Adding Chrome Accents To Your Truck

Today I will be doing something a bit different from the norm.  I wanted to use this post as an opportunity not to explain how to install chrome elements, but to discuss their uses.

Please don't be offended by any of this. I don't think that I know it all or that my opinion is any better than the next guy. These are just my thoughts and opinions.

I was driving down the road last week and I saw a charcoal colored 2005 Chevy Silverado 1500 for sale. This was a clean looking truck and looked like the owner took good care of it. The only problem was that this truck had every cheap stick on chrome accessory on the market.

I am not saying that there is anything wrong with these accessories, I even have a few of them myself. What I saw wrong with this was the overcrowding and overuse of these accessories. This vehicle in particular just looked ugly to me with the big, flashy fake out chrome vents above the front wheel wells, the multiple packages of chrome rubbers tripping, etc. Just because they make a chrome piece to accent a certain area of the vehicle doesn't mean it will look good installed.

I  guess the moral of this story is to use the accents in moderation. Too little and you may feel you are lacking something, too much and your ride will start to look tacky. It is all about finding the right pieces to obtain a nice, clean, natural look. If you feel that you need every chrome accessory on the market, purchase them all, and love the way it looks, then all the more power to you because in the end it is all about what you like.

When it comes to the chrome rubber stripping a good rule of thumb is only use one package. I see tons of people out on the road that have, in my opinion, way overused this product. I have seen both cars and trucks where the owners have found every nook and cranny they can shove the stuff onto and it just looks gaudy. The best approach is to find somewhere subtle yet noticeable to place the stripping. It is very easy to get carried away with this chrome stripping.  This is a product I have purchased and used on my Silverado. I originally decided to place it along the edges of my rain guards, which I did. When it came to the leftovers I couldn't stop trying to find a place to fit them in. However, I didn't want to just put it anywhere.  I decided to do the front and back of my hood. I like the way that it instantly gave the front end a different look, but it was hard to notice what changed.

Here are some photos of my chrome accessories. They include the rubber stripping, the door handles, and the gas tank cover.

Well, I hope I didn't bore you too much with this one. Now it's back to the regular how to's for a while.

Since I bored you all a bit I think I may skip ahead to one of my more recent modifications that I think many of you will like. Let's light up the night with some fog lights behind the grille!

How to Make a Custom Third Brake Light Cover

After tinting the windows in my Silverado I had multiple scraps of tint laying around. I tried to put them to good use and come up with something different. I wound up making a custom third brake light cover...

Warning: There is a chance you will scratch your 3rd brake light while performing this modification. Remember to take your time and be cautious However if you do scratch it, they will be very small and most likely not noticeable to anyone. Please be careful.

Tools and Materials:
Phillips head screw driver
Small Square of window tint
Dish soap and water in spray bottle
Plastic card (license, credit card, gift card, etc will work)
Razor Blade
Scissors
Masking Tape
Scotch Tape
Piece of paper
Printer
Hair dryer (optional)

1. Remove the third brake light from the vehicle:This can be done by removing the two phillips head screws and gently prying the cover out from the body of the truck. I used a paint can opener for this. The light will come out fairly easily. Please be careful when removing this not to scratch your vehicle! Once you have it out a bit disconnect the wire harness that comes out of the cab.

2. Thoroughly clean the outside of the third brake light: I used Dirtex, but any cleaner should do for this.

3. Cut the tinting into a rectangle: The tinting should be slightly larger than the area on the light between the two white lights. I forgot to take a picture of this, so I photo shopped an image to help. I also left my tint large in the photos, but ended up trimming and re-aligning.

4. Peel tinting: Separate tinting from plastic sheet and soak everything. Using two pieces of scotch tape peel the plastic off of the adhesive side of the tinting. As you are peeling the tint be sure to spray it with plenty of soapy water. Also spray your third brake light where you will be applying the tint. I would suggest putting a towel under the light for this step to soak up the extra soap and water.

5. Apply, smooth, and trim tinting: Stick the tinting over the center of the light. Spray the outside of the tinting with your soap and water solution. Using a plastic card, smooth the tinting starting from the top of the light and working down and out towards the outer edges. Be patient and do your best to get any noticeable air bubbles and creases out from under the tint. If you are having trouble with air bubbles try using a hair dryer. Use caution not to melt tint when using a hairdryer, it would take a good amount. Once you have the tint smoothed out to where you are satisfied, carefully trim the edges down even with the top and bottom edges of the light or to the desired size.

