HOW-TO: All-Red Tail Lights (without paint!)
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Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 188
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From: Westminster, Md, USA
HOW-TO: All-Red Tail Lights (without paint!)
i know this subject has come up a number of times, usually regarding people who want to turn altezzas into all-red tail lights. i recently made my stock 90-91 tails all-red by using transparent red vinyl and i think they turned out great. i had already done this on my '04 RSX-S with good results, and i had tried to paint a set of CRX tails with the red stained glass paint, getting less than desireable results.
the only place i was able to find transparent red vinyl for sale online was here, they sell by the foot: http://importequipment.com/sti...t.htm there may be other places but this was the only one i could find in several days of searching.
tools needed:
-glass or all-purpose cleaner
-transparent red vinyl (a one foot sheet was plenty for me)
-razor blade
-mixture of liquid dish soap and water in a spray bottle
-hair dryer
the steps:
thoroughly clean the area where you are going to apply the vinyl. i like to use Spray Nine, but any regular window or all-purpose cleaner should do.
cut a piece of vinyl a little bit bigger than the amber area you want to cover.
spray the area with the dish soap and water mixture
place the vinyl on the wet surface
using your fingers and the hair dryer press out the bubbles and water. the heat from the hair dryer makes the vinyl pliable so you can stretch it around awkward curved areas without wrinkles. if you get a wrinkle, peel back the vinyl, heat it with the hair dryer and reapply it to the surface. this is why you put the soapy water on first, so it doesn't adhere right away. you may need to add more of the soapy water if you are repositioning the vinyl a lot.
once smoothly applied, use the razor blade to trim the excess vinyl. with the CRX lights this is made easy since there is a groove around the amber area. go slowly and be careful not to scratch the plastic. if you have some wrinkles still, it is usually easier to smooth them out after the excess is trimmed. you will probably have to trim again but you will get a nicer finished product this way. when all trimming is finished, use the hair dryer to help "seal" the edges.
then put them in your car!
lit up:
the full effect:
the whole process took me about half an hour to do both tail lights. if you later decide you don't want all-red tails, just peel off the vinyl. you may have some adhesive residue depending on how long you had the vinyl on the lenses, but they should look stock again without too much effort. i've had the vinyl on my RSX tails for the last year and a half and it has not noticeably faded, peeled or otherwise degraded in appearance. hope some people find this info useful
the only place i was able to find transparent red vinyl for sale online was here, they sell by the foot: http://importequipment.com/sti...t.htm there may be other places but this was the only one i could find in several days of searching.
tools needed:
-glass or all-purpose cleaner
-transparent red vinyl (a one foot sheet was plenty for me)
-razor blade
-mixture of liquid dish soap and water in a spray bottle
-hair dryer
the steps:
thoroughly clean the area where you are going to apply the vinyl. i like to use Spray Nine, but any regular window or all-purpose cleaner should do.
cut a piece of vinyl a little bit bigger than the amber area you want to cover.
spray the area with the dish soap and water mixture
place the vinyl on the wet surface
using your fingers and the hair dryer press out the bubbles and water. the heat from the hair dryer makes the vinyl pliable so you can stretch it around awkward curved areas without wrinkles. if you get a wrinkle, peel back the vinyl, heat it with the hair dryer and reapply it to the surface. this is why you put the soapy water on first, so it doesn't adhere right away. you may need to add more of the soapy water if you are repositioning the vinyl a lot.
once smoothly applied, use the razor blade to trim the excess vinyl. with the CRX lights this is made easy since there is a groove around the amber area. go slowly and be careful not to scratch the plastic. if you have some wrinkles still, it is usually easier to smooth them out after the excess is trimmed. you will probably have to trim again but you will get a nicer finished product this way. when all trimming is finished, use the hair dryer to help "seal" the edges.
then put them in your car!
lit up:
the full effect:
the whole process took me about half an hour to do both tail lights. if you later decide you don't want all-red tails, just peel off the vinyl. you may have some adhesive residue depending on how long you had the vinyl on the lenses, but they should look stock again without too much effort. i've had the vinyl on my RSX tails for the last year and a half and it has not noticeably faded, peeled or otherwise degraded in appearance. hope some people find this info useful
Re: HOW-TO: All-Red Tail Lights (jdmazm)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmazm »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yo those are jdm taillights.................
still a good idea.</TD></TR></TABLE>
No they are USDM lights with a UKDM? center piece
still a good idea.</TD></TR></TABLE>
No they are USDM lights with a UKDM? center piece
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Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 9,638
Likes: 1
From: Near Charlotte
Re: HOW-TO: All-Red Tail Lights (onePOINTsix)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EL Vap133 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Good job, that's pretty creative. </TD></TR></TABLE><TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRXBart »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">looks good. nice work. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 6,725
Likes: 0
From: GA
Re: HOW-TO: All-Red Tail Lights (EL Vap133)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EL Vap133 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Good job, that's pretty creative. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I might try it out on my jdm tails to make people frustrated. Plus all red ain't bad at all. Throw some yellow bulbs inside.
</TD></TR></TABLE>I might try it out on my jdm tails to make people frustrated. Plus all red ain't bad at all. Throw some yellow bulbs inside.
Thread Starter
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 188
Likes: 0
From: Westminster, Md, USA
Re: (Jonathan_ED3)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jonathan_ED3 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Looking good man! </TD></TR></TABLE>
that's woman
but thank you and everyone else for the positive feedback. i had posted about using vinyl in another (now archived) thread where someone was asking about all-red tails and a handful of people doubted it, even though i posted pics of my RSX tails that i had already used this technique on. obviously if done right you can get some really nice results!
as for the person who asked if i created this method, i adapted it for use on the CRX lens from the instructions i got when i did my RSX tails. it's a lot easier to do on the RSX because the surface is flat.
that's woman
but thank you and everyone else for the positive feedback. i had posted about using vinyl in another (now archived) thread where someone was asking about all-red tails and a handful of people doubted it, even though i posted pics of my RSX tails that i had already used this technique on. obviously if done right you can get some really nice results!as for the person who asked if i created this method, i adapted it for use on the CRX lens from the instructions i got when i did my RSX tails. it's a lot easier to do on the RSX because the surface is flat.
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