Red stock tail lights - help?

[sftateofmind]

Thank you all, I appreciate it.

Also glad to see more alumni of East Bay around @finch1750

[sftateofmind]

Originally Posted by mike_frs

Hey I just bought my 15' BRZ 2 weeks ago, and I swapped my tail lights. Selling my stock tail lights if you're interested. You can experiment and have an extra pair. PM me if interested bro

Would take you up on that, but I'd rather put the funds towards having them done right. Currently not in ATM mode lol.

[BR-ZED]

After painting taillights red with something like nightshades, what is the visibility of the brake lights/turn signals? Are they still bright, or are they duller like if you use black nightshades?

I was going to hack up my extra taillights to paint the housings black, but seeing this thread gave me second thoughts. I have an extra pair of taillights, but am thinking about going red now... :-/

[PMok]

Originally Posted by BR-ZED

After painting taillights red with something like nightshades, what is the visibility of the brake lights/turn signals? Are they still bright, or are they duller like if you use black nightshades?

I was going to hack up my extra taillights to paint the housings black, but seeing this thread gave me second thoughts. I have an extra pair of taillights, but am thinking about going red now... :-/

If you do straight up red tint, visibility and transparency of the light should still be very good. I have had no issues with mine.

If you come out to the 86DAY block party tomorrow, you will probably get to see in person every kind of tail light mod available haha.

[BR-ZED]

Originally Posted by PMok

If you do straight up red tint, visibility and transparency of the light should still be very good. I have had no issues with mine.

If you come out to the 86DAY block party tomorrow, you will probably get to see in person every kind of tail light mod available haha.

Actually, I'm in MD. I think I found this thread via the search button, and didn't realize it was in a local thread until after I posted. Too bad I can't come to see the 86DAY...

Did you use VHT Nightshades for your redout? What type of clear coat did you use? Your car looks great, that picture on page 1 is making me really reconsider painting the internal chrome on my tails... I bought a dremel tool but I might return it if I decide on the red... decisions decisions...

[PMok]

Originally Posted by BR-ZED

Actually, I'm in MD. I think I found this thread via the search button, and didn't realize it was in a local thread until after I posted. Too bad I can't come to see the 86DAY...

Did you use VHT Nightshades for your redout? What type of clear coat did you use? Your car looks great, that picture on page 1 is making me really reconsider painting the internal chrome on my tails... I bought a dremel tool but I might return it if I decide on the red... decisions decisions...

ooops MD... yeah that's a long drive. but hey if you come out we'll show you a good time...

my tails and @finch1750 's were painted by the same local guy... he had access to a paint booth and did them with quality red and then clear coats. Painting the outside means you won't have to paint the chrome inside... cutting them open is an option but the folks I know who've done it, resealing them properly is difficult and you could get water leaks into the housing after. Paint them red! I have no regrets I see plenty of folks with aftermarket LED tails that have problems too (LED's burning out etc.)...

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by BR-ZED

Actually, I'm in MD. I think I found this thread via the search button, and didn't realize it was in a local thread until after I posted. Too bad I can't come to see the 86DAY...

Did you use VHT Nightshades for your redout? What type of clear coat did you use? Your car looks great, that picture on page 1 is making me really reconsider painting the internal chrome on my tails... I bought a dremel tool but I might return it if I decide on the red... decisions decisions...

Like @PMok said I would recommend using regular paint with a clear coat vs VHT. much nicer finish imo

[BR-ZED]

Wouldn't regular paint just make them opaque red? It seems you need some kind of transparent paint. Just thinking about some of the colored spray paint I've used before, and it seems that would not allow any light to pass through...

[PMok]

Originally Posted by BR-ZED

Wouldn't regular paint just make them opaque red? It seems you need some kind of transparent paint. Just thinking about some of the colored spray paint I've used before, and it seems that would not allow any light to pass through...

you're probably right, unfortunately I don't know exactly what paint he used.

[Xxyion]

You can always go with Vinyl wrapping the taillights. It's super cheap and if you mess up you just peel it right off. There's some really cool color combos that are available as well like a chameleon red vinyl wrap

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by BR-ZED

Wouldn't regular paint just make them opaque red? It seems you need some kind of transparent paint. Just thinking about some of the colored spray paint I've used before, and it seems that would not allow any light to pass through...

hmmm. good point. maybe it was just the fact that they used a spray gun and added clear coat that made the difference. He did say it was candy apple red color, but not sure what brand paint exactly

[Norcalft86]

I went with vht for my tail lights. If you want candy apple red I'd suggest going to a hobby store that does model cars. I went there to purchase paint to orange out my side markers on my ep3. It came out nice. I'm on ig as norcalmark300 if you want to see pictures of my painted tails.