Wedge

I installed Bat's smoke overlays on the front side markers, rear bumper light and headlights last week. This weekend, I installed the smoked tail light overlays. They were a bit of a challange, but I got them on. As has been stated before, the curve in the lens makes for an installation in which you have to be very patient.

With the other overlays, I just used a squirt bottle with soapy water to spray on the actual lenses and also on the overlays. I found that having a large plastic bowl of hot soapy water to fully submerge the lower portion of the tail light overlay worked best for me. This made the overlay more pliable in order to conform to the curve of the tail light lens. I also had a hair dryer to keep the overlay warm as I worked it into place and molded it around the curve.

Anyhow, here are some pics of the results of the total installation.

mgl

iTrader: (10)

NICE!!!

i tried to smoke my taillight out, but i've never had the patience to work the overlay correctly without wrinkles or bubbles. looks like you did a wonderful job on the install. wanna install mine???


btw.... nice headlights

Wedge

LMAO....nice headlights indeed. Are you saying you don't feel like bursting into a chorus or two of Rocky Raccoon when you see them now?.......hehe

Sure Michelle.......I will install your overlays and you can install my Veilside front lip when it comes.

I have to admit I invented some new curse words putting on the tail light overlays.......but I just kept at it and eventually things came together okay.

Did you sell those fine looking wheels yet? Someone is going to get a bargain on those.

Blue Batmobile

iTrader: (22)

Damn Dean, looks great. How about more pics of the Smoke Taillight Overlay in the sunlight, I'd Love to add them to my Gallery.

Bat™

Wedge

Sure thing Andy, I will take some pics in the sun in the next couple of days and forward them to you in an e-mail. What size and/or quality do you want the pics to be?

Blue Batmobile

iTrader: (22)

Excellent quality of course, 640X400 pixels is what I usually use.

Bat™

mgl

iTrader: (10)

sounds good. i'll install the lip if you do my taillights!!!
only thing is that theres approx. 500 miles between us that poses as a "slight" problem.






so when are you coming up to san francisco??!!! j/k

but really nice taillights.
(the headlights aren't that bad either )

SHO-TIME

iTrader: (9)

Nice install.... I haven't done mine yet. I'll probably get to it this weekend!! "a large plastic bowl of hot soapy water to fully submerge the lower portion of the tail light overlay" huh... good advice. I guess I'll do it your way.

Wedge

Thanks Michelle Yep, those headlights will grow on ya..... I like the total smoked look.

SHO-TIME.........give the bowl of hot soapy water a try. Of course, once you start the application, the overlay wants to cool down....that is why I had the hair dryer ready to keep the vinyl warm. Don't rush, and if it looks like things are getting out of whack while you are putting it on.....they are pretty forgiving if you want to lift it off (while it is still wet underneath).......dunk it in the water again and start over. The main thing is not to get creases. Good Luck! Hope it goes well for you.

havabooz

when its wet....does it slide around like soap in the shower...cause thats good and bad at the same time

and also...did you fully "stick" the top piece of the overlay before you laid down the other piece..or did you leave it moist just in case?

how long did it take you to do both tails

Wedge

when its wet....does it slide around like soap in the shower...cause thats good and bad at the same time

When you first place the wet overlay on the tail light, yes, it most definately slides around. As you start to form and place the overlay in position, you are pushing some of the water out from behind the overlay. The more water that is pushed out, the less it slides. The water acts as an insulator between the adhesive backing and the lens. The less water remaining the more the adhesive begins to take hold.

and also...did you fully "stick" the top piece of the overlay before you laid down the other piece..or did you leave it moist just in case?

I allowed the top (large) piece of the overlay to fully stick before starting the smaller piece. I did this because I did not want to have to deal with two moving pieces at the same time. I also did it so as to get all the air bubbles out of the top piece before I moved on. If there are air bubbles remaining when the overlay dries and sticks, they cannot be removed by pushing them to the edge because the edge is sealed. If you do happen to have a few trapped air bubbles, the only way to remove them is to get a tiny needle and poke it into the edge of the air bubble, then force the air of the bubble out the pin hole, then flatten the spot with your finger. The pin hole you made (if small enough) will pretty much close up and not be noticeable.

how long did it take you to do both tails

I would say the total actual work time for all four pieces (two per tail light) was around 2 1/2 hours. Much of this time was spent in pushing out air bubbles. More time was spent on the smaller pieces which have to conform to the curve of the lens.

After the larger pieces were on, I began installing the lower pieces by lining them up with the large piece, and holding the edges together with one hand to keep a good seam between the two. Using the other hand, I began pushing and placing the smaller overlay in a manner that would make it conform to the curve while at the same time line up with the bottom of the tail light. In a little while, the part of the small overlay forming a seam with the large piece would pretty much stay in place on its own (provided I didn't use to much force and pull it loose). At this point, I could use one hand to hold a hair dryer and the other hand to complete the positioning process. The last thing you do after having the overlays in place and all the bubbles out is to "fold" the top overlapping edge of the overlay onto the top ledge of the tail light. This is the part of the tail light that is partially covered by the hatch when the hatch is closed. You want the overlay to cover the portion of the tail light that you can see from the top when looking down at the hatch. Folding this portion of the overlay is tricky because creases want to form due to the curve.

The tail light overlay installation is the most difficult one to perform. It can be frustrating at times.........but it CAN be done. You may have to start over a couple of times but each time you have to do this, you get smarter about how to proceed.

Good Luck to all who are installing these overlays. Once you get them on.......you will be happy with the results.

havabooz

wow...first of all ...thank you for the detailed reply

i also wanted to let ppl know that some minor bubbles also dissapear over time when its sunny and hot out so you dont have to be sooooo worried about tiny bubbles....i suspect that its gonna be hard..but im determined....would you say that its impossible to do without a hairdryer/heat gun??

Wedge

havabooz.....

No, I would not say that it is impossible without a heat gun or hair drier. I was doing mine at night in my garage and even though I live in SoCal, it was not warm in the garage. It was around 50 degrees (I know, that is hot to some in the east right now...I came here from Pittsburgh so I know about "real" winter...lol), but 50 degrees was not warm enough to get the overlay to conform to the curve properly. If I had a nice hot sunny day and did it outside, I would not have needed a hair dryer.

If you are at Rutgers, then you are not going to have a hot sunny day for a while. It may be tough if you are installing them in the cold with no heat source. The overlays must remain pliable and elastic when forming the curves.

Maybe you can find a garage to do it in that is heated.

Let me know how they turn out when you do it.

havabooz

my car is at a body shop right now so i will prob do it there...will keep everyone posted..thanks

Blue Batmobile

iTrader: (22)

Cool, looking forward to the pics.

I've never used a hairdryer to install my Overlays, then again, the weather is fairly warm most of the year here in San Diego. I usually apply them in the sun, so the surface is warm as well as the vinyl.

Bat™

Chiropractic

they look great!! Toykilla did his own and i must say they look reall nice, check them out if you can.

Wedge

Thanks Chiropractic! I will definately check out Toykilla's work.

shaneotool

Nice work Wedge - the hairdryer and dumping the whole overlay in soapy water were good ideas.

Maybe I'll try it again in the summer when it's warmer (and I forget how hard it is) HA!

Wedge

Thanks shaneotool! Yep, let your mind forget your last experience for a while, then give it another shot on a hot summer's day. I know you can do it

Blue Batmobile

iTrader: (22)

Dean,

You're a pro now.

Bat™