Smoked my tails.

[bdejong11129]

After searching here(lots of opinions) and thinking about it I decided to smoke the tails on my car. While some don't like it, I wanted it so I did it. I used the talents of a good friend of mine to do the painting(plus he has the equipment)

Here are the materials that were used:
- Black tint base for the color.
Very little was used, the more tint the darker each coat becomes.
- Transparent sealer with adhesion promoter and hardener.
this is the base that is used for spraying bumpers. this was used since it will adhere to the plastic lens much better than regular paint.
- Clear Coat for the final layers. Regular clear coat here.

What follows are some pictures of the process. Enjoy..

These are my original tail lights before anything was done to them. A special thanks to eaglecomm for hooking me up with a spare set in case this went really bad. I ended up using one of his(with permission) since one of mine was slightly melted in the bulb socket.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2750.jpg

The surface was scuffed up using red scotch brite pads.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2753.jpg

Here they al are BEFORE cleaning them up with grease and wax remover. This will also remove the dust on them leaving them with a slight matte finish.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2755.jpg

All clean and ready for paint.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2762.jpg

Mixing the "secret" formula".
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2776.jpg

Here is my friend doing what only he does best...
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2784.jpg

We applied four coats of the tinted base followed by two coats of regular clear. Here are the installed results. AS you can see, the lights show up just as good as they did before "smoking" them.

http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2831.jpg


This is approximately what they look like on the car with the lights off.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2840.jpg

I love them, the color is still slightly there and it blends very well with the back of the car. From my reading the addition of the M5 filler plate was thought to help out quite a bit and we tried them with and without the plate and I will agree 100% that the M5 filler plate helps out a ton.

So there you have it. Now to really stir the pot (denton, I know how you feel about this);) I will be smoking my corners next week using the same method. I have also decided that euro trim will be added next after I take care of some suspension work, just not worth smoking the marker lights.

[kahluastud412]

jealous!!! Wish i had the stuff to do this.

[dblogo]

Sexy man. Could you get a shot of the whole back end? Wonder how that would look on a green car.

Now you just need to get rid of the emblem. It's o so shiny.

[RT Dak]

Glad to see someone else doing it the right way. Although I do mine a little differently (tint the actual clear coat with black single stage base), same good results. Nice job and outcome! Good choice in paint too http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/1908/thumbupn.gif

[Nuckles]

Post some more photos when you complete project, will you do turn signnal and park lights etc?

[e34 life]

yay no vht night shades! looks great!

[zubbie]

welcome to the club. phewy to the naysayers

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/zubbie_photo/P1010408-1.jpg

[MacR]

LMK when you join the OE Hella smoked club. :D

[bdejong11129]

Post some more photos when you complete project, will you do turn signnal and park lights etc?

Yes, the front turn signals will be done next week and the markers will be deleted with the euro trim once I get some. One thing at a time...


Sexy man. Could you get a shot of the whole back end? Wonder how that would look on a green car.

Now you just need to get rid of the emblem. It's o so shiny.

I will take a picture tomorrow in the daylight of the whole rear. The emblem is another story. I will no remove the badge, but I will be ordering a new one, he(my friend) wants to try the tinted clear on it to kind of set is back into the paint a little bit. I think it will look kick ass.


yay no vht night shades! looks great!
After searching and reading the results of the VHT stuff I was not impressed. I found several links on the boards for other cars where people had done it with clear cost so I asked my friend and he was up for giving it a try. I think it is 1000% better this way. These things are not even sanded and buffed yet...:eek:


welcome to the club. phewy to the naysayers



I decided a while back that I don't really care what others think, its my car and I think it is hot, so it stays..:buttrock


LMK when you join the OE Hella smoked club. :D

I am deeply in love with the frenched high beam look so I am going to work on that. OE smoked? Is that referring to the actual headlights? or the OE smoked tails?...I am already commited to the look I have for the tails and will do the same with the front turns soon. But I do like the smoked headlights. So many options....

[TouringGuy]

Damn! Those look killer. Please post more pictures.

I wonder how smoked tails would look on Oxford Green :D

[T444E]

Zubbie is that your Civic wagon?

[MacR]

I am deeply in love with the frenched high beam look so I am going to work on that. OE smoked? Is that referring to the actual headlights? or the OE smoked tails?...I am already commited to the look I have for the tails and will do the same with the front turns soon. But I do like the smoked headlights. So many options....

I was talking about the OEM Hella Smoked tails.

You should definitely complete the look with smoked headlights. I have depo headlights that I smoked myself (paint low-beam inner plastic piece and added black cross hairs to the high beam) to replicate smoked hellas.

[e34Croak]

OEM Hella smoked tails :shifty

[bdejong11129]

I was talking about the OEM Hella Smoked tails.


