smoked tail lights

[grafxxx]

first part- i got a customer looking to smoke out taillights on a 06 corvette wondering if any one done this and what paint to use.
second part what would you charge for this

[stickerguynyc]

I sell the paint for $25 a small can. and also have transparent vinyl... install for a simple small tail light i charge $80. it take me like 20 min to do it

[Sign_Boy]

Why noy buy them smoked out after market?

[grafxxx]

I sell the paint for $25 a small can. and also have transparent vinyl... install for a simple small tail light i charge $80. it take me like 20 min to do it
that is what i was thinking using transparent vinyl what vinyl do you use? i was looking at the gmi smoked grey.. and the $80 you charging will that be ok to charge for a vette?

[grafxxx]

Why noy buy them smoked out after market?
i wrapped my taillights like 6 years ago for my corolla when i was looking to buy tail light covers and the guy was driving behind me, and he thought i painted them. buti f i can get the job i'm not gonna tell him to spend his money else where... lol

[Ken]

WHY?
I dont get it...?
Smoke the tail lights?
Let me see a photo..
Ken

[Bogie]

Really... Is this the sorta thing that could get one hassled by the po-po?

[Ken]

OK..I haven't seen it yet..but..this is like..you are James Bond..and your tail lights are incognito..and your license plate revolves to 10 different numbers. And you have an oil slick that shoots out the back of the Aston-Martin..
Oh , that's uber-cool..I really NEED that. Shit..I forgot the smoke-screen...
lol
Ken

[blackicefx]

wow, grafxxx!

I did the same thing years ago on my corolla, my civic, etc. I had been selling custom tail light covers for years. I usually charged $70 for a simple tail light (1 piece housing on both sides), $110 for two piece tail lights (4 pieces total), and usually threw in a 3rd brake light custom cover for free (lettering, image, etc). Install usually ran about $45/hr. Typical install time was 1 1/2 hour. You should have seen the wacky designs people wanted... dolphins on their tail lights, etc.

Anyway, recently most people are using spray tints for their tail lights. The call for vinyl wraps have pretty much gone the way of the old Honda CRX's. The tinting process is usually 1 coat, allow to dry, sand with fine sandpaper, clean, 1 coat, dry sand, 1 last coat.. carefully applied, because if it doesn't dry smoothly, you will need to sand again which will dull the tint.

Honestly... I'd prefer to use vinyl on the corvette tails since they're simply embedded circles... no compound curves to worry about.

If you REALLY want to just get tint film, you can contact Lamin-X... they make custom cut tail light/headlight/foglight vinyl covers. They currently have a kit for the C5 and C6 tail lights.

*if naming this company violates any forum rules, i apologize and request that this post be removed*

Matthew
BlackIce Graphics

[GK]

VHT Nightshades makes the best stuff I have used to date. Do one light coat, let it cure, go back and hit it again with darker coat. Anything more than 3 coats on most tailights though will kill its 500ft visibility requirement. 2 coats looks black anyway when the lights are off and looks perfect when they are on. I ordered it from Summit because no one stocks it locally here.

[GK]

oo be sure to clear coat it. I used a SATA HVLP gun to put some PPG clear on though, not a spray can -- i am sure it would hold up well, just prep it carefully.