[King Rudi]

Considering smoking the tail lights on the new car. I applied Vvivvid's light smoke vinyl last weekend and let's just say that some tail lights were not meant to have vinyl laid on them. The curves, angles and raised areas of the tail lights make it impossible for the vinyl to adhere like it should. I will also say that the resistance of adhesion is not from a lack of experience in working with vinyl.

After doing a ton of reading and some research on the tail lights in question, most everyone who tried to "tint" (with vinyl) removed it within a week and paid a shop to spray them. I plan to do the work myself but I will not be using an off the shelf product like VHT Nightshade. I've used this product once before and unless your are trying to completely black out the tail lights or keep people from seeing your brake lights during the day, this stuff is garbage.

A local parts store here will mix whatever I want in a spray-bomb/rattle can for me. I'm thinking 95-93% clear coat with 5-7% black paint mixed should give me results that I want.

Now here is the question, I know that some clear coats will damage plastic but unsure of what clears and what plastics. The local shop will mix urethane clear with the paint but I want to ensure that the urethane won't cause the plastic on the tail lights to crack or split. Does anyone with more experience than I have with painting cars know whether or not urethane will be safe on my tail lights?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Hmmm I literally just tinted my tail lights like 3 weeks ago with Vvivvid smoke film and it worked perfectly well. Was my first time as well with zero experience.

Our tail lights are like one of the easiest to wrap as well IMO, it's mostly flat.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by Now_Rudi

Considering smoking the tail lights on the new car. I applied Vvivvid's light smoke vinyl last weekend and let's just say that some tail lights were not meant to have vinyl laid on them. The curves, angles and raised areas of the tail lights make it impossible for the vinyl to adhere like it should. I will also say that the resistance of adhesion is not from a lack of experience in working with vinyl.

After doing a ton of reading and some research on the tail lights in question, most everyone who tried to "tint" (with vinyl) removed it within a week and paid a shop to spray them. I plan to do the work myself but I will not be using an off the shelf product like VHT Nightshade. I've used this product once before and unless your are trying to completely black out the tail lights or keep people from seeing your brake lights during the day, this stuff is garbage.

A local parts store here will mix whatever I want in a spray-bomb/rattle can for me. I'm thinking 95-93% clear coat with 5-7% black paint mixed should give me results that I want.

Now here is the question, I know that some clear coats will damage plastic but unsure of what clears and what plastics. The local shop will mix urethane clear with the paint but I want to ensure that the urethane won't cause the plastic on the tail lights to crack or split. Does anyone with more experience than I have with painting cars know whether or not urethane will be safe on my tail lights?

1) I know you have been practicing pretty extensively with vinyl, so unsure of why this is giving you trouble. E93 tail lights are pretty flat without too many complex curves. Perhaps try a few more times?

2) To answer your first question, any enamel or acrylic based clear will not harm paint, but it is also not a flexible paint. This should be okay, since neither are the tail lights, but just wanted you to be aware, as it isn't a good choice for something like a plastic bumper.

Good luck!

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Hmmm I literally just tinted my tail lights like 3 weeks ago with Vvivvid smoke film and it worked perfectly well. Was my first time as well with zero experience.

Our tail lights are like one of the easiest to wrap as well IMO, it's mostly flat.

Yeah, it's kind of embarrassing that I have as much experience with vinyl as I do but can't make these tail lights what I want. The 3rd gen Lexus IS tail lights are ridiculous! Curves that turn into 90 degree angles that turn into curves along with two raised areas within 3 inches of each other and offset. No matter how much you stretch the vinyl or apply heat, it bubbles. I did one tail light 3 times starting in different sections first each time.

Oddly enough the headlights were no picnic either but they turned out great! They have two rolling curves in the front with a sharp downward angle toward the grille. On the fender side, they have a crazy ass downward recessed curve underneath, all the while the top transitioning to a 90 degree edge and flat on top. I joked with the girlfriend making a comment about whoever designed these headlights and tail lights intentionally designed them to make life hell for people like me.

Couple of photos for reference. Not my car; these are way too dark for my taste. Note on the picture of the tail light how the only flat surface is the clear area which happens to be flat on the top and bottom that actually transition to curves once they flatten out to curve around the car. Also note the two raised areas....don't even get me started on those guys. If you look closely, the raised areas are even crazy. Completely round and 3 sides, yet the back of them are flat. Makes it impossible to not have a crease in the flat area on the back no matter how it's done. In the event that you get the flat area done correctly then the round areas want to raise at the bottom.