Yeah, but it was a financial decision.
approximately 100.00 OE smoked hellas or 6.50(lunch for friend) painted OE's. :D:D



You should definitely complete the look with smoked headlights. I have depo headlights that I smoked myself (paint low-beam inner plastic piece and added black cross hairs to the high beam) to replicate smoked hellas.
Man, I would love to. I heard there was a writeup about removing the lens and painting the reflector, I would have to pickup a junk yard set to practice on...

Got a closeup of the cross hair you are talking about?

[T444E]

Where did you find OE smoked Hellas for 100$?

[e34Croak]

Usually $250-300 for Hella Smoked Tails

[bdejong11129]

Where did you find OE smoked Hellas for 100$?

I didnt, it was a number mentioned in one of the many, and I must sy amusing threads about smoking tails and front signal lights. Yes, I used the search, it worked, and was very enlightening. Was very fun to see peoples opinions change over time about a lot of things.:stickoutt

[4500 RPM]

You did a good job on those.

[bdejong11129]

You did a good job on those.

Thanks, I really like them. :stickoutt They fit with the car, although I have a few more things to change to pull the complete look off.

[nmp411]

Looks great!
I've got a spare 540 badge I can get you for cheap if you are interested...

[bdejong11129]

Looks great!
I've got a spare 540 badge I can get you for cheap if you are interested...

PM sent!!

That was fast, Nick got right back to me so a test badge is on the way.. Looks like my paint guy is going to be busy..

[87shark]

Welcome to the club. Professionally smoked > VHT :buttrock
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d170/coandcambria69/IMG_5345.jpg

[5senses]

Great job and write up... move 2 diy thread...

[Sparks Fails]

I don't know....in my opinion the VHT looks better. I have the VHT on my Firebird and it looks beautiful. Glossy, looks PITCH black, and then when the lights go on its as if they're not even tinted. Eh.

[David325e]

Nicely done man. I currently have a pair Sam's old bf (vw ricer) smoked with spray paint. Reverse lights might as well be cell phones. I've got my stock set, how much would this guy charge to have mine shipped to him, paint, ship back?

[T444E]

The ones I got from NikOSX who I Think got them from Analog cause they were on his 540 were VHT I believe. Looked mint.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b297/ihavesomeidea/Picture016-2-1.jpg?t=1260768488

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b297/ihavesomeidea/BMW/IMAGE_00081.jpg?t=1260768469

[Mirza E34]

I decided a while back that I don't really care what others think, its my car and I think it is hot, so it stays..:buttrock



:buttrock :buttrock its Hot !!

Wish i have the creativity to smoked the original tail lights by my self....:help

[bigsixe34]

happy Niteshades user here.. front corners were my test run and look a wee bit blotchy with lights on, undetectable with lights off
rears came out perfectly
it's all about a steady hand...
however yours look great with a pro job... :)

[clevertd]

Looks good, I'm looking forward to the full rear shot. Not a fan of the smoked fronts though, I think it takes away from the lines of the car and creates a void. Ambers FTW.

[MaxSteel]

I smoked my stock tails too last night. Contrary to popular belief it gets you pretty nicely stoned.

:shifty

[KyleCleveland]

I think they look gorgeous. I'd love to do this to my car some day.

[e34biturbo]

After searching here(lots of opinions) and thinking about it I decided to smoke the tails on my car. While some don't like it, I wanted it so I did it. I used the talents of a good friend of mine to do it using automotive clear coat with black tint. This is not the VHT tint or any other tinting material, it was basic clear coat base with black paint tint in it.

What follows are some pictures of the process. Enjoy..

These are my original tail lights before anything was done to them. A special thanks to eaglecomm for hooking me up with a spare set in case this went really bad. I ended up using one of his(with permission) since one of mine was slightly melted in the bulb socket.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2750.jpg

The surface was scuffed up using red scotch brite pads.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2753.jpg

Here they al are BEFORE cleaning them up with grease and wax remover. This will also remove the dust on them leaving them with a slight matte finish.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2755.jpg

All clean and ready for paint.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2762.jpg

Mixing the "secret" formula".
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2776.jpg

Here is my friend doing what only he does best...
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2784.jpg

We applied four coats of the tinted base followed by two coats of regular clear. Here are the installed results. AS you can see, the lights show up just as good as they did before "smoking" them.

http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2831.jpg


This is approximately what they look like on the car with the lights off.
http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2840.jpg

I love them, the color is still slightly there and it blends very well with the back of the car. From my reading the addition of the M5 filler plate was thought to help out quite a bit and we tried them with and without the plate and I will agree 100% that the M5 filler plate helps out a ton.

So there you have it. Now to really stir the pot (denton, I know how you feel about this);) I will be smoking my corners next week using the same method. I have also decided that euro trim will be added next after I take care of some suspension work, just not worth smoking the marker lights.


Will any black do the job?
or a certain shade?

