Film tinting is the most popular. Because the tinting process is quite simple. So you can easily tint the headlights on your own, without turning to professionals for help. In addition, over time, a boring or damaged film can also be removed without much effort.
Advantages of film tinting:
Firstly, high-quality application of the film will ensure uniform light transmission, which will meet the required rules and regulations (light transmission is about 90%).
Secondly, the film will protect the headlight from minor damage (chips and scratches). In addition, during operation, a headlight tinted with a high-quality film can be polished.
How to tint the rear light with a film with your own hands?
The gluing process begins with measuring the length and width of the headlight. Next, you need to cut the material of the desired 
size, taking into account allowances (about 2 centimeters on each side). Now you can get to work. First, degrease the lanterns with anti-silicone. In order to easily straighten the material, the headlight must be sprayed with soapy water from a spray bottle. And only then we apply the film on the headlights and form it, using a squeegee and a building hair dryer, from the center to the edges. great attention it is necessary to pay attention to the edges, so carefully roll the film on the bends. Excess film very carefully, so as not to damage the headlight, trimmed with a sharp knife. Next, we warm up and fill the film around the perimeter of the headlight. And at the end of the work, we wipe the film with an alcohol-containing agent.
Removing the film is quite simple. It is necessary to carefully pick up the edge of the film and, warming up with a hairdryer, remove it. It is necessary to warm up so that the film does not tear. After removing the tint, the headlight takes on its original appearance, without any traces.
It is generally accepted that when tinting with varnish, the light transmission is lower than when tinting with a film. Yes, and high-quality tinted headlights with varnish at home is quite problematic. In addition, choosing a varnish in the store on your own, you can get the exact opposite result. Instead of beautiful glossy lanterns, dirty matte headlights can turn out. When choosing this method tinting is best to seek help from specialists. It should also be borne in mind that it is practically impossible to remove such tinting without consequences for the lanterns.
To date, the most common, affordable and effective ways toning rear lights- this is tinting with a film or varnish. Each of these methods has pros and cons, which we will try to understand in this article.
1 Tinted taillights varnish
Varnish is a simple way to tint, with which you can change the color of any part of automotive optics (front and rear lights, turn signals, reflectors, lenses inside the headlight, etc.). The most common colors are classic black and red. It is best to choose varnish from well-known and trusted manufacturers, for example, companies such as Motip, Exoo, Kudo and etc.
Among the disadvantages of varnish are the following:
- Need to remove optics before applying paint
- Reduced light transmission compared to film
- The need to replace the headlight glass in case of refusal to tint
Despite this, many car enthusiasts prefer this method of tuning, as the varnish is more affordable and takes much less time to apply than tinting. rear lights film.
For varnish you must have:
- Masking tape and scotch-brite (matting material with a fleecy base)
- Surface degreasing solvent or soap solution
- Headlight removal tools (screwdrivers, wrenches, instructions)
- Can of high quality paint
First of all, it is necessary to dismantle the rear lights, this procedure looks different on each car model. If for some reason you are unable to remove the headlights, it is recommended to use special covering materials (adhesive tape, newsprint) so that the varnish does not get on other parts of the body. In this case, work should be done more carefully.
This is followed by the preparation of the surface of the headlight (it does not matter whether it is removed or not), for which scotch brite is used. We evenly spray the surface of the headlight with a soapy solution, rubbing it with scotch-brite to a shine. Next, you need to let the surface dry, and then wipe the headlight with a napkin with a special solvent. So the surface is completely degreased, which means that you can start using varnish.
It is recommended to apply the varnish in a dry and relatively clean room at room temperature and good ventilation. Before opening the can, it is necessary to shake the contents properly, then start spraying the paint in even layers at a distance of 30-40 centimeters from the surface, since smudges can be made with closer application. A maximum of 3 coats can be applied. If you do more, the light transmission will be at a critical level, and this is already contrary to safety rules. After drying and tinting, you can also polish the rear lights using a special polishing paste.
2 Taillight tuning with tint film
To tint the taillights with a film with your own hands, you need:
- High quality tint film
- Utility knife and masking tape
- Spray bottle and soap solution
- Rubber squeegee and industrial hair dryer
What film to choose for tinting? We recommend purchasing film well-known manufacturers, such as Oracal, SunTek, Sunglass etc. For example, film Oracal 8300 of various markings was created specifically for tinting optics parts on modern cars.