6. Choose your design: Here is the fun part. You can be very creative in this step. Find an image or design that you would like to use. The simpler this design is the easier it will be to create. I chose a Chevy bow tie with Z71 in the middle. I found both of these pictures with a google image search and combined them with a photoshop program. Once you have found your image you then print it out. Once printed you will need to hold the paper over your tinted brake light to check for size. Adjust your chosen image size and reprint if necessary. It took me a couple of tries to get my image to the correct size. Once you have the size right, cut out the outside edges. This is my image, feel free to use it just make sure to fix the top left inside when you are cutting. Also I ignored the "off road" lettering while cutting this.

7. Tape the image over the tinted light: Using masking tape, align your design on the in the center of the tinting and a small amount towards the bottom and tape the border of the design. Ensure that the design is straight and in the correct location.

8. Cut out your design: Determine which areas you are cutting out. I didn't have to mark them, but you may want to if you are worried about cutting out the wrong parts. Using the razor blade, start with the part of the design in the center. You don't want to cut the part with the tape on it until last so your image stays in place the whole time. I had two methods while cutting. Method 1:Lightly cut through the paper and not all of the way through the tinting to mark it out. then remove paper and cut through tinting. This is slower but prevents scratching your light. Method 2: Cut through both paper and tint using more pressure. This is hard to do without scoring into your light. You need to find the right balance of pressure with the blade. If you do score into your light the scratches will be minor and not really noticeable.

9. Peel the tint: This step can be tricky. Now that you have made all of you cuts carefully remove the taped on stencil, taking care not to disturb or shift the tinting. Carefully peel of the areas of tint that you have cut out. I used various items to try to do this because the tint was holding on pretty tight. I used my fingernail, my plastic card, the back of the razor blade (scratched it a little, I don't recommend using that), and last but not least a plastic pen cap. The pen cap worked pretty good at peeling the tint off. There are probably plenty of other things you can use. I just grabbed what was on hand. Be careful not to slip and scratch or rip the tint. Also make sure to peel off the right parts.


10. Clean and install: Spray the light with your soap and water Carefully wipe it off with a dry towel. Plug the wires in and screw the light back in. Congratulations, you're done.

Finished Product:

Final Thoughts: I know that they sell covers for these and that is would be much easier to purchase one of these than to make one, but this was a rainy day thing that cost me $0 and I am happy with it. Also, it may be possible to get a rough size of the piece of tint and precut your design, but am not sure how easy it would be to apply. Just sharing my rainy day project. Thanks for reading.

As always, thanks for checking out my project and feel free to ask any questions or just tell me what you thought about this project.

So what next?  Next I will be doing something a bit different. I will be discussing the addition of chrome elements and subtle accents to your vehicle.

How To Install Cab Lights

Light up your rig with some new cab lights!

Ever since owning my last truck (2003 Silverado) I have always wanted to have a set of cab lights. I always have liked the looks of other trucks out there running the lights. I  never thought that it was something I could handle doing myself.  I was recently at my local auto parts store and noticed a set of lights for twenty dollars. It didn't take much thought before I knew I would be buying them.

This was one of the mods I did before deciding to start this blog. Sorry in advance for the lack of photos, but I will do my best to get you guys through this without any confusion or problems.

Before:                                                                        

After:

***Before doing any electrical work on your vehicle I would recommend reading through these articles (LINK COMING SOON) and using them as a reference***

 1. Drop the headliner: The cab lights can be installed fairly easily without removing the entire headliner. Loosen the side pillars that are held in by a clip in the top center. Remove the visors and visor clips that are held in with a size **** Torx Bit (looks like a star). Remove the handle from the ceiling by prying the square piece out with a small flat head screwdriver. You can then pull the handle down to release it from the ceiling. Lastly, remove the overhead console by unscrewing the phillips head screw on the side towards the windshield, unclip the rear facing side of the console (two clips), and unplugging the wire harness going to the console's lights.

2.Marking out lights:  This is the hardest and most important step in this whole installation. I will break it down into a few sections for clarity. I will do my best to create some images to help guide you through this.

