unitedwestang

I'm curious if anyone has bought and installed the vinyl tail light tint? Similar to the stuff offered on AmericanMuscle. I know the reverse light portion of the housing isn't covered. But I can't tell from any of the pictures if the "lip" that goes around the entire housing is covered. I'm assuming not.
I'm considering getting some of the Lamin-x sheets and heating it to cover the reverse portion and hopefully the lip, but that all might just be wishful thinking and I may have to revert to not covering those areas.
Comments and input are appreciated, especially if you've undertaken this install yourself! Thank you.

I guess I should also note, yes I know about VHT Niteshades. Sorry, I'm not considering it at the moment. Nor am I wanting to have them professionally painted right now. I've heard great things about the Lamin-x vinyl and if in the future I decide I want the look to be permanent, I can take the vinyl off and have them painted then.

yourmom6990

Good call on not painting. Tint is way less permanent Yes, I've installed the tint on plenty of my vehicles. I believe the tint on American Muscle is wayyyy over priced. I've bought the precut tint off of ebay and have never had a problem with peeling or cracking or fading.

Install is super easy..

Get an empty spray bottle (windex or whatevers around) make sure its clean. Add about 5 or 6 drops of dish soap (I use dawn but any dish soap will work) Then fill with water. Shake her up.

Make sure the area you are tinting is free of any dirt/grime. Clean it up if needed. Spray the soap/water solution onto the taillight (be generous). Then, while peeling off the tint spray the sticky side with the solution. After both portions are wet (sticky side of tint and taillight) stick the tint on and position it into place. Squeegee out the access water. (an ID or credit card will work as a squeegee just fine) but make sure you wrap the squeegee with a paper towel or something to be sure you don't scratch the tint. After a majority of the water/bubbles has been squeegeed out, use a heat gun (or hairdryer) and heat up the tinted area. Make sure you DO NOT get it too hot, you will warp the tint. Hold it about 6inches back and swiftly move the dryer back and fourth. You want to warm it up. This heating process will help set the tint to make sure it will not come off. Wait a minute for it to cool and then push out any little air bubbles still stuck. There may be a few bubbles that will not budge, but do not worry, give it a day or two and they should disappear themselves. Give it at least 24 hours before washing your vehicle.

If you screw up, the tint is actually very forgiving. I was able to remove the tint and reapply without damage.

If you have to trim the edges of the tint, make sure you use an X-Acto knife for a precise cut.

I've taken these through numerous car washes and have never had a problem with peeling or anything.

unitedwestang

Thanks. Good to know there's someone using the tint without a problem.

I was more asking if anyone has tried to use the vinyl tint to cover the reverse portion on the 2010-12 tail lights too?

yourmom6990

Don't see why it'd be any different. I tinted my 2014 lights

unitedwestang

Well the reverse section of the tail light is recessed on the 2010-2012. I don't want to try to match up several pieces of tint, so it would have to be heated to stretch into the recess. Just wondering how that would work, or if it even would...

yourmom6990

From the looks of it, it doesn't look like its that far recessed. The 2013-14's have extremely recessed LED's which is why I used 3 separate tint pieces on each side. I think you'd be fine with one piece for the 10-12's

unitedwestang

No its not super deep. I'm not by my car now, but its a concave indention along the length of the reverse rectangle area--maybe 1/8"-3/16" at the deepest?
I'll probably get enough to do three tail lights. If it doesn't work on the first one I'll just do the flat section. Third brake light, side markers, and head lights should be easy as they are all flat.

unitedwestang

I guess I should clarify I'm looking to tint the entire tail light (including the reverse sections) with a single piece of tint--more than likely having to heat it to stretch down into the reverse sections.

yourmom6990

Get the precut tint off of ebay and save yourself the hassle of trimming

unitedwestang

From what I've seen the precut stuff doesn't cover the reverse area though...