Just a small change to my rear lights. I wanted rid of the amber spots but am too tight to buy a set of clear spot rears 
. I liked the idea of all-red rear lights, i.e. colouring the amber and reverse spot in red, but wasn't keen to try this on my existing lights in case it went pear-shaped! I also like being different and not following the crowd so this seemed like an idea...
I acquired a spare set of OEM standard pre-facelift rears for £25. They came with red tint film covering the amber and reverse spot, but the film was far too thick to allow any hint of orange light to shine through - even using green bulbs made NO difference - so off it came. I then bought some E-tech red spray tint plus some clear gloss spray lacquer off ebay (£10.48 total) and did the following:
- masked off the inner sections (i.e. covered over the reflective part of the light containing the fog and reverse spots)
- prepped the surface with isopropryl alcohol
- sprayed 3 thin coats of red tint over the entire outer part of the lights (amber spot plus surrounding brake/tail light section)
- I trialled the light after each coat to check for amber shine through: all was good
- coats of tint were applied 10mins apart
- after final coat of tint I applied 2 thin coats of gloss lacquer, approx 15mins apart
- it dried to a smooth, glossy finish
- fitted my french fries from my original lights
Anyway, I'm happy with the results. It's not completely got rid of the orange (I'd need to use more coats of red tint to do that) but it's kept them legal enough - I hope) for safety and MOT. Yes they're not symmetrical, but I wanted to keep a functional reverse light - again for safety and practicality. Not bad for a <£35 project, with lots of tint and lacquer left over
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (1) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (2) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (3) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (4) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (5) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
I've done this write up as I know a few folk have thought about this idea but nobody seems to have posted up a "how to" or actual results of how well/poorly the tint worked on OEM amber lenses. Hope this helps someone else
P.S. Yes I know there's an ///M badge on the numberplate surround but f**k it, I couldn't find a decent quality surround without one (plus my black electrical tape I had covering the ///M bit fell off :lol
. I liked the idea of all-red rear lights, i.e. colouring the amber and reverse spot in red, but wasn't keen to try this on my existing lights in case it went pear-shaped! I also like being different and not following the crowd so this seemed like an idea...I acquired a spare set of OEM standard pre-facelift rears for £25. They came with red tint film covering the amber and reverse spot, but the film was far too thick to allow any hint of orange light to shine through - even using green bulbs made NO difference - so off it came. I then bought some E-tech red spray tint plus some clear gloss spray lacquer off ebay (£10.48 total) and did the following:
- masked off the inner sections (i.e. covered over the reflective part of the light containing the fog and reverse spots)
- prepped the surface with isopropryl alcohol
- sprayed 3 thin coats of red tint over the entire outer part of the lights (amber spot plus surrounding brake/tail light section)
- I trialled the light after each coat to check for amber shine through: all was good
- coats of tint were applied 10mins apart
- after final coat of tint I applied 2 thin coats of gloss lacquer, approx 15mins apart
- it dried to a smooth, glossy finish
- fitted my french fries from my original lights
Anyway, I'm happy with the results. It's not completely got rid of the orange (I'd need to use more coats of red tint to do that) but it's kept them legal enough - I hope) for safety and MOT. Yes they're not symmetrical, but I wanted to keep a functional reverse light - again for safety and practicality. Not bad for a <£35 project, with lots of tint and lacquer left over
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (1) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (2) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (3) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (4) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
2011-03-28 Z4 rear (5) by Ally Mitchell, on Flickr
I've done this write up as I know a few folk have thought about this idea but nobody seems to have posted up a "how to" or actual results of how well/poorly the tint worked on OEM amber lenses. Hope this helps someone else
P.S. Yes I know there's an ///M badge on the numberplate surround but f**k it, I couldn't find a decent quality surround without one (plus my black electrical tape I had covering the ///M bit fell off :lol
