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tinted tail lights and turn signals

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tips000

tips000

10+ Year Contributor
277
0
Feb 22, 2011
kalkaska, Michigan
i was thinking about tinting my tail lights and turn signals on my talon... where i live it is legal if i leave a small section of each light showing clearly... i am pretty sure i can make this look good but is there something i can tint with that will be removable if i want? maybe like a film or tape or something? i dont really like the idea of spraying any kind of paint on them
 
Are you sure its legal? From what I remember, the judge told me that it was illegal in all 50 states
 
it is illegal (in my state) if you can not see them from a certain distance...

MCL 257.686 requires a tail lamp to emit a red light plainly visible for at least 500 feet to the rear of the vehicle.
MCL 257.697 requires stop lamps to emit a red or amber light and be capable of being seen and distinguished from other lamps for a distance of 100 feet, including during normal daylight.

so i figure if i leave a section un tinted it will still be visible and distinguishable...
 
Niteshades. It's a spray on, removal plastic tint.

It's legal in SD as long as you can see it from 500 feet. Got pulled over once for it, it's enjoyable explaing the law correctly to cops. After about 30 minutes and having another squad car drive ~500 feet back I was free to go. And my 3g tail lights are 100% tinted and tinted dark, but they're clear as day with the lights on. It's all in how you prep/tint them.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tyeler18 said:
Niteshades. It's a spray on, removal plastic tint.

It's legal in SD as long as you can see it from 500 feet. Got pulled over once for it, it's enjoyable explaing the law correctly to cops. After about 30 minutes and having another squad car drive ~500 feet back I was free to go. And my 3g tail lights are 100% tinted and tinted dark, but they're clear as day with the lights on. It's all in how you prep/tint them.
Click to expand...

ok so please explain proper procedure
 
I personally just sanded 600 grit. Clean with nail polish remover and a lint free cloth. Spray light layers (I did 6) but make sure to bring them out into light after each layer because they don't look dark until you get them out in the light. I also waited ~5 hours between coats and wetsanded lightly with 2000 grit between coats. Then put 4 layers of clear wetsanding with 2000 after each. Final coat I wetsanded with 2000, buffed with turtle wax rubbing compound, then waxed with turtle wax car wax.
 
ha 6 days without a car... no thanks... im sure it turned out well but i dont have that kind of time... i may still do the nightshade stuff but i want to leave small holes in the tint so that they are still the same brightness just on a small area of each light....
 
I was anal about it, and it was done in 2 days. ROFL

My method doesn't have to be followed time-wise, I just made sure each layer was dried.
 
Use vht nightshade. If the light is not strong enough then take it off and spray a thinner coat. Very easy to work with and get the results that you want/need.
 
ok and just in case the cops feel like being d bags what can they do... i mean i dont want a huge fine because some cop likes pulling kids over in nice cars... what are the ramifications?
 
Just make sure you can see them with the running lights on from ~500 feet. If you cant then fix it, and if you get pulled over and you know they're legal then argue it and have it proved they are illegal. In my case I won on the spot and watched a very embarassed patrol car drive away.
 
yes but im saying if a cop is just so ignorant that he just attempts to write me a ticket... what is the ticket? ho wmuch of a fine if they say they are "too dark"
 
Even if he does give you a ticket you just go in and fight it and prove to them that it is legal. It's not hard to prove your taillights are visible from 500 ft if they are in fact visible.
 
ive had my tails and head lights tinted for over a year, got a 3 inch straight exhaust have never been pulled over. I wouldnt worry about it too much.
 
If they are so bad that they want to write you a ticket right away then they are just assholes. If you get pulled over for it then you have the legal right to contest it at the time. If they refuse contestment or deny you in any other way, the ticket will not be submissable in court. And, honestly, the only thing they could legally give you is a "fix it" ticket, in which case you just got to your local pd station and have then test the light output of your lights. If they pass, the ticket is dropped. If they fail, you normally have 30 days to have it fixed and retested.
 
The tailights on my suv are blacked out after the 3rd ticket i installed one of those led trailer light bars under the rear hatch and plugged it into my trailer harness = no more tickets and still get the look :)
 
lets say i was going to go with the film tint like for windows... what would be an acceptable tint %age?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Are you really going to take the time to pry apart your tails to apply the tint to the inside? Because window tint won't last very long on the outside. If you're that concerned about it, just leave them alone.
 
I have the side markers, reverse lights, and taillights blacked out. Looks crappy crappy crappy. SPRAY PAINT! Some people are idiotic. About to order new headlights, sides, reverse and taillights. If you decide to black em out use VHT. Like Tyelers way, (Tyeler18) take your time, not necessarily 2 days but itll look good regardless.
 
tips000 said:
ok and just in case the cops feel like being d bags what can they do... i mean i dont want a huge fine because some cop likes pulling kids over in nice cars... what are the ramifications?
Click to expand...

How about you go talk to the local pd first instead of asking random people in the internet about the law? Its like window tinting...you will get pulled over. The cops not gonna b a "d bag" unless YOU break the law.
I dunno maybe I'm old but I'm not into putting stuff on my car that gets me harassed. Its not worth my time to "explain" the law to cops or sit court for 2 hours to fight a tint ticket. You can get away with a light tint on the tails as said....but to split hairs over legality with a cop is old news for me. You are clearly young and drive a 95 talon....those two factors already make you a target. Why add to it?
 
<-------- mines are nite shaded.. the only time i got a fix it was when i first got them done.. we went to a picnic in a park with alot of sun on my tail lights and it was pretty difficult to tell if my brake lights were on or not.. damn sun..

but other than that never got hit for it..
 
i've tinted dozens of my friends cars tail lights and not one person has had a problem
 
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