HawkI

I'm going to order some tail light tint/covers from lamin-x and was wondering what would look best. I have CBP and was thinking of going with either gun smoke - 12%, or smoke - 17%. I can't decide. What do you guys think?

Pete2010

Some of the pics of FAYH t.l.'s has the Red tint, personally I think that looks awesome, and am considering doing that to mine as well. Check the photograph gallery for some pics.

HawkI

Yea I've seen the red tails that FYAH TL has and they do look awesome. I guess it was just my original plan that I was going to go with the gun smoke or smoked look, but seeing those red tails has me second guessing myself. Like I said I can't decide lol.

NyAcUrATL08

If I had a black 4G, I would get these tail lights by AckTL05. And then I would smoke the rear reflectors to match the tail lights.

https://acurazine.com/forums/picture...ictureid=34411

Beeper27

I agree. I have a black TL and I really like FYAH TL's lights, but I like the darker look more.

sKAyEm

I applied Lamin-X Gunsmoke on my CBP tails and Rear reflector, and Carbon Fiber on my rear trim.

I debated between Red film, Charcoal and Gunsmoke, and I am really happy that I chose Gunsmoke.

Below is the link for the thread that I posted with the picture.

https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-photograph-gallery-296/my-cbp-lamin-x-tail-carbon-fiber-rear-trim-792434/

I have applied the gunsmoke on my reflector after this post because they sent wrong size customized cut for reflector.

HawkI

Looks good. I want to achieve that look thats not too dark or blacked out, but at the same time definitely has a tint to it. Do you find thats the case w/ your gunsmoke? It looks that way from your pics, but I see on your thread you said the pics look darker than in person. Also, can you post or PM me w/ a step by step process you used. I've never done it before and yours look like they came out great.

@NYacuraTL08 those tails look sweet. Looks like the trim in those were painted though. I like it. Maybe down the road I'll hit up JnC and let him do his magic and get some head light paint work done at the same time.

sKAyEm

It gives many different darkness based on the intensity of sunlight. During the day, when it reflects direct sunlight, it looks slightly lighter. When it is dark or cloudy, it looks little darker and sometimes it looks like charcoal dark.

I posted this thread couple days after I applied my film, and I found out the color of film changes slightly after 2 weeks. Lamin-X guy said it is normal. Right after the application, my tails look little bit lighter than the picture, but now I think the actual color and the picture is pretty much identical.

The process was extremely simple. I am really new to car mod stuff so I expected for some struggle, but the application was a piece of cake.

The film is really thick so you don't have to worry about the crease. Also, I didn't even needed the hot gun or the dryer.

The process was...

1. Make a liquid solution - The spray bottle Lamin-X gives you is extremely small that after 3~4 sprays it will run out. So I used my wife's sprayer and filled with 1 pump of shampoo and full of water.

2. Clean the tails well - some said use only water and a towel and others said use the liquid solution you made. I used the liquid solution and a microfiber towel to clean my tails twice.

3. Spray the solution onto your tail and film

4. Put the film on your tail and adjust the fitment - Even the customized cut is not exact size. You will have to trim it out. So I adjusted my film in a way so the lateral side of tail and film fits and I trimed the medial side of film.

5. Squeeze out the water - Once you adjust the film, start squeeze from the middle to away. While doing so you should stretch the film to reduce the bubbles. Usually, using a hair dryer while stretching is really effective, but I could stretch and apply on flat and curved surfaces even without the dryer. Lamin-X is really thick and stretchable, which makes it really easy to work with.

6. Trim out the film - When I did my right tail, I didn't really stretched the film so I just trimmed out little bit. But when I did my left tail, I stretched the film as much as I can, and I had to trim out a lot more than the right. Whether you stretch or not, the appearance is same but I had less bubbles when I stretched the film more.

7. Clean the film with liquid solution - I think the surface of Lamin-X film is really sensitive so only use microfiber towel to clean it.


When I did mine, it was about 85 degree outside. So maybe that's why I didn't have to use the dryer. There is a temperature range that Lamin-X will work best so if the weather is cold, you might need to use the dryer.

Only struggle I had was that the customized cut for rear reflector, which comes together with tail films are not correctly trimmed out. I had Lamin-X send another pair for reflector but I received same size. The film fits the front reflector for non SH-AWD under the headlamp instead of rear reflector. So It took me some time to trim out the film for reflector.

For couple days after the application, the film looks little bit purple, but it changes after about a week. Also, all the bubbles will disappear in 2 weeks.

I hope this helps you. If you have any questions, just let me know.

HawkI

Thank you very much for that guide. I plan on doing this in a couple of weeks. From the sounds of it gunsmoke is a good choice.

sKAyEm

Yes!! I love Gunsmoke.

BTW, are you planning on painting the trim?

I purchased a cheap Carbon Fiber Vinyl at Ebay just to test how it would look with gunsmoke, and that CB is still on my trim. Looking really good.

So if you are not going to paint the trim, CB could be your another option, which is easy to install and very affordable.

HawkI

Yea I'm planning to paint the trim and the grill. I plan on doing the tail lights, and painting the trim and grill around the same time in a couple of weeks. I'm excited to get it done.

FYAH TL

HawKI, I did alot of second guessing myself before moding my tail lights. One thing was sure i had to do something to get a clean look when viewing from the rear......They are so many different colors(red, white, silver etc.) in the OEM tail lights IMHO it makes the rear look to busy.

Gunsmoke, Charcoal, Red tint tails will all look better than the original tail light. But keep in mind some folks that have tried the dark tint tail lights had them removed because of problems with the Cops.

If you're going for a blacked out look on your ride then gumsmoke, charcoal and the darker tints will look good.
If you're going for a clean, elegant look then the red tint tails matching the red reflectors on the bumper looks clean and nice.

In the end it depends on what look you're seeking and personal preference. Good luck on whatever option you choose.

HawkI

Thanks for your perspective. Like you I'm having trouble deciding and keep second guessing myself. One day I'm thinking gunsmoke and the next I'm thinking the red lol.

I like some of the cars I've seen with the dark look, but at the same time I'm not really trying to go with a "blacked out" look. The blacked out look looks good and I like it, but it's been done and I'm leaning towards doing something else. I think it might come down to whatever I'm feeling like when I actually hit the order button online.