blacked out taillights

Originally Posted by JaredGraves

Just my opinion....but doing this yourself is suuuuuper easy, I had never done anything like this before but was amazed how simple it was.

I followed the DIY here DIY: of complete FOG LAMP install
Yeah its for a fog light install, but shows how to remove the tail lights.

Anyways, heres what I did in super easy steps if it helps.

1 - 1200 wet sand prep, clean with isopropyl alcohol after.
2 - 2 EVEN coats VHT nite shades, 1 hour apart (dont overdo it!)
3 - left it to dry over night
4 - 1200 wet sand, clean with isopropyl alcohol
5 - a very thin 3rd coat of nite shades
6 - left a further 12 hours to dry
7 - very thorough and careful 1500 wet sand, clean with isopropyl alcohol
8 - thorough rub down (use a fair bit of pressure) with Meguires Ultimate Compound and a microfiber cloth to get the mirror finish.
9 - reinstall tails and your done!

I kept my coats light as I didnt want the full black look and wanted to keep it legal (here in Australia the lights need to be visible from 200m away (approx 600ft) but they are plenty dark still.

I guarantee it couldnt have been done any better by a shop, mine came out mirror perfect, it just needs some patience! Give yourself a weekend to get it done properly.

side note, and again its my opinion, but dont do the entire tail, leave the clear section as it is, to me if the whole thing is black it looks tacky/too much.
Its also very satisfying to do it yourself and see how good the outcome is when you put some love into it. and safe yourself $$ too!