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Blacked out stock tail light

Noodski44

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Tacoma3G Supporter
Tacoma3G O.G.
Joined
May 1, 2018
Messages
81
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Location
Albuquerque
2016 Limited DCSB Auto
Silver Sky
So I wanted blacked out tail lights to get rid of all the chrome on the truck. Not a fan of chrome and I didn't want to buy new aftermarket lights as of yet. I really like the stock light look and wanted to enjoy them for a while since I just bought the truck. But I was struggling to find a black tint that fits the light and I didn't want the black plastic covers that for 1) stick out too much (my opinion) and 2) could easily be stolen if someone wanted them that bad. Now I had the lamin-x yellow fog light tint covers and before I ordered $60 in film I contacted Lamin-x to see why they didn't have 3rd gen precut options available on the website. They claims the contours and drastic design of the 3rd gen lights wouldn't hold the tint very long and they didn't want a subpar product out there. They said they would sell me vinyl they just wouldn't cover any issues and they really don't recommending try. I really appreciate them for not making me waste my money. Great company in my opinion. I also reach out Rvinyl to see they're options, now they do have the cuts but when I tried messaging them I had no luck. I was to sceptical with trying it because I am not the best with vinyl (I failed at trying to wrap my rear view mirrors) and I didn't want to waste $60 bucks or more on their install kit and vinyl. With all that being said I tried local vinyl wrap companies around town and they all said they'd try but no guarantee. Then one vinyl guy hooked me up with a professional auto painter named Will @premium-impressions (IG handle). I was a bit sceptical because paint is permanent but I check out a few of his posts on his page , after reviewing his posts and talking to him I felt good about it. He charged $40 a light if I removed them or $50 a light and he'll remove them. Obviously I removed the 4 screws and took them to him. Took about 8 hours from drop off to pick up.

Here is a little recap from start to finish
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Now that is the stock clear light on my limited. As you can see they don't have the red plastic as its clear. He the added one coat of tinted 2k clear coat that is UV resistant. This process also keeps the lights from fading.
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Here is the second coat that blacks them out almost completely. He said he'd go one more if I wanted but it the will be much more darker. I left them as is because you can't go back.
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Picture of the lights removed
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The blacked out light reinstalled
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Another picture of the stock for comparison
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Picture at night as you can tell they are still bright.

Now I did install JDM Astar extremely bright 2000 lumen 921 912 reverse light. They're like 15 bucks and worth it. Heres the link JDM ASTAR Extremely Bright 2000 Lumens 360-Degree Shine 921 912 90-EX Chipsets LED Bulbs For Backup Reverse Lights, Xenon White https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GGK6QDW/?tag=tacoma3g-20

I'm happy with the end result. And I highly recommend doing this if you want this look. I've heard others doing it themselves and I would say go on ahead of youfeel confident. If not reach out to a local auto painter maybe they can help you out. My end expense was about 105 bucks and about 9 hours without my truck.

I'm thinking of tinting the fronts in smoke. Those are a bit more skeptical because it definitely can affect front light projection. I am running Opt7 Fluxbeam LED heas lights that bright AF but well see what I decided.

Let me know if you have any questions
 
Definitely a good option compared to replacing the lights...cost is always important on my end as well
 
I may eventually go towards aftermarket lights but these just give me that tough look I'm going for.
 
Nice nice came out super dark :D. Tinting clear coat interesting way to do
 
Super creative came out nice!
 
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