Head Light and Tail Light Tinting - A newer MOD that enhances the look of your car

I know you guys have seen the new thing to mod your car - Headlight and Taillight tinting.  It seems as if we are seeing recently a growing number of requests for headlight and taillight tinting in the Greater Orlando Area of Central Florida.  As the requests have grown, we have started to look into the methods of tinting and have weighed the pros and cons of each method from installer perspective and from the perspective of the consumer. Hopefully you will find this post helpful in making your decision to tint your head lights and/or tail lights.

Types of Light Tinting
The  types of films used by the pro's is actually not a window film at all!  These are the methods I have found for tinting your head lights and tail lights.

Lamin-x makes a paint protection film that they have started to add color to and it is great to add to the front end of your car to protect against debris caused paint chips, and to protect against bugs.  The film is EXTREMELY thick. Most of the shops we have found that carry this material use it mostly as a paint protection film and not for lights.  This film is going to be the most expensive choice and will have the most functional benefits.

VHT Nightshades Painting your lights is most commonly done at home by car enthusiasts.  For the novice installer, this will be the easiest method to complete, but the hardest to make look perfect. 

Vinyl from Oracal is my personal favorite.  This method is the most similar to window tinting and appears to be the most popular on the web.  It is installed with water, a hair dryer or heatgun, and a hard card to push down.  The once the film is installed, it appears to be factory and looks great!  Very forgivable - this film will move in ways you only imagined!  Just when you think you will crease it or be unable to shrink it any further - IT MOVES AND DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE!

Lamin-X

Pros: Do- it - yourselfers can find pre-cut templates directly from the lamin-x website.  Thickness of film is 8-12 millimeters!  That thickness will block pretty much any rocks and bugs that might catch the front end of your Car, Truck, or SUV protecting against lense breakage and/or cracking and chipping.  The film can be removed with ease!  As it protects against rocks and other debris, the film and be scratched and chipped which will need removal.  Cons:The price is generally 3-4 times that of a spray can, and the pre-cut vinyl templates you can find on ebay.   The film is very hard to find except from the website itself.  Installers of this film need to be experienced with THIS FILM.  It is unlike any other films out there.  The thickness does not allow for a lot of stretching.  From our experience, once installed and visibly perfect - after sitting for an hour or two, small "fingers" (bubbles that look like a long thing  finger starting from the edge of the film)  These small fingers will not ever go away, and will cause nothing but trouble in the future. (These will not appear on every car, but the bigger the stretch the more likely this will happen.)

Night Shade:
Pros: Easy to install yourself!  All you need is a few materials including tape, spray paint and eyes!   This method is pretty simple to get to look good. Cons: The hardest part about this method is making it look uniform and even.  The lights once finished will have dark spots from time to time where spray concentration makes once section darker than others and will be visible both when the lights are illuminated and when they are not.

Vinyl:

 This is example of the Vinyl application of tail light tinting.  The finished product looks like factory.  Small bubbles will be visible at first, but just like with window film:  all bubbles and water spots will disappear. 
Pros: Clean install looks factory!, More affordable alternative to the Lamin-x with a better look. Protects lights against flying rocks and debis and can help to prevent cracks and chips. Not dark enough?  Go darker with just another layer - the second layer takes 1/5th of the time!!  The film seems to stick to the first layer and form to the curves with very little

difficulty and in no time at all!   Cons: Difficult to self install.  Difficult to find a capable installer.   Thin film can get scuffed and chipped from rocks and debris. (can be removed and reinstalled without damage to the light) 


The legalities of headlight and tail light tinting is a risk.  Having your lenses covered is not legal and can lower your visibility at night due to dimming your lights.  It is recommended for show cars and other non-street cars and for the owners of the vehicle to have installed with the knowledge that these films are not legal and can result in a ticket from your local police department.

We hope this helps you in your search for head light and tail light tinting.  Please let us know if you come along anything useful to others regarding this topic!

Orlando Window Tint Specialsits
www.OrlandoWindowTint.com
407-628-TINT(8468)
171 Obrien Rd
Casselberry Fl 32730