Best for red tinting rear lights?

[SamE30]

Am bored so am considering tinting my rear lights red.....

The article in the article section of E30Zone uses tinting spray like the stuff you see on ebay, Halfrauds etc.

Im sure I read somewhere on here that some people have used model paint or something and have created a better effect..

Any suggestions as whats best to use?

[Rosc0PColtrane]

idreambeer used tamiya model paint. Looks good with good transparency too.

[nickso]

you wont go wrong with the spray stuff either though. the can i got said it was removable if you cocked it up....although it didnt say how...thinners perhaps.

it said to do 7 coats but i ended up doing more like 20

[munky30]

White spirit will get it off.

Its overpriced though which is probably why model paint is better.

[nickso]

yeh i agree its not the cheapest but my can has done 3 sets of lights now and it still feels full. was only £7

[munky30]

not bad going... specially with 20 coats?! I did my old mazda with red tint on the back lights and only needed 4 coats to cover the orange and white parts of the lights.

Pink reversing lights rock... but confuse other drivers.

[nickso]

it was only mine that needed 20ish coats....the other cars only needed 3-4.

i left the reversing lights lol

[snoops]

are the bulbs in the indicator red or clear? do you have to get orange bulbs if you tint them red?

[gcorky]

foliatec...halfrauds...around 15 quid....2 coats done mine

[munky30]

are the bulbs in the indicator red or clear? do you have to get orange bulbs if you tint them red?

If you tint your indicators red, get orange bulbs if the car doesnt already have them... but if you want the lense to actually look red not orangey red, it wont make a blind bit of difference, they will flash red.

[sidewaysbm]

will the orange definitely shine through with orange bulbs?

[munky30]

no.

It depends how red you want it. If you want a uniform red all the way over the light, you will have red indicators.

If you just put a coupleof coats on, the indicator part will still be orangey but a bit red.

I had deep red all the way across, the indicators flashed red but I never had any grief for it... mind you I didnt use them much lol.

It would have failed mot though.

[sidewaysbm]

Think ill look for a spare set and change them over at mot time

[munky30]

Best way... although if you have a friendly mot tester they'll turn a blind eye.

I spent ages cleaning mine off and making them orange again. Had it tested and joked 'now I can put the red tint back on and make them illegal again' to him. He replied that they would have passed it anyway.

[nickso]

mine still flash orangeish....they dont look fully red but they arent orange either. i pretty much wanted them to look almost red but still flash orange. ive still got the original bulbs in and they do look better than they were.

[choppa7]

I had a dark tint on my corsa and fiesta, couldnt see the reverse light bit during the day or when it wasnt lit but stick it in reverse and they shone clear enough, both passed MOTS with no hassle, indicators looked dark but flashed orange with clear bulbs

[forty]

its probably worth laquring them after too as the stuff does come off after a while...thats what I done to mine anyway

[munky30]

If you want them to be totally legal and mot proof. Get 2mm plastic masking tape and lay it in stripes across the indicator, then spray them. Peel it off and there will be enough original orange lense to flash perfectly orange, but they will look red.

A few new cars use this trick.

[chinchilla]

someones mentions green bulbs!

Obs is making 2 pairs of preface-lift lights one for himself and one for me,

he messaged me yesturday:

I done a set today buddy....

I will play with bulb colours tomorrow, But Red and Green does not make Yellow (I know its says so in that link?)

I tried at work every shade possible (I work as a sprayer) All turned out Brown!

If you think about it Yellow is a hell of a lot lighter then both Red and Green.

It needs to be yellow, but once you shine light through it it will appear almost white, unless its on to thick... But then not enough light will get through!
I will try all avenues and see what I can come up with!!

We have some "Transparent brown" so Im guessing that will do the job (Will shine through yellow hopefully)...

[SamE30]

Got myself some Tamiya 'Clear Red' model paint yesterday.... I presume the 'clear' part of it will make it slightly more translucent... gonna give it a go today.. will let you know the results!!

[sidewaysbm]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TAMIYA-PAINT-SPRA ... dZViewItem

this stuff? just sprayed over the orange?

[SamE30]

Yeah reckon thats it, got it from a model shop..... is a little can, there are a number of reds available but i went for clear as it is see through.

Hopefully will make it look red enough whilst letting orange shine through!