VHT nightshades ruined my day

Decided to tint my tailights this weekend. Looked up the thread "how to tint your tailights the right way." Followed it to a T (except for using gasoline to clean the light)

After putting on the nightshade and cleat coats, I noticed a bunch of little cracks. They were extremely noticeable when lit up. I began wet sanding the paint and nightshade off, thinking that the nightshade didn't stick well (causing a cracked look...)

But I got the nightshade off, and all the cracks were still there. Tailights ruined.

Anyone had a similar problem. Calling the company tomorrow

 

Has anyone*

 

we need pictures

 

Yup. one of my friends did it to his third brake light and parking lights. got all cracked like what you said.

 

Damn that sux bro.
Dont know exactly how the procedure goes, but whats wrong with the regular old autozone spray on tints? (Lens tint i think they are called... iirc)
Got em on my tails...
No problem whatsoever.
No cracks no fading, and still looks clean.

 

Also cheap.
I think it cost me $5???
Cheapest and fastesy mod ive done. Lol

 

thats what i was about to say. that happened to me my first time trying my 3rd brake light. i didnt sand enough and coated it too thick. cracked like hell

 

Did you clean it with gas? Gasoline is a nasty solvent and eats most anything.

 

Too bad the lights are ruined. I'm guessing the gasoline on the plastic lens covers might have something to do with the cracks. From what I've seen gasoline will melt or damage certain plastics. Good luck finding a fix.

 

^ yep...i've had the same thing happen useing too heavy of a coat of spray paint. Also, too much clear coat will do the same thing to the paint underneth...better off with a few light coats than one heavy one.

 

I'm guessing not enough wait time to let the VHT tack before adding another coat.

 

I have a spare set of tail lights. Where in California are you?

 

I'll upload pictures tomorrow.
I did not use gasoline to clean the tailight. I did not put a thick coat on.

I think it was the wait time as mentioned above. I did 1 coat with VHT, them waited 20 mins and did 3 clear coats.

Nonetheless, how will this cause cracks in the plastic? I can understand the paint causing a cracked look. But cracking the actual plastic?

 

I actually already bought another pair. Did the process a little differently, turned out A LOT better

 

Extremely helpful.

 

must have been some sort of chemical reaction causing the plastic to crack. what did you use to clean the tail lights off with?

 

I can almost assure you you put too many coats on or applied it too thick. Also I would NEVER in a bazillion years use gasoline to clean ANYTHING. It's way too harsh for plastic. Next time just use rubbing alcohol.

 

Simple green. Never would've thought that could cause a chemical reaction

 

I used one light coat of the VHT. Held the can 6 inches away, passed over the tailight with 6 sweeps, no overlap. I did not want the lights to be dark at all, just a light tint.

I didn't use gasoline to clean the light.

 

why aren't all you tinted tail lite guys near me? I need some new front end parts and could use some extra cash. Nothing like rear ending someone and having them be the ones at fault for once.....