



To start off with, make sure you thoroughly clean the part of the lens that you wish to spray.  Remember that good preparation will prevent poor results so take your time to clean properly using a weak solution of washing up liquid.  Make sure that you dry the light thoroughly before attempting to mask up the parts that you do not wish to spray.


The effect that I was looking to achieve was that of an "all red" light but with the reverse lights still clear.  The only bit that needed changing was the indicator so I carefully masked off the rest of the light.  If you look closely, there is already a line in the moulding of the light so you can follow this to achieve the best results.

Take your time with masking the edges to make sure that you don't allow any paint to stain the black plastic surfaces around the edge of the lamp.  You should now be ready to spray your lens.


[[Image:Tint_mask.jpg|thumb|200px|center|Masked off]]


Find a well ventilated area which is free from damp air and shake your can of paint well.  Give the light several light coats from approximately 15 - 20cm away using a sweeping motion to get a uniform covering of paint.  Remember that several light coats are better than one heavy coat that could run and ruin your work.

When you have sprayed your lights, make sure that you leave them somewhere dust free to dry before you give the next coat.  Repeat the above step.  I would not recommend more than 2 coats otherwise you could impede the brightness of the bulb.


[[Image:Tint_sprayed.jpg|thumb|200px|center|Sprayed]]


Allow approximately 1/2 an hour between coats.  I found that the paint dried pretty instantly.

When you are sure that the paint is dry, you can remove the masking and voila, you have some fabulous looking tail lights that cost you only a fraction of the cost had you bought proper ones.

If you take your time and do this carefully, you will barely be able to tell that this is a DIY job.


[[Image:Tint_finished_01.jpg|thumb|200px|center|Finished]] [[Image:Tint_finished_02.jpg|thumb|200px|center|Dried]]

[[Image:Tint_finished_03.jpg|thumb|200px|center|Fitted]]

[[Category: Bodywork]]
[[Category: Upgrades]]
[[Category: Lights]]