When I smoked the tails on the E93, I did it on the first try and it took less than an hour for both sides. These damn things have turned into a puzzle of epic proportions. I've even considered wrapping them in sections and would, if it weren't for the two raised areas. No matter how much heat or stretch you apply to the vinyl it wants to lift off the edges.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by Run Silent

1) I know you have been practicing pretty extensively with vinyl, so unsure of why this is giving you trouble. E93 tail lights are pretty flat without too many complex curves. Perhaps try a few more times?

2) To answer your first question, any enamel or acrylic based clear will not harm paint, but it is also not a flexible paint. This should be okay, since neither are the tail lights, but just wanted you to be aware, as it isn't a good choice for something like a plastic bumper.

Good luck!

As you'll see with the last post, it's the IS350 not the E93. The tails on the E93 were beyond simple. I'm thinking since the urethane will be a little more flexible that this shouldn't damage the plastic on the tails at all but wanted some feedback from people that know a little more than I do with clear coat. Detailing and paint correction I'm pretty experienced with but not too well versed in differences in clear coat and laying them down on plastic.

[Run Silent]

Originally Posted by Now_Rudi

As you'll see with the last post, it's the IS350 not the E93. The tails on the E93 were beyond simple. I'm thinking since the urethane will be a little more flexible that this shouldn't damage the plastic on the tails at all but wanted some feedback from people that know a little more than I do with clear coat. Detailing and paint correction I'm pretty experienced with but not too well versed in differences in clear coat and laying them down on plastic.

Ah- yes, I imagine the IS is quite a bit more difficult as those lights are a bit over styled.

If you decide to use urethane, keep a couple points in mind. The most important thing to know is that poly-carbonate lights have a scratch and UV resistant coating applied to them that must be removed completely before clearing. Urethane clear must be applied to "virgin" poly-carbonate for maximum clarity and adhesion. Usually the best way to do this is to begin sanding to remove the coating with something fairly aggressive like 500 or 600 DA (even 320 for badly degraded or chipped lenses), then refine out with wet or dry paper. Note that any final sanding, any higher than 800 and you can have flaking issues as the urethane won't adhere, and lower than 600 and it will get more hazy.

Here is a great forum for additional knowledge:

http://www.spiuserforum.com/index.php

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Now_Rudi

Yeah, it's kind of embarrassing that I have as much experience with vinyl as I do but can't make these tail lights what I want. The 3rd gen Lexus IS tail lights are ridiculous! Curves that turn into 90 degree angles that turn into curves along with two raised areas within 3 inches of each other and offset. No matter how much you stretch the vinyl or apply heat, it bubbles. I did one tail light 3 times starting in different sections first each time.

Oddly enough the headlights were no picnic either but they turned out great! They have two rolling curves in the front with a sharp downward angle toward the grille. On the fender side, they have a crazy ass downward recessed curve underneath, all the while the top transitioning to a 90 degree edge and flat on top. I joked with the girlfriend making a comment about whoever designed these headlights and tail lights intentionally designed them to make life hell for people like me.

Couple of photos for reference. Not my car; these are way too dark for my taste. Note on the picture of the tail light how the only flat surface is the clear area which happens to be flat on the top and bottom that actually transition to curves once they flatten out to curve around the car. Also note the two raised areas....don't even get me started on those guys. If you look closely, the raised areas are even crazy. Completely round and 3 sides, yet the back of them are flat. Makes it impossible to not have a crease in the flat area on the back no matter how it's done. In the event that you get the flat area done correctly then the round areas want to raise at the bottom.

When I smoked the tails on the E93, I did it on the first try and it took less than an hour for both sides. These damn things have turned into a puzzle of epic proportions. I've even considered wrapping them in sections and would, if it weren't for the two raised areas. No matter how much heat or stretch you apply to the vinyl it wants to lift off the edges.

Oh okok I see... thought you were talking about the E9X.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by Run Silent

Ah- yes, I imagine the IS is quite a bit more difficult as those lights are a bit over styled.

If you decide to use urethane, keep a couple points in mind. The most important thing to know is that poly-carbonate lights have a scratch and UV resistant coating applied to them that must be removed completely before clearing. Urethane clear must be applied to "virgin" poly-carbonate for maximum clarity and adhesion. Usually the best way to do this is to begin sanding to remove the coating with something fairly aggressive like 500 or 600 DA (even 320 for badly degraded or chipped lenses), then refine out with wet or dry paper. Note that any final sanding, any higher than 800 and you can have flaking issues as the urethane won't adhere, and lower than 600 and it will get more hazy.

Here is a great forum for additional knowledge:

http://www.spiuserforum.com/index.php

See that's what I'm talking about right there! Much appreciated. Here's my thinking: I was going to wet-sand with 600 then 800, then blow with compressed air to remove all dust and dry, then go over them lightly with tack cloth to ensure all potential contaminants are removed, then spray with adhesion promoter, then 2-3 light coats of the clear mixed with black. I'll check out the link.