DIY: Black Housing Tail Lights
 

Hello,

***UPDATE: Housings are still intact - Silicone sealant worked perfectly
***UPDATE: No condensation/fogging at all after rain, fog and wash with pressurized water stream!

Here is a simple guide on how to black out your tail light housings.

It is not for a feint of heart as dremel'ing (cutting) up your tail light is some serious business. Hopefully it pays off in the end.

This is a 5-7 hr job depending on how good you are with a dremel and how comfortable you are with cutting up tail lights. I was very nervous and took things really slow especially on the first light. You also need to let the new sealant set over night so this is a long process.

You need:

1. screw driver
2. wrenches or metric sockets (deep sockets)
3. dremel with a cutting tool
4. paint (i used semi gloss black spray paint)
5. tint (optional - for those who want to make the red a darker red and to retain some functionality of the turn signals)
6. painters tape
7. sealant adhesive

(used some of Darrendriven's pics for the removal of tail lights - Darren let me know if you don't want me doing that for this guide and I will get my own pics)

1. Pop the plastic rivets out on either side of the trunk near the tail lights and fold the carpet back
http://i.imgur.com/MLan7.jpg

2. Using a small tool (like a pick, or even a nail) you can lift the plastic catch inside of the zip tie. Pull the harness out and remove that plastic piece from the stud.
http://i.imgur.com/ZbgOA.jpg

3. Remove 4 nuts from the studs. They are 8 mm or smaller (def not 10 mm)
http://i.imgur.com/hMpdQ.jpg

4. After cleaning the lights up with mineral spirits and towel, take your dremel and cut this piece off of the lights.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...99925611_n.jpghttps://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...27967506_n.jpg

5. It will look like this. You need to do this in order to get to the housing underneath it.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...86993793_n.jpg
see above

6. Start cutting around the housing. Cut the black plastic but never cut the clear plastic. It is really hard to describe where to cut so you have to look at it and see/imagine where the housing is fused with the clear lense. Cut "behind" where they are fused - so that when you are done cutting the two pieces fall apart and the clear lens has a border of black plastic. It is probably best to just look at the pics.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...08626872_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...90427374_n.jpg
7. More cutting
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...07234061_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.n...90296945_n.jpg
8. More
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...12964451_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...70580314_n.jpg
9. And more
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...07829705_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...40935498_n.jpg
10. Tada!!! The two halves separate and the chrome garbage falls out
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...09887802_n.jpghttps://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.n...46948639_n.jpg


http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...32040526_n.jpg

12. Mask off the side marker (Looks like it is glued in so I didn't want to risk breaking something by prying it out)
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...03520668_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.n...94189643_n.jpg

13. Optional: mask off the turn signal area where the yellow bulb sits. You may want to keep this chrome so that it stays max reflective. I, however, sprayed Lense Tint in there AFTER I painted the housing black.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...20060394_n.jpg
(you can see that area is lighter than the rest - still retaining some semblance of reflectivity)

14. Paint the chrome bezel now. I used 3 coats with at least 20 mins in between coats. Here is what it looks like after painting with Black paint. Let it dry for a few hours.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...01610995_n.jpg
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...37845892_n.jpg

15. Install the bezel back into the housing when paint is dry.
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...96347430_n.jpghttps://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.n...50103751_n.jpg

16. Before installing the bezel I decided I wanted the red pieces to be darker so I sprayed them with a layer of Lens Tint.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...00899778_n.jpg

17. Install the lense and apply the silicone sealant to the interface between the two halves. Let it sit overnight.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...92589658_n.jpghttps://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...28897271_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...16239709_n.jpg
Final result as it sits today:

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...52047146_n.jpg
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...58072855_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...02410883_n.jpg



Cheerz

seems a lil scary but its gonna look awesome. mad props to you!

ON THE CAR!!!!!!! lol

This is what I've been looking for. Thanx a million cant wait to see

awesome!!! considering my tails are cracked, and if toyota decides they won't replace them, I'll be doing this.

On car

Looks good. Not a fan of taking a dremel to my tail lights but thanks for the how-to for those that are willing to do so.

Pic #8 looks pretty scary. Looks like the plastic got really boogered up on that side. How did you get it sealed good with the silicone with gaps that big? I want to do this but I'm nervous about getting them sealed good afterwards. Everything else I'm comfortable with.

Do you have a close up on the seal from the clear lens to the housing? Is it ultrasonic sealed? did you try baking them? What made you go straight to cutting the housing?

thanks,

Mike

Cant wait for pics!

