Tinted the taillights with headlight tint. It's already starting to lift. I want to spray spray them now. I've heard Nightshades needs plenty of clear to look good. Anyone have experience with Testors translucent black?

 

I did the nightshade years ago and it looked like crap in a year. Best thing to do IMO is take them to a body shop. They will put a drop or 2 of black in the clear and shoot them for you. It will be quality paint and last a long time.

 

Years ago I took my taillights apart, carefully, and sprayed the inside with nightshade. Ran them for years and years like that, they still look amazing today. But it dimmed down the light output on them, even with brighter bulbs and even led's. So about 2 years ago or more I swapped them out for a spare set of taillights I bought used on here years ago. I just didn't like the idea of getting in an accident, like rear ended, and when they see the tails, I'dd be the one losing to my insurance company. I loved the look, but just decided to be proactive and avoid headaches that could happen. But for a car show, a quick swap and they accent the look of any car.

 

It's been a week since your last confession, but if you're still pondering the situation, Nite-Shades can be smoothed and polished just like any other paint and can look great that way, without clearcoat, as long as the surfaces have been properly cleaned before spraying, and each coat is smoothed and polished before the next coat. Then if you still want to clearcoat for extra protection, why not?

Testors, which I know some people have used, being model paint, probably isn't well-suited to the outdoors, so after smoothing and polishing, I'd think clearcoats would be a must for protecting it from the elements.

But if you do this yourself, then I'd suggest taping off all of the grid lines before spraying the black. Then when you're satisfied with the depth/number of coats and the polished finish, remove all of the tape and polish the entire unit several times. This will keep the grids looking natural, and it will also help to make the tinted lenses look more "natural" too, while giving the unit some nice definition, rather than leaving the entire unit looking painted.

 

I'm much more cognizant of this type of thought process now that I'm older too. 10 years ago I ran the taillight covers and was told on numerous occasions by other drivers (usually of retirement age so it could be a cataract issue) that my taillights were quite dim. Tailight coverings or tintings are outright illegal in some states and just questionable (read open to interpretation by the officer pulling you over) in others. Some states only want you to have light visible from a certain number of feet but what that is and how much will also vary. In some states like Minnesota even having the tailight grid frames (like trucks use that don't cover the lens but only frames the individual lenses) is illegal. If someone really wants smoked tailights I would call your state's highway patrol and ask if it's allowable and if they can give you the code so you can read it yourself aswell. Very possible that if you got rearended at no fault to your own that you could find yourself in a dicey situation with your insurance or being sued in civil court because the offending driver couldn't see the emitting light. All that being said the best way to do them is as mentioned, scuff them with 600 grit and spray them with DuPont, PPG or House of Kolor clear with a few drops of black added. A half pint of clear with the drop in it mixed by the supplier and small air brush is all that you need. They will last as long as any clearcoat.