The most common options colors when tinted with a film - black, red and yellow.
Sticking the film on the surface of the headlight is usually done in two ways, "dry" and "wet". The latter is more efficient and we will consider it further.
For pasting the taillights, attach standard sheet tint film to the headlight, slightly bending it around the edges with a small three-centimeter margin. Next, cut the film along the resulting contour with a clerical knife. Degrease the surface of the headlight in the same way as when tinting with varnish, using scotch brite, wipes and thinner. After that, dilute the soap solution in a spray bottle, remove protective layer from the film and moisten the adhesive base with the resulting solution.
Gently place the film on the surface of the lantern, wetting it with water in parallel and warming up building hair dryer for better elasticity of the material. The film is glued from the center to the edges, while air bubbles must be carefully smoothed out with a squeegee so that the surface is perfectly even. Cut off the excess pieces of the film with a knife, and carefully bend the edges as if under the headlight, gluing them with your hands and continuing to moisten with the solution. Next, the new surface of the headlight should dry. This completes the tinting.
3 Rear light tinting and regulations
As for the legality of tinted taillights, the answer to this question cannot be given unambiguously. The fact is that a police officer may perceive the tinting of the taillights as a violation of clause 3.3 current rules which reads: "External lighting fixtures do not work in the normal and established mode, or are dirty and altered. "Thus, in some circumstances, the inspector has the right to legally require the motorist to remove the tint on the spot, no matter whether a film or varnish was used, and even issue a fine for darkening the optics.
That is why tinting the rear headlights with varnish is ineffective due to the inability to independently eliminate it if necessary. It will be necessary to completely change the headlight glass, and this is already a certain cost. In some cases, there is no penalty for tinting the rear lights, it is allowed to use a slightly darkened film of light gray and black. Then the light transmission may change, but this does not affect the main color, and this is not regulated in any way in the traffic rules. If there is a film of yellow or orange color, then you also most likely will not receive a fine, since the light transmission remains the same as that of standard headlights.
Another way not to get a fine for tinting lights is to contact a specialized service or tuning studio, where experienced craftsmen know to what extent optics can be tinted and what materials are best used for this.
in traffic rules and technical regulations adopted standards and requirements for vehicles that must be observed. Compliance with these rules has a beneficial effect on safety while driving. Changing the design of the car and the addition of any elements contributes to an increase in road accidents. Not the last role here is played by the headlight tinting, which is loved by many car owners, which decorates and gives a beautiful style to the car, combined with its color.
But how does the tinting of the front or rear headlights affect safety, what are the requirements? What is the possible fine for tinted headlights in 2018? Let's try to deal with these questions and get relevant answers to them within the framework of this article.
In order to give a certain design to the entire car, as well as to make sure that the body is combined with all the elements, many people use tinted headlights. True, this has little effect on ride quality and handling, but you can get the delight and attention of others.
For tinting, you can use a special vinyl film or varnish for this. In the first case, vinyl film can be used in different colors. Using a specific color, you can highlight the elements of the headlights or practically hide them by choosing the color of the car body. An absolute plus this decision is the protection of headlight glasses from mechanical damage: chips, scratches and cracks. If the created stylish picture does not like it after a while, or if the traffic police inspectors have questions, then it can be easily removed and peeled off, restoring its original state without any loss.
It should be remembered that the greater the density and transparency of the film, the lower the light transmission of the headlights, respectively, the visibility and visibility from the outside will become much worse, which can affect traffic safety.
After applying tinting to the headlights, it may be difficult to meet with traffic police officers, since its application in most cases is not allowed by the rules. On some cars, standard or factory tinting is used, as a rule, it stands out slightly and practically does not change the translucency. In this case, the law and requirements are not violated.
GOST rules
Immediately it is worth paying attention that in the case of glass tinting, specific rules have been established for the type of film and the place of its gluing. As for the headlights, front or rear, such requirements are not spelled out anywhere.
Based on the adopted regulations on the operation of vehicles, the lights and headlights should only be of a certain color:
in front of them it is allowed to install only the light of three colors: white, yellow or orange. All others are prohibited.
