Member Contributer RollinAgain Posted April 29, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted April 29, 2011 (edited) Well a few months ago I bought some smoked colored turn signals for my 1993 VFR from Thurn Motorsports. I was very pleased with the way they looked but I immediately thought that they made the ugly red tail-light stand out like a sore thumb. I searched high and low for a clear or smoked tail-light to replace it with but had no luck. Since I had an extra lens already available from my old parts bike I thought I'd try my luck at a DIY tint. I ordered some tint spray from Amazon and bought some fine grit sandpaper from the auto parts store and several hours and many sanding and clear coats later you see the final results. I think it came out pretty good. And before you start bashing about brake light visibility I want you to know that these pics are a little deceiving since they were taken in a shaded portion of the driveway. The tint is darker but you can still easily see the lights through the tinting. Opinions? Rollin Edited April 29, 2011 by RollinAgain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RollinAgain Posted April 30, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted April 30, 2011 Go ahead and start bashing about how you don't want to alter their visibility. Rollin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Go ahead and start bashing about how you don't want to alter their visibility. Rollin You're already beating yourself up over that one - so I'll be the first to say that the light still stands out... it's too dark now. Spritz a light coat or two on the signals, or sand the taillight down and start over... Or take some pics in the sun and prove me wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RollinAgain Posted April 30, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted April 30, 2011 (edited) I'm not beating myself up over them. I fricking love em!! EDIT: You did get the wheels going in my head rollin though Seb. I'll probably smoke the signals down the line to give a more uniform look. The problem is obviously that the tail is red and the turns are clear smoked. Tinting the signals would probably result in more of a black look than dark blood red which the rear has now. I do think they look much better than they did before though. Here are some more pics in my dim lit garage showing them as only running lights as well as with brake applied. Plenty of visibility IMO! Rollin. Edited April 30, 2011 by RollinAgain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Add some of this to the signals first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Can't say i would do that, because the smoke color looks good. But, if you want them uniform... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RollinAgain Posted April 30, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted April 30, 2011 I'm ok with the way it looks for now. For anyone who is interested in doing the same just note that this is a long process that should be done in multiple steps. It involved sanding the lens down with 400 grit sandpaper and then cleaning with alcohol before blasting with 3 separate but light coats of the tint spray. After the tint dried I wet sanded with 2000 grit before hitting with clear coat 6 or 7 times. The final step was another wet sand with 2000 grit followed by a good polishing with Meguiars ultimate compound. Total time was around 10 hours. Rollin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hatter Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 To each his own, but I like my tail/brake lights as bright as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 To each his own, but I like my tail/brake lights as bright as possible. Just think of it this way... it's a lot more visible than some other lights on other bikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer The mailman Posted April 30, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted April 30, 2011 I've never understood tinting tail lights - or head lights for that matter. It seems like most people these days are searching for the clear lenses for the rear lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RollinAgain Posted May 1, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted May 1, 2011 I've never understood tinting tail lights - or head lights for that matter. It seems like most people these days are searching for the clear lenses for the rear lights. In most states it is illegal to have the tail lights any color other than red. I searched high and low for a clear light but was unable to find anywhere. The tinting looks better than before but I haven't thrown out the idea of trying to fabricate a custom tail lens using light diffusing paneling. Rollin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted May 1, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted May 1, 2011 I would do it you if I had some red LED's to back up the smoked brake light lens !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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