DIY - All Red Taillights

[RCWells]

It would be pointless effort.

Uh, why? It seems if you painted them from the inside, the outer finish would of course not be altered, thereby creating a more polished look, no?

But it would still be amber, thus defeating the purpose.

Exactly. It doesn't work like you think it's going to. You have to cover the amber color from the outside.

k

[dgspikes]

i was planning on doing this to my car also. quick question for who's done it so far, can you notice a difference when you hit the brakes, like when they are lit up, if so you think its a bad idea to maybe do 1 coat on the whole thing, and 2 coats on the amber part? dan

[bimmerphile]

i was planning on doing this to my car also. quick question for who's done it so far, can you notice a difference when you hit the brakes, like when they are lit up, if so you think its a bad idea to maybe do 1 coat on the whole thing, and 2 coats on the amber part? dan

you mean people will confuse the blinker for the brake light?

[Sean]

The turn signals light up only when the turn signals are on. And, since they blink, I really don't think they'd be confused. Also, many cars have red turn signals anyway - or, at least only one light, meaning when the signal on, there's only actually one brake light (and maybe one more if there's a third brake light), I hate tail lights like that. :?

[Bhadole]

i was planning on doing this to my car also. quick question for who's done it so far, can you notice a difference when you hit the brakes, like when they are lit up, if so you think its a bad idea to maybe do 1 coat on the whole thing, and 2 coats on the amber part? dan

If I understand you right you are concerned that the turn signals coloring won't match up right to the rest of the brake light. In my personal experience I only painted the amber part. (You can follow this tech article http://www.e30zone.co.uk/techtint.asp) On my first go at it I matched the amber part to the rest of the light as best I could, put them in, and then found that when light up the turn signals still showed through a bit amber. So I added an extra coat, as a result it is a bit darker during the day. But at night when light up it matches perfectly. Here are some pics during the day...note the slight darker turn signal coloring:



Edit: this is with Testors Ruby Red Flake by the way


If you want everything to be perfectly matched then you might want to follow this tech article....it's a bit different: http://www.e30evolution.net/Articles/tails.htm

Hope that helps.

[KenC]

A better write-up, in my opinion:

http://e30.bmwdiy.info/red-tails/index.html

[bimmer8604]

damn i need to redo mine, as mine are faded pretty badly. Is just paint thinner going to be my best bet at getting it off? or is there stronger stuff that i can use?

Kyle

[KenC]

damn i need to redo mine, as mine are faded pretty badly. Is just paint thinner going to be my best bet at getting it off? or is there stronger stuff that i can use?

Kyle

You can try goof-off. But acetone will probably work just fine, but apply it and wipe it off quickly as acetone dissolves plastic (a bunch of my bic pens are melted on one side from using it in chem lab and having them roll into it, lol).

[Bhadole]

damn i need to redo mine, as mine are faded pretty badly. Is just paint thinner going to be my best bet at getting it off? or is there stronger stuff that i can use?

Kyle

You can try goof-off. But acetone will probably work just fine, but apply it and wipe it off quickly as acetone dissolves plastic (a bunch of my bic pens are melted on one side from using it in chem lab and having them roll into it, lol).

Agreed. I used acteone to redo one of mine. Worked just fine.

[dgspikes]

badhole, you understood my question exactly, i didnt think enough that they wouldnt be lit at the same time. I think im going to do it the same way you did, it came out pretty good, and ten times cheaper than buying new lights. -dan
ps. good looking exhaust.

[LikeCDoos]

how do you guys think red tails would look on my car. I think it might be too much red. Maybe not when I have my euro plate filler installed. Opinions welcome...

[Mystikal]

I posted a pic with my car in it. I'll have a shitload of better ones this weekend, there's another 50+ car maXbimmer gathering going on and my coilovers will be on.

[MikesJo]

Frusted monkey are you from Richmond BC as in Canada! Join up on bimmerclassics.net also, we're all E30's from vancouver and the surrounding cities, ie richmond, burnaby :).

Hey you know what, if you are from Richmond BC, we can get together and do the tails together! :). I'm in Richmond as well.

[FrustratedMunky]

Frusted monkey are you from Richmond BC as in Canada! Join up on bimmerclassics.net also, we're all E30's from vancouver and the surrounding cities, ie richmond, burnaby :).

Hey you know what, if you are from Richmond BC, we can get together and do the tails together! :). I'm in Richmond as well.

Oh woah! Small world! Yeah, I'm from Richmond BC Canada, thanks everyone for all the replies. I'm glad I didn't decide to do something stupid like buy ones for $350 american *phew*. MikesJo - I'll join that club, that's awesome to hear, I didn't think there were any E30 clubs local. Thanks dude :)

- Chad

EDIT: Oh, for those who have done this already on their E30, how does it hold up to rain and car washes? How long should I expect the paint to last on the taillights before I must redo it?

[MikesJo]

Frusted monkey are you from Richmond BC as in Canada! Join up on bimmerclassics.net also, we're all E30's from vancouver and the surrounding cities, ie richmond, burnaby :).

Hey you know what, if you are from Richmond BC, we can get together and do the tails together! :). I'm in Richmond as well.

Oh woah! Small world! Yeah, I'm from Richmond BC Canada, thanks everyone for all the replies. I'm glad I didn't decide to do something stupid like buy ones for $350 american *phew*. MikesJo - I'll join that club, that's awesome to hear, I didn't think there were any E30 clubs local. Thanks dude :)

- Chad

EDIT: Oh, for those who have done this already on their E30, how does it hold up to rain and car washes? How long should I expect the paint to last on the taillights before I must redo it?

Tell me when your gonna do it, i'll do it with you :). Exams are almost over :D. We can split the cost on some of that candy apple red too! Do you go to school? If so which one :P.