There are also requirements for taillights:
only red, yellow or orange light is allowed. All others are prohibited. It should be noted that the light reversing, as well as the license plate lights must be white.
These rules are the only ones, and they must be followed when tinting headlights. Naturally, if the headlights are tinted in any color that is not related to the permitted ones, then the light will also change. And it will already traffic violation for which there is a penalty.
Possible punishments
So, if a tint is applied to the front or rear lights that does not meet the parameters, then fines will be imposed on the driver on the basis of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
Tinted headlights
If the tinting of the front lights is used on the car not according to the law and in accordance with the requirements of the basic provisions for the admission of the vehicle, then on the basis of articles 12.4 and 12.5 Possible penalties are:
- for the driver - a fine of 3 thousand rubles, for officials- 15-20 thousand rubles, for legal entities - 400-500 thousand rubles. Lighting devices installed on the car are subject to removal and confiscation by the traffic police.
- a fine of 500 rubles if the driver does not have permission to use headlights with a tint film;
- deprivation of rights from 6 to 12 months. Illuminated lights are also subject to confiscation.
Responsibility is provided quite serious, and depending on the situation may be different. It is for the headlights on which tinting is used that the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for 3 articles with various penalties from a milder one - a fine of 500 rubles - to a more significant one - deprivation of rights up to 1 year and a fine of up to half a million rubles for legal entities.
Tinted rear lights
As for the taillights, the Code of Administrative Offenses does not provide for articles specifically for them. If the car has malfunctions in accordance with the requirements for the approval of the vehicle, namely, the rear lights have an improper appearance, then on the basis of Art. 12.5 h.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for a fine of 500 rubles.
According to the opinion of many drivers communicating on the forums, it can be concluded that traffic police inspectors are fined for tinting the rear headlights infrequently, but only in rare cases.
Summing up
When using tinted headlights, the degree of light transmission is significantly reduced, which in many cases leads to an accident. When tinting rear lights, accidents very often occur due to invisible brake lights on. If the driver has this malfunction, then he himself will most likely be recognized as the culprit.
Fines for tinting violations can be very severe. Therefore, before applying tinting, you need to think about the possible consequences.
In this article, we will figure out how to tint the rear lights of a car with our own hands and tell you why this is needed at all. First, let's define the reasons for this upgrade:
- Tuning. Every motorist wants to highlight his vehicle against the background of others in the stream, and tinted lights give the car an exclusive look.
- Headlight repair. There are times when the taillight is damaged - a chip or crack appears on it. In this case, there are two solutions: replacing the lamp or tinting it to hide the defect.
Tinting methods
Rear car lights can be tinted in two ways:
- Translucent varnish in red, black or another color.
- Special film.
- Paint.
It is impossible to say unequivocally which is better - film or varnish, since all headlights have a different relief, on which the complexity of coating depends. Thus, you better choose the tinting option of your choice, taking into account the shape, color and material.
You have probably seen cars with taillights on the roads in body color. Such styling looks very attractive, but we will tell you further how to do it with our own hands.
Almost any headlights, reflectors, turn signals and other elements can be tinted with varnish. You will need a bottle of varnish, for example, from Motip. This manufacturer offers two colors - red and black. You can also use other varnishes, but in this case we do not guarantee the quality of the work.
To tint the headlights with varnish, you will need a special adhesive tape in the form of a fleecy matting material. With it, you need to wipe the headlight glass in places where the varnish is applied. This will increase adhesion. Also for toning you will need the following materials:
- newspapers or film;
- masking tape;
- napkins;
- degreaser.
Step-by-step instruction
You need to act as follows:
- Headlight removal.
- Surface preparation.
- Applying varnish.
- Optics installation.
Prepare the surface with Bright tape. It should be worked with by wetting the surface. You can also use ordinary sandpaper to give the surface of the lantern a matte finish. If you don't wet the top coat, you can create scratches that you can't get rid of with polish.
Next, dry the headlight, remove all drops and pay attention to hidden cavities, from which at an unexpected moment a drop can roll out onto the surface of the varnish. As you understand, water in painting is the worst enemy, so be careful. After that, you need to take a clean cloth and degrease the surface.
Let's start applying varnish. Fulfill this procedure We recommend a room that meets the following conditions:
- dry;
- warm;
- ventilated.
