[ddarkslayer]

so today I removed my tail light covers to get to the housing and realized how dirty they where. I decided to clean them off. the inside housing is gray and I had the idea to spraypaint them chrome so they reflected better. I bought the silverstar tail light bulbs to brighten them I dont see that big of a difference. but since I spray painted the housing chrome their much brighter. does anyone have experience with the silver star bulbs and regular conventional bulbs?

[ddarkslayer]

one last thing the reason I am brightening my taillight is so I can tint my tail lights.

[sk1nner]

you can get LED's that will be alot brighter. they cost though. sorry i have no experience with the silverstars

[WhiteMamba]

I have the red LED's with the tinted covers from 50resto and they work great.

[ddarkslayer]

but I hear the LED bulbs don't do well in the daylight and they act like laser pointers

[thrasher!]

well i dont know anything about the bulbs but i do know you can use that night shades stuff. its like spray paint but its semi transparent. You just do a layer at a time. It will make them dark without making them too dark and when you hit the brakes it still shows through just fine. Cheap and easy plus if you mess up just sand it off.

[95tbirdv8]

The silverstars aren't that much brighter than normal bulbs, and their expensive. I got my truck lights smoked at a body shop. Their very dark, but let the light out almost perfect. I think the nightshades leaves the lights dull.

[ddarkslayer]

well the body shops do use VHT nightshade they just do more prep work before spraying like using 2000 grit sandpaper and scraping the tail light housing. then they use paint thinner then wipe it away. then they spray the first coat of nightshade. then they wait. 5 mins to do the second coat. then they use the clear coat to protect the nightshade.

[ddarkslayer]

the silverstar bulbs I bought where 2 bucks more than the conventional ones

[sk1nner]

LEDs do not act as laser pointers. some cars are now coming OEM with LEDs.

[95tbirdv8]

Originally Posted by sk1nner LEDs do not act as laser pointers. some cars are now coming OEM with LEDs.

When there oem their very bright, but if you get the replacement bulbs their not very bright because they don't reflect as much off the housing. I've tried them but you just see a circle of lights. I only think leds are worth it for the reverse

[95tbirdv8]

I just remembered you can also get them tinted, like window tint but thicker. That's how I did it on my bird, and the lights are real bright

[flyin ryan]

don't have a problem with my night shaded lx tails and oem bulbs... you just can't put too many coats on because it'll be too dark.

buy one lens from a junkyard and do one coat at a time until you get it as dark as you want with enough light to make you wet between the legs

[fogged306]

I've done both, nightshades looks far better if done right. You can fuck up nightshades pretty good if you don't know what you're doing. I also have LED taillights with black lenses, it really depends on the style of the LED bulb. If all the LEDs face straight out the lens, then no light gets reflected off the housing. I can't tell you how many people have told me my lights are out on rainy days where i had my park lights on. If you go LED and they're all facing out back, make sure they're very bright LEDs.

[ddarkslayer]

Originally Posted by sk1nner LEDs do not act as laser pointers. some cars are now coming OEM with LEDs.

the housing on the new cars are shaped for the leds so they all point out. the shape of our housings are ment for conventional bulbs the closest LED that I can think of are the ones that spread out

[ddarkslayer]

I used nightshade and I've fucked up pretty bad on them I smoked my headlights. all I did was wipe a little gasoline on a rag and wiped it away

[Smirnoff]

Originally Posted by ddarkslayer well the body shops do use VHT nightshade they just do more prep work before spraying like using 2000 grit sandpaper and scraping the tail light housing. then they use paint thinner then wipe it away. then they spray the first coat of nightshade. then they wait. 5 mins to do the second coat. then they use the clear coat to protect the nightshade.

if your body shop uses night shades go find a new one...a body shop should use clear and tint it black

[95StangMX]

Originally Posted by Smirnoff if your body shop uses night shades go find a new one...a body shop should use clear and tint it black

+1

[95tbirdv8]

My friend owns the body shop that did mine. Used paint mixed with clear. Only bad thing is I had to buy spare taillights to pass inspection here in Texas.

[ddarkslayer]

Inspection? I've only heard about smog