Thats what it should look like off the line! Great job!

You are awesome! I would be too chickensh__ to do this stuff to my taillights, but it looks significantly better than stock :w00t:

I went straight to dremel because I know what silicone sealed lights look like. THese are not silicone sealed. I also read that the tail light plastic is flimsy and people already have cracks. Did not want to bake them.

For the big gaps I just put a ton of sealant on them. :laughabove: Big goops. It sealed beautifully when I looked at in the morning! I think I wont have condensation issues!!! I was very liberal with sealant.

Looks amazing.

Installed pics look really good! Exactly what I want instead of painting the outside of the lenses. Looks like it's worth the trouble.

That looks amazing but I do not think I could bring myself to do it. I might have to pay someone to do it and make them promise to not let me see it until it is done.

Omg that looks incredible. Plz let us know how it holds up to water

Nice.

Good job looks really great,

aww you beat me to it. i did mines with a hot knife so ill just post up the diy on that method instead. good work btw :thumbsup:

you are a brave motherfucker! Looks amazing though.

I did this to my STI lights. It was a PITA and I swore to never do it again unless I had to.

But this looks so good...

However, the beauty cover that gets cut away bothers me. I can reseal the lights, but putting that cover back on will never look clean. :(

Looks killer! One of these days I'll be brave enough to do it...

Looks great. I do have to be somewhat skeptical on it's longevity though... To keep the tails together purely with silicone... I can't imagine it would last more than a couple years, tops, without drying out and falling apart. Or just pulling apart from vibration and such. Best of luck to you!

Time will tell!

Head lights are sealed with silicone so I don't see a huge problem.

Aquariums are held together by silicone and last decades holding in a ton of pressure. I think it will be just fine.

I know. It hurt having to cut that piece off. No other way though. I wish it was detachable.... toyota!!!

LOL when you are using a dremel to cut through a complex plastic housing with angles and bumps and turns... there is only so much elegance you can have...

thanks though

i used a hot knife with a bent tip which allowed me to cut into the black casing without removing the beauty cover. i'll post up what i did once i have some time to put the hot knife diy together.

one question though, how did you hide your cuts. i feel like i f'd up a tail light because i can still see the cuts on the bottom. i used 3m window weld to seal but it still looks sloppy to me:mad0260:

That would be my biggest concern. I'd probably tape some guides on to try to get it as straight as possible, but if you have to cut it on a portion that is outside the car (not hidden by trim, etc) I probably wouldn't do this.

As someone who has done similar modifications to tails I congratulate you. I know how difficult that is, especially hiding your work so the end result doesn't look like garbage. I tried to swap lenses to a different set of lights on one particular setup. It was incredibly frustrating. Used pretty much this exact technique but it required one set for R&D and two for fabrication. Was a very expensive project.

Glad yours turned out well. As for me I'll likely use a solution that will not require disassembly as I won't be getting a dark colored 86, likely duplicating whatever those $900 (Hahaha...) tails that one seller is trying to hawk on this forum, or just waiting for them to pop up on ebay for a reasonable price.

lookin great!

no pictures of the trunk open?

kudos

This just might save everyone the hassle.

Check out this item I found on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...d=280921922596

Those do nothing to eliminate the look of the ugly chrome bezel inside the housings. They dont cover up the top of the housings either so you get an ugly blurry redout and chrome on the top and sides where the reflector is. I'd consider them if they covered the entire lens, but they don't, only the front face of them. Cutting open the back of the housings with a dremel and painting the chrome bezel black looks 1000x better than this and even though its a huge PITA, it's worth it IMO. I'll be doing it as one of my first projects. Wish me luck.

If you want the red-out look, just pull them off the car and paint them with this: http://amzn.com/B0071OBRXW

How to red-out the right way: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...7&postcount=98

Yea I know, I noticed that. & I agree. If it covered everything I'd get it too. The only reason I don't want to paint them red is cuz I don't want to paint the blinkers. & good luck w the lights. They do look 1000x better if done right, but I'm too afraid to fuck it up

Wow, good job, they look so much better with the black trim! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Wow! This isn't for the faint of heart. Great job and great post! :w00t:

Great DIY! I was waiting for someone to get'r'done. Thanks!

Added to the DIY Directory:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7365

Just a heads up. There is some guy on ebay using a picture of your car... I don't know if you care or what you can do about it. Here's the link

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-Scion-F...sories&vxp=mtr