[zubbie]

Zubbie is that your Civic wagon?


yep...just about to do a repaint, drop, E30 bottlecaps to it

[4500 RPM]

The ones I got from NikOSX who I Think got them from Analog cause they were on his 540 were VHT I believe. Looked mint.



Those were JCB's. They looked nice too (on black)

[jessejames]

used to run nite shades over stock tails, looked pretty good (for doing it myself)
running hella OE smoked tails now, much happier with the contrast
going to smoke the headlights this winter, already have the crosshairs ready to go

[David325e]

used to run nite shades over stock tails, looked pretty good (for doing it myself)
running hella OE smoked tails now, much happier with the contrast
going to smoke the headlights this winter, already have the crosshairs ready to go
I'll go through your old posts and look for pics of them. Interest in selling the VHT set?

[bdejong11129]

I don't know....in my opinion the VHT looks better. I have the VHT on my Firebird and it looks beautiful. Glossy, looks PITCH black, and then when the lights go on its as if they're not even tinted. Eh.

The level of black is determined only by the amount of tint and the number of coats that are applied. You can get any shade from very light tint to pitch black. That is what I liked about this method, I was in control of getting the exact look I was looking for.


Will any black do the job?
or a certain shade?

Please take a look at the first post. I updated the materials list with more details/description from my friend. It is in BOLD

[T444E]

yep...just about to do a repaint, drop, E30 bottlecaps to it

Is it AWD w/ 6 speed? :buttrock

[zubbie]

Is it AWD w/ 6 speed? :buttrock

sadly no :(

[jessejames]

I'll go through your old posts and look for pics of them. Interest in selling the VHT set?

unfortunately the reason I had to switch was because my original lens broke under a midnight paintball attack
I would, however, not object to tinting anyone else's stock tails for them over the winter. just let me know!

[clevertd]

Jesse - pics now! I'd like to pick up some OEM smoked ones, can't find them anywhere except ebay.de. Where'd you end up finding yours? Also have the same plans for my headlights this winter, assuming I can find one low beam.

[T444E]

unfortunately the reason I had to switch was because my original lens broke under a midnight paintball attack
I would, however, not object to tinting anyone else's stock tails for them over the winter. just let me know!

I want some!

[Steve547i]

Anyone have pictures of crosshairs installed on high beams?

[Kanufixit2]

damn you did it the hard way..lol i just got a can of VHT niteshade and 1000 & 2000 grit sand paper and just went to work on them...two coats later bam! i got a pair of bad ass tails

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=841101&id=1119360259

[bdejong11129]

Here are some additional pictures of the difference from stock and the whole back end.

http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2861.jpg

http://briandejong.com/BMW/Smoked/_MG_2850.jpg

The reason I went with having my friend do them is because I can, it was free, he had a bake room so they were cured in an hour and if you look closely at the above picture the shine on the lens matches the car nicely, this is with no sanding or polishing, and it took almost no time at all to do. this added up to a great deal since a can of rattle can tint would have cost more than the Wendy's combo meal he took for doing it.:alright

[muckRunner]

i have used VHT and i can honestly say its because i didnt want to pay a shop to do it... and i have no paint gun, air, or a garage for that matter.

but i will also say this, when i did use VHT (on my 02 blazer i traded for my 525i) i used 3 coats followed by 2 coats of clear, wet sanded, then another 2 coats of clear, wet sanded then waxed and it looked ALMOST as good. but pro still looks better.

[atlfokus]

I used to have mine completely smoked, but I love this look a lot better:)

Don't mind the imperfections:(

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h155/atlfokus/DSC_0068-1.jpg

[bdejong11129]

i have used VHT and i can honestly say its because i didnt want to pay a shop to do it... and i have no paint gun, air, or a garage for that matter.

but i will also say this, when i did use VHT (on my 02 blazer i traded for my 525i) i used 3 coats followed by 2 coats of clear, wet sanded, then another 2 coats of clear, wet sanded then waxed and it looked ALMOST as good. but pro still looks better.

I hear ya, if it wasn't for the good old bartering system (he helps me and I help him) I would have done it differently as well. If anything I would recomend that at least the clear be done with pro stuff. I would imagine if you taped the back side and brought them in ready for some clear they would just put them in the booth with another item and shoot them at the same time.

The pricey part of the materials for the way he did mine was the transparent base that is made for bumpers. This stuff sticks to plastic like glue but its not cheap like plain old base.

I have done other items myself like the shadowline on the trim, but this time I let him help me out only because I was very picky about how much tint I wanted to apply.

[specialE34]

Nice work. They look as good as the Hellas I found in Germany.

[bdejong11129]

Nice work. They look as good as the Hellas I found in Germany.

Thanks man, in my searches(I searched a lot here) I saw several pictures of the Hellas and as they say; "Imitation is the highest form of flattery" So the Hellas had the look I wanted so I started there and just made them to my liking. I am very happy with them, one of the better changes so far besides removing the "Old Man" stripe.:D