Hey All,

I recently put a Satin Black Berger Panel on my Pewter Camaro and I really like the upgrade BUT the tail lights need to "blend" more with the panel.

If anyone has a picture of their Camaro/Firebird with just ONE coat of VHT night shade PLEASE upload it so I can see how dark it indeed is. I have tail light covers but they are TOO dark almost "blackout" like and I really dont like that too much. I want to darken the tail lights but not BLACK them out entirely.

I have heard that 3-4 coats of VHT will make it blacked out and so but that is NOT what I want. So I would REALLY appreicate anyone who can post there pictures of ONE coat of VHT so I can see the results.

I think one coat would darken it somewhat but not too much.

PLEASE upload the pics if you have them so I can see the results.

Thanks!!!

 

i actually just did this yesterday. ill post pics later today. but one 'coat' can be anywhere from invisible to blacked out. put the lights together on the ground, and spray from a few feet up to make sure its even. then put a few coats of clearcoat on top, sand with 800 grit sandpaper, and buff. if you dont screw up like me, it doesnt take long, and turns out perfect.

 

Good job puttin the berger panel on man!

 

Thanks man! I have been looking for one for a while, and this one just kinda fell in my lap so I jumped on it. Now I REALLY want to get the "by Berger" emblem for it!

After hearing this from you and reading so many other threads and posts about this I am prob going to have to go with some type of tint. RVinyl has a nice "light smoke" tint. I will prob do that BUT cut out the reverse lights so they really stand out!
I would like to see how yours came out tho!
Thanks for the help guys!

 

i used rustoleum, lol. and cutting out the reverse makes them look awesome, but its hard. i decided to try to freehand it, and it worked pretty well. basically sprayed closer, and sprayed the reverse a lot less. but i wouldnt recommend doing it. ive done like 6-7 sets of lights, so im pretty good at getting it even.

 

VHT is junk, get the tint

 

I have heard so much positive and negative stuff about VHT its hard to decide on what to do. But since the tint seems to be easier that is prob what I am going to do. The VHT would prob come out nicer if done right but I dont want to risk losing a set of tail lights over messing it up. The tint seems a bit easier and more definate on what result you will have.

 

hahah you seem experienced with the lights lol. I am prob going to go with the tint though, seems a lot eaiser and more definate about the end result where as VHT can look AWESOME or AWFUL Seems to be no middle ground.

And I cant wait to do them and have the reverse white lights on a satin black Berger Panel with the light smoke tint lights. Should look good!

 

yeah, itll be awesome. be sure to post up pics!

 

there are a few problems with VHT,
1. it's very hard to spray it on evenly
2. it has a dull flat finish so you have to polish or clear it,

It works okay on small things like motorycle turn signals. There is another product sold in hobby shops made by testors, it's called spray on tint or something like that,

I see once in a while tailights that have a very light tint on them, so light that you can still slightly see the lens colors through the tint, I think these look best but I'm not sure how this is done,

I think I'm going to try some tint to get this effect, however I once tried to tint my motorcycle headlight with no luck, although I should have removed the headlight from the motorcycle first which I didn't.

 

Never understood why people would want to darken their lights. Seems counterproductive to me.

 

VHT's look is all about how much effort you put into it. If you're willing to do proper prep work and wetsand/polish and clear, they'll look amazing. If not, they'll be dull. Its not something that magically makes your lights darker and still shiny.
The alternative to VHT is to get a paintshop to smoke your lights for you. They can mix some black in with some clear and spray your lights. They'll probably come out better than anything you could do yourself and as long as they're not using crap paint, it'll probably be better quality too. Of course, the cost is considerably higher for that, but you get what you pay for IMO.

As for masking off the reverse lights, its easier than you think. The reverse light area actually has a slight ridge right along the line you'd want to stop painting, so you'd be able to tape them off easily enough. Its not really something you can see in pics but take a look at the LT1 lights and you'll see it.

 

Is that rustoleum lens tint spray as good/better than VHT? I've seen it in my local auto zones but I've been holding out because I've been looking for VHT niteshade because that's what most people seem to use.

 

VHT isn't that bad- and to those worrying about losing a set of lights if they mess up- don't. A gas soaked rag will wipe it right off as long as it isn't cleared.

Get the even tint you want with the VHT, then clear for the shine. If you already have the satin finish panel the VHT would match pretty close though...worth a shot I suppose.

 

i only ever used rustoleum. i had a beater car, and decided to give it a shot, and see what would happen. and it turned out great for me. just make sure you scuff up the surface a bit first, or im pretty sure it wont last long.