Steve's Aurion ZR6

[Steven]

damn you steve... you're finishing off what i wanted to do to those lights!!

i was gonna head down the route of number 2... but i had a black car, so it would have looked pretty good... not too sure if that dark a tinting would look good or not on your gold car...

maybe try number 3 level of tint and then go darker if you want later on...

i assume you'll be doing it yourself?

I've been looking into it and the various ways to do it. Being VHt nightshade and window tinting film. Vht is easiest to apply but harder to remove and has a bluish tinge. Window tint is more professional but harder to apply. Especially due to the odd shape of the lights. I think I'll get some tint film and experiment on one of the old lights first.

[SecaBoy]

tint film would be very hard to use because of the bulges in the lights... :(

if it were smooth, but curved around, it wouldnt be too bad, but its got that bulge which would be an absolute cnut of a job to get right... :(

i cant paint for sh!t, so i was gonna get me mate to spray it professionally, but obviously just never got around to it...

the beauty of paint is that you can start with a light coat and then build it up until you have the darkness you're after... with tint, if you want it darker then you've gotta remove that tint film and start again with a darker one... no?

[Steven]

Yep tint film would be a real pain, hence I'd get a shop to do it if it were possible. Thinking of getting some tint spray this afternoon maybe.

[Steven]

Update - Got some VHT Nightshade spray and went to work on the tail lights when I got home. Tried it on the factory ones first and they came out dead sexy. darker but no where near enough to make you think it wasn't factory. Then dived in and did the clear lights - with only the same light coat they have come out a LOT darker. I won't know how they'll look until they dry fully and I can polish them up which should also lighten things a bit.

Won't be finished until tomorrow afternoon when I cut them back and polish them a bit, but I'll try to get pics later tonight on the car.

[Matt.]

Progress shots??

[Steven]

Here's a teaser shot :D :D :D

[DJKOR]

Damn. That stuff comes up really nicely. I really want to do mine now. Can't wait to see the final result.

[Matt.]

Looks good mate! Was it pretty easy to do?

[1stKill]

Nice mod Steve ...if it's not to much trouble can you post a couple of pics of your original lights nightshaded.

also how many coats did you apply?

Cheers

Lee

[Steven]

Okay tail lights are dry, on the car and polished. They only have 1 coat on them, but they've actually turned out around the darkest of the pics posted on page 3. I'm very undecided about the look; I'll need to see them out in the light tomorrow to make a judgement call on them. Main concern is the color match with my car.

I tested the lights and they still come through very strongly so I doubt that will cause any issue.

I took several pictures however due to the phone camera and poor lighting in my garage you can't really make them out at all. I've posted the best, but more will come tomorrow in the day light.

Unfortunately I only did the right bootlid original taillight as a test. Due to the strong red color, it didn't come out anywhere near as black at all and actually looks very neat. I think if in the end I don't like these lights, I'll pop the originals back in and tint them. It's very easy to do as far as painting goes, it's just the **** that gets caught in it whilst it dries that needs to be buffed out.

[Guest]

looks good... don't get defected ;)

[Speedz]

how much is the VHT spray and where did you get it...? :D Thanks!!!

[Steven]

about $16 from Autobarn. No other place (supercheap, Repco) had it.

Mick - Yes that is a concern. Hopefully if I don't act like a fool on the roads I should be left alone (hopefully).

[Speedz]

$16 bucks is a bargain... :D

I probably get one for myself for the Yaris & Aurion :D

[SecaBoy]

mate, that looks fuqn awesome!!!

i seriously think it looks a lot better than the clear on your car...

need to see it in person, but right now, from that pic, it looks sweet!!

just need to lower it and get some gun metal grey rims... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm nice! :D

[DJKOR]

Man that looks hot Steve. Works well with your colour car. Now I really really want to tint mine, but I have been pretty unlucky lately with respect to cop attention. I'm just worried that if they can't bust me for the error in the registration, they will find something else to pick on.

Maybe I will just have to do the opposite and go all clear for mine. But that's enough about me, so I'll say again... I love it.

[Andrew357]

Hrmm... that looks really good Steve.

I wonder what my Gen5 will look like with darkened rears...

[SecaBoy]

did i hear "bush mechanics round 2"?????

daryl: stop driving like a loony and you wont get pulled over!!! :P hehe

[Steven]

did i hear "bush mechanics round 2"?????

daryl: stop driving like a loony and you wont get pulled over!!! :P hehe

No, you're clearly losing it. Shouldn't have seen the signs (selling the TRD, buying a Falcon).... :P

Can I recommend you do not do these at night like I did. First time seeing them in the light this afternoon and they clearly need another coat, it's very splotchy all over. Going to be a **** pain removing them all from the car again but I want them done right. They might get a tad bit darker but this next coat will just be evening it out a bit.

Also they are a lot brighter in the sun light. More smoked than tinted.

[SecaBoy]

well, thats the look you're after no?

a smoked look will be nicer than just a plain tinted look, imo..

hahahaha, i'm not loosing it... well, okay, maybe a little...

[Steven]

Quick update - I sanded them back with 1200 grit to prime them for the next coats, and also remove all the **** that got caught in it whilst it was drying.

That worked fine, reapplied the tint (a bit thicker this time) and damn have the troubles started. On 1 light I've got paint runs, on the other 3 parts (1 main, 2 inner lights) the paint is cracking around the lip! Obviously I put it on too thick.

And yes I did make sure to give them a rub down with wax and grease remover after sanding them before applying another coat.

The only good news is that now I know I can always resand them back and with a bit of polish they can be saved. One thing I noticed is that if I do that, I can get past the imperfections and actually get the partially tinted look I was after. Will post further updates later tonight.

[whitezr6]

looks really hot, your my hero

i wanted to do this originally on mine

but got discouraged after turps melted my headlight

saving for other mods first now

now i know its looks awesome, might give it another go some other time

did i mention your lights look hot, man im jealous

and $16 for vht, i paid $20 here in perth man i got jipped

Edited July 14, 2010 by whitezr6

[whitezr6]

might try out crystalite black

[Speedz]

If i wanna get a slight tint look it will be just 1 coat?

[Steven]

I tried for 1 coat for only a slight tint, problem is getting it on uniformly due to how it sticks. It's a fine line between too little, and too much.

I spent all night recoating and sanding the lights, but I couldn't remove the cracks which look absolutely horrid. In the end I just polished them best I could and put them back on the car. This weekend I'll need to get serious and rub them back completely to remove the cracks properly, then add a clear coat.