Shake the bottle thoroughly before using, mixing all the components. The varnish should be sprayed from a distance of 30-40 centimeters. If you bring it too close, smudges will appear. The transparency of the headlight depends on how many layers you apply. Do not make the lamp too dark, as this will negatively affect traffic safety, especially on sunny days. Ideally, you need to apply 2-3 even coats to get slightly dark lanterns.
The varnish dries quickly: at a temperature of 25-30 degrees, the drying time is about 40-60 minutes.
After that, you can install the optics on the car, having performed all the operations in reverse order.
Rear lights tinted in body color
You can make such a tint only with the help of a film or paint. The second option is optimal if you cannot find a film in your city that matches the body color.
The preparatory process is exactly the same as before varnishing. In this case, instead of a cylinder with varnish, you will need an airbrush and a compressor.
You will also need to find body color paint, which can even be matched by the code on the plate, usually located under the hood of the car.
If there is no such plate on your car, remove any element from the car, for example, the gas tank hatch, and take it to car painters. To work, you will need about 50 g of paint and about 100 g of clear varnish.
This toning option car headlights only suitable for machines with two-component paints, that is, those that need to be varnished. Acrylic and alkyd paints are not suitable for this work.
Step-by-step instruction
- First, remove the lights or protect the car body with newspapers or film.
- We are degreasing surfaces.
- We breed clear nail polish in a measuring cup. It must be 2K, that is, varnish and a container with a hardener. After that, a little paint should be added to the varnish, but do not overdo it. Less is better than more. Lacquer should be painted over. We recommend using the minimum amount of solvent, otherwise it will not have time to evaporate and may eat into the plastic of the headlight, leading to irreversible consequences.
- Pour the varnish mixture into the spray gun tank and start painting the headlights. It is better to apply the composition in two layers: the first thinner one should simply stick to the surface, and the second layer should be applied in spill, applying gloss. If the gloss does not work out, try polishing the optics.
- We are waiting for the part to dry. Usually this varnish dries from 8 to 24 hours, depending on the temperature. environment and manufacturer.
You can try adding colored xeralics to the varnish. This will make the headlights literally unique.
After tinting the rear lights in about a week, polish them with a special paste. So they will become brighter and acquire a more attractive appearance.
In this article we will analyze the question: How to tint the taillights of a car yourself! Why do it at all? Here are some reasons why motorists tinted rear lights. 1. Tuning. Everyone wants to highlight their car from the gray stream, and tinted lights help to give the car an exclusive appearance. 2. Headlight repair. There are situations when, for example, a stone flies off into the rear light or a crack, chip, or the like forms. mechanical damage. There are only two solutions in this case: replace the lamp or tint it in order to hide the defect, or, in the end, you can do nothing at all and continue to drive with cracks and chips. Although if you are reading this article, then this option (leave everything as it is) is not suitable for you. So let's take a look options for tinting the taillights of the car.
The taillights of the car can be tinted with a film, or with a translucent tint varnish, which comes in black or red. By the way, you have probably seen cars with Are the taillights tinted to match the body color? Looks very cute too. But how to do that? I will answer this question a little further!
Here is an example of taillights in body color.
I can’t say unequivocally that the film is better than varnish or vice versa, since the relief of the headlights is different, and this is the convenience of applying one or another coating. Therefore, choose the method of tinting the headlights at your discretion, based on the shape, the desired color and the material with which you will tint the headlights.
1. Tinted headlights translucent varnish.
With the help of varnish, you can easily tint any headlights, turn signals, reflectors and other details. To do this, we need a bottle of Motip varnish. It comes in two colors, black and red. I do not recommend using other varnishes, because they are not convenient to use.
Even for tinting the headlights with varnish, we need gray Scotch Bright, if anyone does not know, this is such a matting fleecy matter. With its help, it is necessary to wipe the glass of the headlight, in those places where the varnish will be applied. This is necessary for better adhesion of materials. In addition to these two materials, to tint the headlights you will need masking tape, covering material, newspaper, napkins, and a degreaser.
step by step algorithm.
* Remove the headlights from the car. If you do not want to do this because of laziness or difficulties in disassembling, then you need to cover the body parts with the help of covering material or newspapers in order to avoid getting the varnish where it should not.
