colouring tail lights?

[avtis96]

hi guys i recently bought a pair of altezza tail lights for my car but im not really happy with them because i got chrome casing instead of black (becasue it was australian and much much cheaper shipping). im just not a real fan of the chrome and would rather it black so i was wondering if anyone knew how i could actually get inside the tail lights and paint over the chrome casing with black, and if so, what kind of paint/materials would i need to use?

thanks!

i have attached a pic for reference

[manolii]

I guess it would be the same as headlights, if you look up DIY for black housing headlights it should be similar but u will need
Matte black or gloss black spray paint
silicone
sandpaper

and maybe a heat gun or oven to split the casing. Im not to sure best to google it

[GU357]

if they are anything like headlights then i believe they need to be heated to soften the glue, then find the seam of the lens and pry it back slowly working across until the lense is cleared.

then as for paint, maybe a Satin Black would do the job, you say you don't want chrome, so I'm presuming you don't want it to be too shiny, satin wont be overly glossy but then you could always try a matte black. heat gun would help you keep heat on it as you move along prying the seem.

mask off the areas that you don't want to get paint on like the red bits, and then use some fine sandpaper like 1500 or 1000 grit to scratch the surface of the chrome and provide a good surface for the paint to stick, if you paint over the chrome it could flake off because it needs a rougher surface.

Or

You could mask off the areas like before and spray the chromed bits with plasti-dip less work and you can peel the dip off later if you prefer chrome (sif)

[avtis96]

Ok thanks guys ill give it a go, any suggestions on how I wound go about re-sealing the case?

[EKVTIR-T]

use sikaflex to reseal and try to do it nicely without using heaps and making drips etc.

[avtis96]

Awesome! well I think I just made plans for the weekend then...thanks for the help guys

[GU357]

Plasti dip or paint? Plasti dip is less prep cans are a bit more expensive but you can peel it off if you want to restore it.

you might also be interested in smoking the lenses. tbh i think the standard ones look best though.

[dougie_504]

Be careful if you go to smoke the lenses. If you're caught out doing it then it'll probably cost you a fine as the lights need to be clearly visible of course.

Otherwise GL with the housing spray. I'd give the silicone/sikaflex a good period of time to dry before you re-install the lights. Probably leave them overnight and try to clamp/weigh down the casing onto the plastic so they don't come apart while it's drying. Otherwise you'll get water in there

[avtis96]

Cheers for the suggestions, I think I might have a go at the plasti dip just so its not exactly permanent. As for the smoking I had a look into it and found it to be illegal pretty much to every extent, anyone know anything more about this, for WA preferably?

[.Dave]

for the housing to come apart some people use the oven (on a soft setting) to heat it up, had a hot day a couple of weeks ago (around 26/28) and i was able to pull the glass off the headlight just with some pry bars, just make sure you only spray the chrome bits on the inside, then if you want to tint the glass, just use some vht niteshade, but please, only a small, light coat

[.Dave]

for legalities, as long as it isnt over the top, so just a light coat so that you can clearly see lights at night

[GU357]

for the housing to come apart some people use the oven (on a soft setting) to heat it up, had a hot day a couple of weeks ago (around 26/28) and i was able to pull the glass off the headlight just with some pry bars, just make sure you only spray the chrome bits on the inside, then if you want to tint the glass, just use some vht niteshade, but please, only a small, light coat

26/28 a hot day? are you in the UK?