Yes, you would eyeball it. That's the great thing about doing a wet install. You get a lot of time to slide the strips around to where you need them to be. I'm OCD about these sorts of things but you could totally eyeball it if you wanted to.
Looks great! ? Thanks for sharing your update with us!I really don't like the XLT taillights, but I can't justify spending hundreds of dollars to replace them when they work fine. So I got tint strips off Etsy to install over the reflectors. This is actually my second install. My first install I winged it and left a sliver about 1/10 of a millimeter exposed. It wasn't obvious but my OCD would kick in every time I saw it.... so I did it properly this time.
Before:
Generic XLT taillight. I can't believe that the BAP guys don't get a delete on that reflector.
RapidTac:
The shop I got the strips from does not recommend a dry install. They suggest using soap and water for a wet install. I had some RapidTac (Think soap and water on steroids for decal/tint installs) kicking around. Super easy to use.
Taping:
Not entirely necessary but if I didn't have OCD I wouldn't be on this forum. Used some of the design details to tape guidelines for the tint install to make sure both sides were aligned identically and properly. My last install I left a sliver of reflector exposed as previously mentioned so I didn't want to go through that again.
Tint installed. Fairly easy process. Spray the taillight, spray the tint while you peel it off its backer, roughly place it, adjust, spray if it starts sticking too early, then squeegee with the included item once happy.
Finished Product:
This is what it looks like once installed. It still works as a reflector if hit by light.
This is what the reflector tint looks like from further back. Looks nice and solid and not like a reflector at all.
This is actually from the first install I did without checking alignment. You can notice the slight curve in the top of the tint strip. But it's a nice illustration of the tint's effects overall. The shop did include tint for the reverse lights, but I found it out of sync with the bed lights in the CHMSL - plus it was a bit much on the dark tint. But to each their own.
Overall, for something like $34 USD ($14 of which was shipping) it was a quick and easy way of making the truck looks a whole lot better. I have zero desire to change taillights now so I can spend my money on something else.
Even the dry install, they were very easy to bend and shape. I went an inch or two at a time and just made sure everything was aligned. They’re very thin pieces so it’s easy to work with. I would have opted for the wet method if it was a single large piece covering more of the tail light.
