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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Cosmetic and Lighting Modifications (exterior/interior) > Smoked Taillights Question



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      09-08-2010, 08:59 AM   #1
LLinxuS
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Smoked Taillights Question

One of my buddies said he knows a guy that will come to our place and smoke our tail lights for about $100 each. Is that a reasonable price?

Also, anyone have examples / pictures of how dark you went when you smoked them?

Trying to figure out if I want to wait until I get the blacklines or not too.
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      09-08-2010, 12:41 PM   #2
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Seems high, you can go with Smoked Lens Film that is reversible and about half the price for the pair.
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      09-08-2010, 12:43 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick@Jlevi SW View Post
Seems high, you can go with Smoked Lens Film that is reversible and about half the price for the pair.
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      09-08-2010, 08:30 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick@Jlevi SW View Post
Seems high, you can go with Smoked Lens Film that is reversible and about half the price for the pair.
Yup

Exactly what I did - used the Lamin-X Gunsmoke Rear Tint Film (lightest tint) EZ to install, looks great, and you can remove it later on if you grow tired of it...
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      09-08-2010, 08:45 PM   #5
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I got mine done when I got my windows tinted, they charged 80 for them IIRC. They did it a little darker than I wanted but it has grown on me. If I were to do it again I'd just buy the film from one of the sponsors and do it on my own.

Here ya go, what do you think?

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      09-08-2010, 08:52 PM   #6
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Yeah $100 is too much.. but if he lives far, I guess that covers some of the gas money.

You can do it yourself but if its your first time, most likely you'll have air bubbles and you'll probably mess it up. Try to talk down the price to $60-80.
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      09-08-2010, 10:13 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shieldze1025 View Post
I got mine done when I got my windows tinted, they charged 80 for them IIRC. They did it a little darker than I wanted but it has grown on me. If I were to do it again I'd just buy the film from one of the sponsors and do it on my own.

Here ya go, what do you think?

a little bit too dark for me
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      09-09-2010, 11:08 AM   #8
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Just ordered the Lamin-x from JLeviSW. What all do I need to apply those? I personally like the darker look, so I went with Dark Smoke.
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      09-09-2010, 05:49 PM   #9
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Every kit pretty much comes with what you need - a plastic squeegee and a little pump squirt bottle for the water (I used my own larger squirt bottle instead).
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      09-11-2010, 01:25 AM   #10
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a heat gun will also make your life a lot easier for wrapping around the corners. Not having one, mine came up about 1/8" short on each side, but its very barely noticeable.

After I applied it, I also went in and trimmed out the lamin-x over the rear turn signals to add some contrast- looked too hood rat-ish for me all tinted. No damage to the light but requires substantial patience. I have some photos of the process and could make a DIY if there is interest in it.
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      09-11-2010, 09:18 AM   #11
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Anyone has them cut so the white reflector still shows?
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      09-11-2010, 12:35 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by liquid View Post
Anyone has them cut so the white reflector still shows?

I was just gonna ask the same thing but reversed I wanted the smoked tint just to cover the reverse and turn signal.
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      09-11-2010, 02:21 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by liquid View Post
Anyone has them cut so the white reflector still shows?
Yea, that's what I did
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      09-11-2010, 06:50 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by liquid View Post
Anyone has them cut so the white reflector still shows?




i have mine like this, just untill i buy the LCI tails
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      09-12-2010, 10:47 AM   #15
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AK looks great, did u buy it that way. If not how did u go about cutting it? Also what wing is that?
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      09-12-2010, 01:10 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LinxuS View Post
Just ordered the Lamin-x from JLeviSW. What all do I need to apply those? I personally like the darker look, so I went with Dark Smoke.
Thanks for your order, here is a video guide to help:

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      09-12-2010, 01:50 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by liquid View Post
how did u go about cutting it?
+1
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      09-12-2010, 04:21 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shieldze1025 View Post
+1
Hey, met you at skyline, ill hit u up if im still down to sell my wheel..

didnt know you lived in McLean, i love in Great falls, so were really close

Quote:
Originally Posted by liquid View Post
AK looks great, did u buy it that way. If not how did u go about cutting it? Also what wing is that?

i took it to my local tint shop, im pretty sure they just used a blade..
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      09-12-2010, 11:55 PM   #19
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to cut it, all you need really is a SHARP exacto blade and some thick tape to lay out as a guide- I used some metallic foil tape (kinda expensive but it happened to be laying around and provides a good guide.)

The key is just to take your time in masking out all the straight edges, and then go through and lightly score the film to set your line. Once your line is set, you can slowly start applying more force, but still I would recommend just taking more passes over it not to damage the light. (I would also highly recommend using a brand new exacto blade to make your life a lot easier)

Then just make sure you cut through at one corner, and use the end of the blade to gently pick at the corner, and you can start peeling back the film gently- if you didnt cut all the way through at some part, you'll feel the resistance. The hardest part is definitely around the corner on the side of the car where this area curves to a point because its free-hand without a guide. If you try to cut through it all the way on the first time, you'll have a really jacked up line 9 times outta 10, so I went in a very lightly scored it and took atleast 5-6 passes at it to make sure it came out clean.

Hopefully this is remotely helpful.
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      09-13-2010, 02:21 AM   #20
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i would go the film way. as everyone says its reversible and if done right you wont be able to tell the difference.
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      09-13-2010, 10:05 AM   #21
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ehhh go with the lci's...
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      09-13-2010, 10:20 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by liquid View Post
Anyone has them cut so the white reflector still shows?
I am not sure how dark you want to go, but I liked the full blackout look. I originally went with the film and applied it myself. It is NOT EASY. When you heat the film up with a blow dryer to try and "bend" the film around the curves, the film gets thin and is easier to stretch over the area, BUT, it leaves bubbles. Did I say it wasn't easy? BTW, there is a guy on E-Bay that I think is selling ones that look like the ones on my car right now. I do not know anything about them, so I am not endorsing it or anything! Just an FYI.
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