a_Hummel20

Alright, I thought this was going to be a simple, unbolt, take apart and spray, but not I cant figure out how to open the housing... Do I have to bake them and open and then reseal.......?!

RowdyAggie

Not sure why you are trying to open the housing? I think everyone just takes the taillights off of their truck and shades them as is. Some people, like myself, tape off the clear section (the reverse light section), and tint everything that is red. Or you can tint the whole thing, depending on the look you are going for. Why are you trying to open the housing? I'm sure some people have done something like that, but it's not necessary for basic taillight tinting/smoking/shading.

a_Hummel20

I thought you tint the inside? Do you just spray it on top of them?

Tradesman

You can tint the inside if you like, that is more work for you though. And there is a possibility of f**king it up if you don't know what you're doing.

You can simply spray on top of the lenses, and as mentioned earlier tape off the reverse lens area. If you're unsure about the preparations look for my "LED High Mount Brake Upgrade" thread. It shows what I did to my high mount centre brake light. I disabled the cargo lights and added additional LEDs, as well as prepping/painting/clearcoating the brake light lens.

a_Hummel20

What kind of prep should I do..? Light sand, nightshade and then clear?

RowdyAggie

The way I did it and I was super happy with results.. Cleaned lights with regular soap/water or degreaser or windex, or whatever.. Then cleaned with Isopropyl alcohol and let dry for a few minutes. Once dry, Wetsand with 2000grit sandpaper until it looks dull/faded and lightly scuffed.. clean off with water or the alcohol.. Once dry, you can start applying the actual nightshade.. It's a very thin product, so do light coats.. I think I did a total of 3 LIGHT COATS, waiting 8-15 minutes in between for it to dry. 2 would have worked, but I wanted just a tad darker.. then, I wetsanded again and got it dull/faded but smooth to the touch.. A little bit of the nightshade might come off, but that's OK.. Not a lot at all.. Cleaned again with a rag and made sure it was dry.. Then used DupliColor Clear Coat and did about 3 coats.. Wetsanded LIGHTLY with the 2000grit, liked the outcome, except for it was dull/faded and not the "glossy" look.. That's where I went to AutoZone, dropped $11 freakin bucks on Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and 'buffed' it into the taillight.. Wow.. what a difference!!! They really came to life after the buffing. Let me get you a link to the YouTube video that explained it pretty well, step-by-step.

RowdyAggie

Here's the How-To video I went by.. Gives you a little something to reference to or follow by if you'd like


Then, the same guy tells how to sand/clear-coat once you've applied VHT NightShade

Mrocha85

If your Harley styling your tail lights, then you need to open them.

RowdyAggie

Any updates/pics to post?? Pics or it didn't happen!!!

BIGDAWG78

Rowdy has it right... you don't take apart the housing... why would you tint the inside? wet sand the outside, clean and spray the tint. 3 good coats is plenty dark.