Around my area in Oregon I've seen quite a few TL's with dark smoke tinted head and tail lights but I haven't had a chance to inspect them close up. I want to do this for my own TL, and while I've seen the custom cut diy kits for my 08, I don't really want to do it myself. Are there any shops that offer this kind of service, replacement light covers, or am I stuck trying to buy thin sheets I have to apply myself?


Thanks all in advance.

 

There are three ways you can technically do this, depending on how much time/money you want to spend on this. Fist option is the quickest to do which is to buy an overlay for the headlights/taillights and apply them on. Blue Batmobile in the vendor's section can help you out with that I believe.
https://acurazine.com/forums/sponsored-sales-group-buys-10/blue-batmobile-vinyl-overlays-tsx-3rd-4th-gen-tls-381672/
Next is to take it to a body shop and have them spray the headlights and tail lights with tinted clearcoat to get the affect, it would take some prep and the headlights would have to be buffed after to get them smooth. 3rd option is to crack open the lights and paint the interior black to have a blacked out look, which would be the most labor intensive but imo it is the best way to go. I have my headlights blacked out from the inside and it looks cleaner and like I took more than 5 minutes to throw some tint on there and call it a day, plus there is absolutely no loss in light output from the headlights, which I think is important. If you think that is too much for you heres one in the FS section blacked out https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/3g-tl-headlights-headlight-parts-836642/ or hit up JNC to make you some https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...&highlight=jnc. If it was my car I would do blacked-out headlights and buy an overlay to put on the tail lights.

 

I really appreciate the info. I do want it to look pro quality, though the big thing is I don't want to do it myself and screw it up, on top of not having the time and possibly the skill involved in doing any of it personally.

I do love JNC's work though, the LED lights are very tempting.

 

Yea I feel you, I always wanted to attempt to black out my headlights myself but I didn't have the time to have my car down while I did it so I ended up just buying a used pair on here and installed them. It took about an hour and a half whithout knowing what I was doing to take off the bumper and change everything. But when I pull up to a car with just tint on the outside of the headlight the difference in quality is there, and at night it makes a world of difference. The lights also had ZKW lenses installed in them which are awesome at night, which is another benefit to having your lights cracked open as opposed to just tinted.

 

I had bluebat overlays on my car for a bit, and while I liked the look of them, I much prefer the "properly" blacked out headlights I have now. Even though the application of the overlays seems easy, I was not able to get the Pro look you speak of - they looked fine unless you really got up close. In any case, baking my headlights was something I just couldn't get the balls to do myself...Got it done locally, and I LOVE the look. Here are some pics for your reference...

 

Get your headlights worked on the PROPER and PROFESSIONAL way by getting it opened up and the internals painted black. None of this black tint spray / film nonsense

 

haha i knew this was coming from viet! lol

 

Email me to order .

B@t™

 

I paint for a living and actually do quite a bit of these. I have always done my own rides as well. I just tint my clearcoat with some black base and spray that on. The more coats the darker they get. No need for buffing if they are done properly. Just need to keep the trash out and lay it down slick. If I was in your area, I would tell you to bring them by my shop and I would take care of you but unfortunately you are not. Try to find a body shop that would be willing to do it or find a friend that is or knows a painter at one. Good Luck.

 

Sent you a PM