* Preparing the surface. This is where we need Scotch Bright. You need to work with him "wet", i.e. matting the surface of the headlight, it must be moistened with water. If you ignore this point, then you can make scratches that will later be difficult to hide with varnish. Then it is necessary to dry the headlight and remove all residual water, Special attention give to hidden cavities, from which a drop may fall on the surface of the varnish at the wrong moment, and water in the painting is the strongest enemy. Be careful! Only after that, take a clean cloth and degrease the surface.
* Application of varnish. It is advisable to perform this procedure in a dry, warm and well-ventilated area. Before using the bottle, shake it well so that the components are thoroughly mixed. You need to spray the varnish at a distance of 30-40 cm from the part, if you bring the bottle too close, you can make a bunch of smudges. The transparency of the headlight depends on the number of applied layers. I would not advise making the headlights too dark for road safety reasons, especially on bright, sunny days. Ideally, apply 2-3 even coats, while the headlights will be slightly dark and everything is in order with safety.
This varnish dries very quickly, at a temperature of 25-30 degrees, the drying time is approximately 40-60 minutes.
* Installation of optics on the car. Everything is clear here :) We install the optics in the reverse order, unless of course you took it off at all.
And here is the result of our work! The headlights turned out dark because about 5 layers were applied to them (the desire of the client).
In the same way, the headlights are tinted in red.
So, how do you tint your headlights to match your body color?
You can do this with a film, or with paint. Consider the second option, since it is the most optimal, provided that there are no body-color films in your city.
The preparation process is exactly the same as before painting from a balloon. Only instead of a can of varnish, you will need more professional equipment, compressor and airbrush.
Also, from materials, you will need paint in body color. It can be selected by the code that is on the plate, most often located under the hood of the car. It looks like this:
If there is no such plate, then you can remove any element from the car, for example, the gas tank hatch and take it to the selection of car enamels. Paints You need no more than 50 grams + it will require a transparent varnish, it needs about 100 grams.
ATTENTION!!!
The method of tinting headlights in body color, only suitable for cars with two component paints, i.e. those on which it is necessary to apply also a varnish. Alkyd and acrylic paints are not suitable for this type of work !!!
Step-by-step algorithm for tinting the taillights in body color:
1. We remove headlights or cover car parts.
2. Degrease the surface.
3. In a measuring cup, dilute the clear varnish. You must have it 2K, i.e. the varnish itself and a bottle of hardener. Then, in this varnish, you need to add a few grams of paint. Just do not overdo it, less is better than more. The varnish should acquire color. I recommend using a solvent to a minimum, since with a large amount of it, it will not have time to evaporate, and will eat into the plastic of the headlight, which will lead to very bad and irreversible consequences.
4. Pour all this varnish mass into the spray gun tank and apply it to the headlights. It is better to do this in two layers, the first one will be drier in order to better adhere to the surface, and the second layer can be applied already in spill, trying to put it in gloss. But if suddenly the gloss does not work out, this problem can be solved
5. We are waiting for the part to dry. Typically, such a varnish dries from 8 to 24 hours, depending on the manufacturer and the drying temperature of the product.
Another tip, after you have tinted the headlights, after about 7 days I recommend polishing them with a polishing paste. So they will be even brighter and more beautiful.
For visuals, I have prepared a video from which you can clearly understand car taillight tinting process.
2. Tinted headlights film.
To do this, you will need a translucent tint film. If you want to tint the headlights black, then the film used for tinting will be enough for you. automotive glass. But if you have special color preferences, then you are welcome to the store :)
With the help of these films, you can tint both the rear and front headlights of the car, and doing this without damaging the optics. In this regard, the film has an incomparable plus in relation to varnishes. But of course, there are also disadvantages, which I mentioned earlier.
Apply film to headlights In principle, it is not difficult, it is only a matter of experience. Therefore, before using a color film, buy the cheapest Chinese tinting roll and practice on it so as not to translate high-quality expensive material in vain.
It is not easy enough to describe the process of applying a film to headlights, so I suggest watching a video on this topic.
After reading this article, you should not have any questions about how to tint your taillights. Of the proposed options, you will definitely choose the one that you like :) Well, detailed instructions will help you get things right.
Good luck in your endeavors!
