Blacked out tailights

stratusphere200 · 09-21-05, 10:00

i am planning on using the nite shade black smoked out paint on my black 02 dodge stratus. i have seen pictures of this and i am pleased with the way they look. hopefully i can apply it the right way to my tailights. any suggestions on appying an maintaining? how many coats should be applied and does anyone know if this is illegal in texas?

kgb · 09-22-05, 03:44

After you coat them wet sand them and polish them and then they will look really nice.

Shiny Lil Detlr · 09-22-05, 03:49

When "He needed killin'..." is a valid defense in Texas, I doubt you'll have problems blacking out your tail lights....

TortoiseAWD · 09-22-05, 05:59

You might check into adding brighter bulbs to your tail light assembly if you decide to proceed. I've been behind a number of cars that were modded that way, and in the daytime, it's really hard to see their brake lights.

And yeah, it's almost certainly illegal, but it mostly depends on local enforcement as to whether it will be a problem for you.

Tort

StudyBuddy · 09-22-05, 06:06

http://www.350z-tech.com/forums/inde...ge&pg=tutor005

Picus · 09-22-05, 07:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shiny Lil Detlr

When "He needed killin'..." is a valid defense in Texas, I doubt you'll have problems blacking out your tail lights....

Haha, dude i just spit diet coke out my nose.

Oh, and on topic - I love the look of blacked out tail-lights, lets see pics when you're done.

Accumulator · 09-22-05, 08:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by TortoiseAWD

You might check into adding brighter bulbs to your tail light assembly if you decide to proceed. I've been behind a number of cars that were modded that way, and in the daytime, it's really hard to see their brake lights.

And yeah, it's almost certainly illegal, but it mostly depends on local enforcement as to whether it will be a problem for you.

Tort

What he said. OK (disclaimer

), I'm a no-fun conservative guy on topics like this, but a) if you get rear-ended you'll wish you hadn't tinted them, especially if it gets noted as a contributing factor in the accident, and b) if it's not cut-and-dried-legal it'll give LEOs an excuse to hassle you-do you really want to get pulled over any time a cop feels like doing it?

I want people to *see* my lights. Even with bright bulbs (and no tint), my wife and I have been rear-ended many times. Ruined two of our best cars....

tensors22288 · 09-22-05, 08:43

it may be illegal but the blacked out tails on the black z on that link look AWESOME

WSUcommuter · 09-23-05, 06:55

If you decide to go ahead- please, by all means- do not half-a** it. I have seen it done wrong on too many cars. Also, like mentioned above- at minimum upgrade your bulbs to brighter ones. I have friends in law enforcement and I intend to go into the academy when I complete my undergrad, and most of us are car guys so unless you *really* get our attention you should be fine. However, they will be a liability if you get rear-ended or pulled over for something else.

I know in the state of Ohio issues like black outs and window tint are secondary offenses and legally do not permit officers to pull you over. However, we do have "probable cause."

Shiny Lil Detlr · 09-23-05, 07:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by WSUcommuter

If you decide to go ahead- please, by all means- do not half-a** it. I have seen it done wrong on too many cars. Also, like mentioned above- at minimum upgrade your bulbs to brighter ones. I have friends in law enforcement and I intend to go into the academy when I complete my undergrad, and most of us are car guys so unless you *really* get our attention you should be fine. However, they will be a liability if you get rear-ended or pulled over for something else.

I know in the state of Ohio issues like black outs and window tint are secondary offenses and legally do not permit officers to pull you over. However, we do have "probable cause."

So pretty much, as always, if you drive a modded vehicle, you'd better REALLY behave while driving it.

Oh, and as far as window tint: here in MI we have an easy loophole that makes it basically a non-issue. If a person gets a prescription that simply states "This person is allowed to have tint on their vehicle due to medical reasons," we're free and clear. All you have to do is go to redicare, ask the doc to write you the script because you are sun sensitive, and then if a cop says something about the tint, slip him the prescription and he can't do ANYTHING to you.

grimmster · 09-26-05, 11:59

The only thing most laws saw about rear lights is that it has to be visable a certain % from a certian distance. I think like 50% visable from 500ft or something like that. Might vari from state. I think most cars can pass wiht one light coat of nite shades, two coats might push it.

Black BB · 10-16-05, 08:32

Heres mine. Never got pulled over.
Stock

Tinted