HOW TO: Tint your Tailights with VHT

1996mustangGT · Dec 21, 2008

So here is the rundown. No real writeup exsist on the site so im going to go ahed and do one.

So, here we go!
To start off, go ahead and take care of your 3rd brake light. Only thing holding this guy in is a pair of 8mm bolts.

Go ahead and take them out, and pull the 3rd brake light out. When you do this remember there is a weather seal on it, so it will stick a little to the trunk.

Next up go ahead and take your trunk lining out or just move it aside as I did...
Here are the body screws/trunk lining things I'm refering to .

Okay so now you need to get your tailights out. There are 4 13mm nuts that you have to get out. You will have to either use a deep well 13mm or use a pair of pliers as i did. Afterwards, the whole assembly will come out. Take out the bulbs and the set the lights somewhere safe.

So now you can get to dissasembling the tailights. There are three screws on the bottom of the lens. This will loosen the outer lens cover.

afterwards there are three tabs you have to push down towards the bottom of the tailight to pop them out of the lens.

To take apart the 3rd brake light, there are two tabs on the top and one on the bottom that you have to push.

It will seperate the peices into the two shown above.

So now is the nervewracking part. Taking sandpaper to your tailights! Yay!
I went with 600 grit wetsanding. This is THE MOST INPORTANT STEP IN GETTING A GOOD FINISH!
Wet sand until you get a dull finish, should look something like this...

Make sure you wash the lens off after sanding and let it dry...you will then be able to see what spots you missed, they will look shiny and smoooooth.

Now you need to shake the VHT for a minute or so to make sure its mixed nicely. Now I did multiple light coats to get the finish I want.
MAKE SURE TO BE CAREFUL ON THE SIDES! Since they are curved they will want to run.
After a few light coats:

After a few more...

And my final coats..

Since its in the shade (inside, was really windy) you cannot really see how transparent the lights are. However when you do it youself you'll see the finish as you apply it. Just go until you achive the finish you want.

Some poeple will want to apply a clear coat here, however I really liked the finish that the VHT gave, so I left it alone.

Wait a few hours for it to set up well ( I waited about 2 ) And then go ahead and re-assemble your lights.

After re-assembly, and installation this is my finished result:

And that night:

Sorry, know its blurry, but had to do it on the night setting.

MY OPIONION: During the day, a little hard to see the brake lights. However not as bad as I thought. At night. Looks bada**!!! And lights up very well.

Let me know if anyone has any questions or comments. :wave:
Maybe a sticky if anyone feels like it.

Also mucho kudos to KingCato since hes the one who gave me a ton of tips on this...

GaryG · Dec 21, 2008

thanks for the write up man

1) could u take pics of ur car in the sun?
2) how many coats did u use on the 1st an 2nd pic?
3) where can u buy VHT? this is something ive been interested in doing

GaryG · Dec 21, 2008

btw this needs to be a sticky, its excellent

1996mustangGT · Dec 21, 2008

Best place to buy is on ebay..you can get it for fairly cheap on there.
As far as the coats go, I just sprayed until I got decent coverage, then waited a few minutes.
By doing thinner coats, you can get the exact coat you want..

On those pics...like 2-3 passes of paint. One going up-down then left-right etc

GaryG · Dec 21, 2008

cool thanks

i do have 1 problem... for my taillights, 1 looks lighter than the other, will this affect the outcome of how it will look? or will i need to do couple more coats to the lighter taillight to have it match up w/ the other?

u can see here how the drivers side is darker than the pass. side taillight

1996mustangGT · Dec 21, 2008

Nah just do more coat on one light.

duh09 · Dec 21, 2008

Just do enough coats on each one to get the same color, shouldnt be that nice of an issue. Good write-up. Wish 94-95 were taht easy.

1996mustangGT · Dec 21, 2008

Yeah i didnt tape anything off because im lazy. But 94-95 would be a major pain.

GaryG · Dec 21, 2008

is this a weekend job or can u crack it down on one of the days during the week?

SoddyRebel · Dec 21, 2008

good write up, did mine a few months back.

1996mustangGT · Dec 21, 2008

took me an afternoon. not to bad at all

Paul · Dec 22, 2008

Cool, thanks for the write-up. I'll keep this hear for a couple days so people can see it, then move it to our How-To section. Thanks for contributing to SN95 forums.

CC'S95GT · Dec 22, 2008

good write up. i really want to do mine too. but i have the horiz. lights so it's going to be a major PAIA taping all that up. ugh

ARdoller · Dec 22, 2008

so, how come you took the time to wet sand the tail lights before applying the VHT, but didnt bother to wet sand them and buff them afterwards?

i know when i did mine, before i wet sanded and buffed them after i put the VHT on, they looked like i just took flat black paint to them, which looked horrible on a black car, let alone any other color.

Late4Work · Dec 22, 2008

actually there is a black cobra on this site that has the vhf tint and it looks killer

Awesome write up

but i got a question, how many coats would u put on it, the more coats the darker, so how many to look good, anyone have any comparisons??

1996mustangGT · Dec 22, 2008

I am planning on wet-sanding them again, then buffing. (Which I will add to the write up). However you are supposed to allow at least a day or two for the spray to totally set up.
I'm going to give it a week. Just to be safe.

As far as coats go this is what I'm saying with do light coats. You have more control on the level of tint on the lens's.

ARdoller · Dec 22, 2008

i waited till the next day to wet sand and buff mine, but that was just cuz i ran out of daylight to finish em. i didnt have a problem with the time frame i waited, but a few extra days would be a good CYA, if anything.

i used almost 2 full cans on mine, but just because of the nature of the red lenses, if you buff them out to make them shiny, youre not going to get them completely black, youre still always going to see a small tint of red regardless of how much you put on. i know with mine, you only notice the red though if youre within like 10ft of the car, and looking at it from certain angles.

ARdoller · Dec 22, 2008

Late4Work said:
actually there is a black cobra on this site that has the vhf tint and it looks killer

this one?

kingcato · Dec 22, 2008

Nice write up bro.. love your lights now!!

ARdoller said:
so, how come you took the time to wet sand the tail lights before applying the VHT, but didnt bother to wet sand them and buff them afterwards?

i know when i did mine, before i wet sanded and buffed them after i put the VHT on, they looked like i just took flat black paint to them, which looked horrible on a black car, let alone any other color.

hell i didn't even wet sand mine down because I wanted a flat black look... guess its all in the eye of the beholder so touche