Red Out Tails - Vinyl Styles

[cdo221]

I had my tails redded out by Vinyl Styles in San Carlos about a month ago. It was a good experience and I wanted to recommend/rep him in case anybody wanted to red out their tails without going the painting route. He has a bunch of cars he was working on out in front, full body wraps, so tail lights are easy for him. He also does roof wraps etc. basically any vinyl work.

It's a 3 piece overlay so there is overlap and it's not seamless like a paint job would be. Up close/feeling it, you can see the 3 pieces and the overlap plus one (intentional) gap on the aero/fin/stabilizer on the light. But it looks good and you can't tell if you just look at the tail light overall or the car as a whole.

Cost was $140 with credit card, $130 cash. He gave me a time estimate of 1.5 hours so I just chilled in his waiting area and did some reading (but there is also wi-fi if you want to bring a laptop). It only took 45 minutes in reality so that was nice.

I have some quick iPhone pics I took... they came out a bit hazy at certain angles but I don't notice an issue in person. I really like how they turned out but I haven't compared them to anybody's painted red tails in person yet - only can compare to online pictures for now.

Final thoughts - I felt like it was a bit pricey for vinyl but I wouldn't have been able to wrap the curves myself (at least not as cleanly) and I wanted something easily reversible if needed. All in all, I would do it again assuming the vinyl lasts the 7-10 years as advertised and I'm still feeling the red. High quality work and customer service all around.

[cdo221]

Also wanted to add that there were a few tiny bubbles when it was finished. Lyle @ Vinyl Styles assured me they would go away, and they're all gone now. He did offer to redo them if they were still around after 3 weeks.

[PMok]

looks good - I was about to have Lyle do my tails as well but then I ended up buying a painted pair of tails from @frsguy707 instead. It's hard to take good pics of red tails I've found, they tend to look dull in photos even when they are glossy in person.

I did end up having him wrap my front lower lip in flat black vinyl to help cover up some scrapes and scuffs and it came out great. Yeah his work is not cheap but you can tell he has some skill and like you said there was no way I was going to be able to apply the vinyl myself. I got spooked after just putting on a pair of smoke vinyl pieces on the front side markers and those are simple flat pieces that should be easy LOL.

[cdo221]

Yea! I've actually messed up the fog light vinyls twice doing it myself haha

[Shaun Perry]

I'm considering the red tails. I am sort of leaning toward the painting route because of how clear the end result is. I've seen painted tails in person, they definitely have a gloss about them, and then at night when the lights are on, it isn't dulled or less bright at all. When done correctly I think paint has an over all more attractive look to me.

But, my question to you is how the bulbs shine through the 3 layers once natural sun light is gone. Is it noticeably dimmer? Any pictures you can share of the lights on in a darker surrounding? I like the idea of removable vinyl for $130 cash compared to a higher price of permanent paint.

I appreciate your response in advance.

Shaun.

Originally Posted by cdo221

I had my tails redded out by Vinyl Styles in San Carlos about a month ago. It was a good experience and I wanted to recommend/rep him in case anybody wanted to red out their tails without going the painting route. He has a bunch of cars he was working on out in front, full body wraps, so tail lights are easy for him. He also does roof wraps etc. basically any vinyl work.

It's a 3 piece overlay so there is overlap and it's not seamless like a paint job would be. Up close/feeling it, you can see the 3 pieces and the overlap plus one (intentional) gap on the aero/fin/stabilizer on the light. But it looks good and you can't tell if you just look at the tail light overall or the car as a whole.

Cost was $140 with credit card, $130 cash. He gave me a time estimate of 1.5 hours so I just chilled in his waiting area and did some reading (but there is also wi-fi if you want to bring a laptop). It only took 45 minutes in reality so that was nice.

I have some quick iPhone pics I took... they came out a bit hazy at certain angles but I don't notice an issue in person. I really like how they turned out but I haven't compared them to anybody's painted red tails in person yet - only can compare to online pictures for now.

Final thoughts - I felt like it was a bit pricey for vinyl but I wouldn't have been able to wrap the curves myself (at least not as cleanly) and I wanted something easily reversible if needed. All in all, I would do it again assuming the vinyl lasts the 7-10 years as advertised and I'm still feeling the red. High quality work and customer service all around.

[microcarmag]

My FRS was used as the prototype for these... Great dude... Great service!

[Overland'n'5thGEN]

Lyle and his gang have done multiple pieces for me and I have always been happy. Cash is king there!

Do actually need to go back for some more pieces to get wrapped.

[cdo221]

Originally Posted by Shaun Perry

But, my question to you is how the bulbs shine through the 3 layers once natural sun light is gone. Is it noticeably dimmer? Any pictures you can share of the lights on in a darker surrounding? I like the idea of removable vinyl for $130 cash compared to a higher price of permanent paint.

The 3 piece overlay isn't completely overlapping one other. It's more like one piece covers the face of the tail light, second piece covers the side portion, and the third piece covers the top of the tail light. There is overlap at the edges/corners of each of the pieces. I labelled the pieces in this picture:


I haven't noticed any decrease in visibility in day or night time, they're plenty bright at night. I should be seeing @PMok this weekend and I know he has painted tails. I can give you a better impression/comparison after that, hopefully get some pictures too. I do think the painted tails will probably be a glossier finish but we'll see.

Here's 2 shots in my garage with the parking light on. The first one is with all the garage lights on. The second picture is with all the lights off - the only light in that picture is the parking lights at the front of the car. EDIT: actually the front of the car has fog lights on too in that picture