Tint My Headlights?

[boostaholic]

I'm getting some bodywork done in march and kinda want my headlights tinted. There are a few trucks I've seen with this done and I kinda like the look but I'm not too certain about the light output with the whole headlight sprayed. I really like this denali but I'm kinda up in the air about painting everything, the tails are gonna be black as sh*t tho.

What you guys think?

 

[tast101]

I would say buy a clear headlight cover and have the cover painted, that way if you need to at least you could take it off and put it back on. Looks good tho.

 

[bizuser]

No offense man, but why would you want decrease the effectiveness of something that provides both you and other drivers safety? Don't take this the wrong way. I understand the "look thing," but from where I come from, safety far outways style.

just my $0.02

 

[boostaholic]

Well I just ordered 20% headlight protectors from a place online so I'll see how dark they are. They had a few pictures of vehicles with the tinted covers and you could still clearly see the lens when lit and it didn't effect the headlight output much at all. Anything that compromises the safety of myself and others is not a worthwhile mod but I doubt these covers will diminish any aspect of safety on my truck. I only dropped $60 on the covers so I can always take them off if I don't like them.

 

[road1will]

Well I just ordered 20% headlight protectors from a place online so I'll see how dark they are. They had a few pictures of vehicles with the tinted covers and you could still clearly see the lens when lit and it didn't effect the headlight output much at all. Anything that compromises the safety of myself and others is not a worthwhile mod but I doubt these covers will diminish any aspect of safety on my truck. I only dropped $60 on the covers so I can always take them off if I don't like them.

well, doesn't 20% mean only 20% of the light will pass through, thus decreasing your light output by 80%?

 

[boostaholic]

The output from the headlight is different from the observed level of tint on the headlight itself. I know plenty of people running similar tint on mustangs, camaros, etc that said they didn't notice much difference in the output but mainly the color on their halogen bulb. I'm cool with losing some output because of my hids, I guess I won't know for sure until the kit arrives. The main reason for doing this is because I'm starting to dislike the amber in the lens but don't want my truck to look like a honda with cheap aftermarket lights. If I don't like the look of the film I can simply remove them and figure out an alternative that does work. Trial and error is the only method I have for deciding what works on this truck, it's only money right?

 

[Donkey punch]

deambering headlights by some jeep owners using an oven is common. Unsure if GM headlights would hold up using this method, but it is possible. I haven't done this myself but ive seen it work many times.

 

[boostaholic]

The headlights are a pita and require way too much effort, the driving lights are easy with an oven but I'll probably leave them if the tint looks good. I wish someone made high quality black projectors for this truck but I haven't found a set I've liked so far.

 

[01lt_hoe]

I blacked out my headlights on my motorcycle, they still give off plenty of light... I ordered the tint from http://www.stickercity.com/store/home.php look in the headlight protection section...

they sell tint pre-cut for some vehicles, but if I were to do it again I would order a sheet and trim it after I 've placed the sheet on the headlights, I have a million fingerprints on the sticky side of the tint from trying to get the tint in the right position...

 

[TravisH]

Window tint does not generally stick to plastic. Usually your only alternative is the Insta-Cling tint which would probably melt, or vinyl.

 

[energ]

no wayyy your truck looks sick as hell the way it is, if you black anything, do maybe the running lamps but thats all.. haha

 

[Alex33]

As nice as that truck looks, I could see you running into some legality issues simply because there is no visible reflector, clear, amber or other, on the truck. This would make your truck very difficult to see at night or in foul weather, which could create a safety hazard. The mod def does look different though.

 

[Trend Setta]

I dunno man...I think it would look good with just the turning signals black..but I wouldnt do the headlights...IMO...I think it would be sick during the day, but would suck at night...a friend of mine has some of those covers ur talking about, and you can't see much at night...not quite sure on what % the covers are...but yeah getting that thing ALL blacked out would look really good...

 

[boostaholic]

I'm picking the kit up at the post office tomorrow morning, I'll post pics of a possible $60 mistake but I kinda like the idea of protecting the lights too. We'll have to see how it pans out but all that is left are the tails and those will die in march when I get the body work completed.

 

[boostaholic]

Bastards sent me a kit for a regular yukon, the right kit will be here tomorrow but I'll be working on the jeep all day. Supposed to be 75 tomorrow so I'll try to get them on and take some pics, should be interesting to see what they do to the headlight output.

 

[boostaholic]

They don't cover the entire light so I'm gonna wait until it gets body work and have the fogs and driving lights sprayed along with the tails. Pisses me off but I'm sure the clear ones prevent chipping, just not what I was after since they'd look like crap if part of the headlight was still clear.

 

[donmega]

I used toy model spray paint that I got at hobby lobby that is used for tinting windows on the model cars it was called something simple like transparent black I think. They also sell some paint on ebay I thnk. Anyway I used some 600 grit sandpaper and just barely roughed up the surface and put on alot of coats and the end result in the pic below. Visibility is actually alot better than I expected I have never had problems seeing at night and all the lights have been like that since November and I haven't had any problems with it flaking or anything.

 

[boostaholic]

Damn that looks good, I might have them spray my headlights but I'm kind of apprehensive about painting the stockers since they're perfect right now and I don't mind the amber. I'm for sure blacking the driving/fog/tails as soon as I dig up some cash this spring for the body work.

 

[donmega]

Thanks. I did my tails the same way see my thread Here Altho If I messed up my headlights ebay has projectors for cheap im sure yours will cost a little more so I can see your delima. Here is the ebay stuff you will prob need 4-6 of those for ALL of the lights. The stuff I used was Model Masters Transparent Black Window Tint. If you do it yourself do about 2-3 LIGHT coats wait about 15 mins for them to dry then repeat till they are as black as you want. Another thing is this stuff comes off pretty easy with some fingernail polish remover, I got in a hurry witht my 1st light and it looked like crap so I redid it about a week later but I love the look now.

Oh yeah I did not sand the blinkers or the tails and have had not problems so If you want to try it yourself and u dont like it wipe it off but I suggest sanding the headlights cause they get hotter and the paint could bubble and flake off.