How does that nightshade stuff work?

[my96sho]

i was thinking about getting a can for my taillights, anyone have any experience with it, how did it turn out and how easy was it.

 

[1993MTXSHO]

good stuff, I used 1.5 coats because I didn't want it to dark, be careful as it will end up looking darker once its on the car.

EDIT: also check your local lawas as you can probably get a ticket for it too its made for "OFF ROAD USE ONLY"

 

[ty91sho]

i used it on my 91 and i think it looks sweet. it is just about as easy as painting something. all you do is take them out (for it to be easyer, or i guess you could tape them off) and go over with them with some 1000 grit sandpaper to make the stuff stick to it. then lay down a coat, let set up for about 5 mins. then go back and do another coat. repeat as many times as you want i put 2 light coats on mine. then after you get done with the nightshade coats get a good clearcoat on there i used 2 coats of clear so it looks like glass. i wish i would have put 3 coats on. i will do another later sometime. good luck

 

[my96sho]

i think i will end up getting a can, do you have to sand the taillights?

 

[whiteman_01]

and go over with them with some 1000 grit sandpaper to make the stuff stick to it.

Yup, you should anyways. I am going to sand mine (already nightshaded) again to get a smoother coat. I will try the clear coat too.

 

[VADERSHO]

I dont like the way the taillights look after having it on there for awhile cause I think it looks like someone just used spraypaint on it but what if you did the inside of the lens? and where can I buy a can of it at?

 

[whiteman_01]

2 cans for 25 at http://www.modernperformance.com/all/nite_shades_tint.shtml

 

[ty91sho]

if you put a clearcoat over the nightshade it looks thousand times better. it looks smoother than the original tails. i think it looks fine on the outside. you could try it on the inside of the lens. not sure how it would work though.

 

[blacklabel]

I put about 3 coats on my tails. I didn't use any clear coat and they still look glossy even the the picture doesn't really show it. If you want them really glossy, then you will want to use clear coat. I think they turned out excellent. I didn't sand them at all and I don't it is absolutely necessary unless there are imperfections. I just cleaned them a few times with Eagle One aerosol glass cleaner, I think. I highly suggest taking the tails out of the car. It is loads easier. I have done 3 sets of tails, 1 set for my car and 2 sets for friends. I did both of theirs on their cars and they didn't turn out as good as mine did(I had an extra set and i did them off the car). Check you local laws and see what it says. I have not had any legal problems, but since I got an extra set I can always swap them back. You can also purchase them on www.jegs.com Its VHT Niteshades and its $12.99 a can. Heres a picture of my car, not a gen 3 but you get the idea...

 

[Danz13]

try not to put heavy coats, or be careful, as mine ran and looked ugly when it lit up. I used laquer thinner to get it off and start again

 

[Silvapain]

I sanded off the Ford logo on my sidemarkers, then nightshaded and clearcoated them:

 

[ty91sho]

hey guys so i just wanted to let you all know that if you are going to clearcoat it after the coats of nightshade leave it at that. as i just wanted to put another coat of nightshade to get mine alittle darker. so i scuffed it up and sprayed it on. and well it looks like crap now!! there must have been some kind of chemical reaction with the clear being under the nightshades and it made the nightshade stuff lift up and off. as if i put some paint thiner on it. iam mad. now i have to strip it all of and go buy another can cuz i wont have enough to do three more coats. this sucks. sorry i just had to vent alittle.

 

[Funmart6]

So the color of the light still shines through? I would like to do this to my corners, and being that my car is black, I think the corners would blend in very nice.

 

[crixtopher]

I guess I haven't signed on here this week much, just noticed this.

I started my newbie niteshades experiment Sunday. I learned many things.

first , spray with confidence. if you spray like you are afraid to mess something up you will. on first round I had some drips and splatters, then on advice I used 1500 wet sanding paper before clear coat, tried to sand out the drips and I guess I was overaggressive b/c the haze that was left did not wipe away. I found out later that was probally okay just to wipe more . long story short I started all over again and the second round the spraying of niteshades I executed better so it was smooth. b/c of that I opted to skip the wetsanding and I just clearcoated. I guess it ended up being about 3 coats of NS and 2.5 clear. now I've heard of stories of people in VA getting tickets , and mine is dark but damn it looks good. I still have some overspray to touch up but I am very pleased. so my advice would be , if the coating looks smooth, save a step and clear coat.

I also took the time to remove my non functioning trunk lock and finally get around to properly affixing my tiny V8 badge. I got lucky when 5 minutes into my search for something to use to attach it to the inside, I looked in my toolbox and found an anonymous piece that looks like it was made for job !

Funmart notice how easily the red shines through when the brake is applied. Its technically illegal around here but I just don't get it, its red when it needs to be so wtf?

chk it out, scroll down to update 3-29-07:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/777614/2

 

[ty91sho]

chk it out, scroll down to update 3-29-07:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/777614/2

HOLY yours looks really dark. but i love the way that it looks. good work i was thinkin about doing my headlights with one coat and seeing how it looks. you should try and plug in one of yours to see how much light comes through. i think it would be sooo sweet if they had different colors of this stuff. like have blue and bright yellow tint for the headlights. like you see on the endurance races at night. i think that looks sweet

 

[crixtopher]

HOLY yours looks really dark. but i love the way that it looks. good work i was thinkin about doing my headlights with one coat and seeing how it looks. you should try and plug in one of yours to see how much light comes through. i think it would be sooo sweet if they had different colors of this stuff. like have blue and bright yellow tint for the headlights. like you see on the endurance races at night. i think that looks sweet

thanks...yeah I agree, try one coat on the headlights and they might be usable. 1.5 looked really good, just a smoke effect, but I goofed it and had to keep on layering and by the time it looked smooth it was too late. might try em again down the road, use these for one photo shoot first

 

[Funmart6]

Crixtopher those look great. So about 3 coats Niteshades, 2-3 coats clear, any particular brand name of clear? I have got to do this to my tail lights and corners.

Would it be possible to mask off the headlights and apply Niteshades to the outer rim, (not Clear), part of the headlight? I have seen this part of the headlight covered with vinyl, so wouldn't Niteshades work?

 

[crixtopher]

Crixtopher those look great. So about 3 coats Niteshades, 2-3 coats clear, any particular brand name of clear? I have got to do this to my tail lights and corners.

Would it be possible to mask off the headlights and apply Niteshades to the outer rim, (not Clear), part of the headlight? I have seen this part of the headlight covered with vinyl, so wouldn't Niteshades work?

thanks man!

firstly, how are the cops in your area? being that I am a little paranoid about getting pulled over, I might not go so dark next time. I guess time will tell. strictly visually I am very pleased though.

any 'ol clear coat AFAIK will give you the same result.

as far as headlights, I wouldn't personally touch em at all unless you had a backup pair. the ones I used have been sitting in my basement , the original headlights that are scratched and yellowed. I cleaned them with Plastix beforehand and they came out clearer than I was expecting.

good luck, and post your results

 

[crixtopher]

like you see on the endurance races at night. i think that looks sweet

just for fun, not practical though...

 

[Project24V]

My niteshading