tail light tinting
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
From: ohio
Year: 2005
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.7l v8
i have seen alot of cars with tintedtail lights and i think it would look sweet on my truck and would like to know what the best way to do it is? if anyone has any ideas or pics of were they have done it would be great
CF Veteran
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,245
Likes: 1
From: New Jersey (Milltown, Lavallette, and Wayne)
Year: 1999
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L I6
Best product to do this is VHT Nightshade. You can pick this up at most auto parts stores like Pep Boys, Auto Zone and Advance Auto Parts.
CF Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,992
Likes: 0
From: West Bloomfield,MI
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L, CAI, Edelbrock Breather, Optima Yellowtop
I tinted my tail lights last week with Rustoleum Lens Tint from Autozone. I first started out by taking the tail lights off my XJ and I wetsanded them with 1000 grit sandpaper. After that, I cleaned them with alcohol and a microfiber towel. After that dries, start spraying the lens tint in VERY light coats at about 10 inches away. I applied about 3-4 coats in total, as you should only do enough for the tail lights to appear black. I let the lens tint dry for a half hour and then hit it with two light coats of clear, followed by one heavy coat. After that's done, it'll take about 24 hours to fully dry. You should take some buffing compound to them a week later and polish them up to get a nice shine. I did the same thing to my friend's pontiac G6 coupe and it looks great.
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 807
Likes: 0
From: Lawrenceville
Year: 1995
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L I-6
Originally Posted by 1996XJSport
I tinted my tail lights last week with Rustoleum Lens Tint from Autozone. I first started out by taking the tail lights off my XJ and I wetsanded them with 1000 grit sandpaper. After that, I cleaned them with alcohol and a microfiber towel. After that dries, start spraying the lens tint in VERY light coats at about 10 inches away. I applied about 3-4 coats in total, as you should only do enough for the tail lights to appear black. I let the lens tint dry for a half hour and then hit it with two light coats of clear, followed by one heavy coat. After that's done, it'll take about 24 hours to fully dry. You should take some buffing compound to them a week later and polish them up to get a nice shine. I did the same thing to my friend's pontiac G6 coupe and it looks great.
CF Veteran
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,245
Likes: 1
From: New Jersey (Milltown, Lavallette, and Wayne)
Year: 1999
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L I6
I just wiped them down with mineral spirits to get them nice and clean let it dry and taped off the areas around the lights and then sprayed on three very light coats. Here's how they turned out. Really the only good picture of the tail lights I have.
Trending Topics
CF Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,992
Likes: 0
From: West Bloomfield,MI
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L, CAI, Edelbrock Breather, Optima Yellowtop
Originally Posted by XJnLvilleGA
Wanting to do this soon... Um dumb ? Wet sand= water and 1k sandpaper. And sand it lightly?
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 807
Likes: 0
From: Lawrenceville
Year: 1995
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L I-6
so i went and got the nightshades, and a some 1000 paper for my sanding block. got home cleaned and wet sanded the taillight. let dry......then made sure by drying them some more. taped it off and started spraying. NOW for some reason there would be areas on the lights where the vht would kinda move away from it. kinda looked like the light had herpes or something idk???? Can anyone help, cause this sucks. i think i messed up this one light, thankfully i have the one still on the jeep so i wanna get this right. thanks guys.
before spraying the tint, u need to clean off with some alcohol, & make sure not to touch them with bare hands (skin leaves oily residue that the tint wont adhere to)
re-sand (wet sand) to take off the tint, get back down to the plastic & re-spray
re-sand (wet sand) to take off the tint, get back down to the plastic & re-spray
CF Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,992
Likes: 0
From: West Bloomfield,MI
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L, CAI, Edelbrock Breather, Optima Yellowtop
Yeah that's what I used. You need to clean it off after you wetsand as there's tons of dust left on the tail light. That's probably why your niteshades got herpes
. But yeah, anyways just do what the guy said, wetsand your tail lights back to their original color as best you can and respray, this time prepping with an alcohol "wipedown" lol.
. But yeah, anyways just do what the guy said, wetsand your tail lights back to their original color as best you can and respray, this time prepping with an alcohol "wipedown" lol.
CF Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,992
Likes: 0
From: West Bloomfield,MI
Year: 1996
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0L, CAI, Edelbrock Breather, Optima Yellowtop