     Set up your guide: The first place to start is to get a couple tape measures across the roof of the vehicle. I ran one tape measure along the very top edge of the windshield and another parallel, but up six inches on each side. A good way to go about doing this is to close your door with the tape measures at exactly ten inches, that way you have an accurate measurement (just remember to subtract ten from your widths). Once you have the rulers properly aligned...

   Determine light positions: Read the overall distance of the two rulers and find the offset (difference of the two lengths). For example (these measurements are for demonstration only)- If your lower measurement is 65" and your upper measurement is 60" there is a total difference of 5". You then divide the difference in half to obtain the proper offset for each light. In this case it would be 2 1/2". This means if we place our center light at 32 1/2" on the bottom tape we will want it to be at 30" in on the upper tape for it to be perfectly straight. So every time you mark a light position on the bottom tape the upper tape should be marked minus 2 1/2".  Using a pencil I drew an arrow at the proper measurements with the point in the exact centers. Once you have the center light marked along both tape measures we will then determine the position of the next lights. The next two lights out from either side of the center light will be measured 8 1/2" from the middle of the center light. Once you have these two light positions marked out it is time to mark the final two outer lights. These will be marked 5 1/2" in from either door along the top tape measure.  You should now have five sets of properly spaced arrows where the lights will be sitting. Using wide painters tape align a straight edge of the tape over the centers of the arrows to connect them. Be sure the tape is perfectly straight and looks correct before moving on.

On the three pieces of tape in the center, measure up off of the weatherstripping above the windshield 4" and make a mark on the side of the tape with your arrows. On the two outer most pieces of tape measure up of the weatherstripping 6" and make a mark on the side of the tape with your arrows. These marks will be the outer most center front edge of the lights. You can now set your lights where they will be going and examine them from multiple angles to ensure they are lined up properly.

    Mark the holes:Using a light mount from the lights for a template, align the front center of the mount with the edge of the tape along the arrows and mark the mounting holes with a pencil. Repeat this for all of the lights. Congratulations, you now have all of your lights properly lined up and marked out! Now, relax and take a deep breath because it is time to drill.

2. Drill the holes:  Using an eighth in drill bit drill out the holes. Be sure to have the bit perfectly centered over your marks to ensure proper alignment. Also, use caution not to scratch or dent your roof when drilling. Once all fifteen holes are drilled you can remove the tape.

3. Mount the lights:  Attach the light one at a time to the roof. Run the short wire lead through the appropriate hole and seal with a decent amount of clear silicone. Then put a glob of silicone over the other two mounting holes and attach the screws. Repeat this for each light. Then place a small amount of silicone on the underside of the drilled holes. You can now clean up the area around the lights because we are done working on the outside.

4. Connect the wires: Attach your cab light lead wires to a main power wire running across the headliner. I used vampire clips to connect all of my leads. Once all of the wires are connected, it is time to connect the main power wire. This can be connected to either a switch or to another wire to power it on automatically. I chose to connect mine to my passenger side running light next to my blinker. Once the line is connected you can turn on your vehicle and test the lights before you reassemble.

5. Put it back together:  Put the headliner back together and enjoy your new lights.

Finished Product:

Final Thoughts: I have always wanted to put cab lights on my Silverado and now that I have them I couldn't be happier. The install wasn't too hard either. It was a little unnerving drilling the holes, but I was confident in my measurements and looked over the truck from tons of different angles before drilling. The lights have been working great and I haven't had a single drop of water leak through.

As always, thanks for checking out my project and feel free to ask any questions or just tell me what you thought about this project. 

So, what next? I think I am going to do a little something different with that leftover window tint from the earlier projects!

How To Tint An Eyebrow

Give your ride some personality with an eyebrow!

Adding some tinting to the windshield of your vehicle can really add some style. It also greatly reduces glare and the need to constantly adjust your visors.  This process is relatively easy and very affordable. For this mod, I purchased a roll of five percent tint from my local auto parts store for $9.99. Be sure save all of your extra tint and cutoffs for our next project!

***As always be sure to check your state regulations before applying any tinting to the vehicle***

1.Preparing the surface-  This is a critical part of the tinting process. Using glass cleaner, thoroughly clean and dry both sides of the windshield in an area larger that where the tint will be applied. Then spray the interior side of the windshield again with glass cleaner. Holding a flat edge razor tilted back to you about 45 degrees (see picture), gently scrape the windshield, keeping it wet around the blade at all times, to remove anything that was too stuck on for the glass cleaner. If your windshield has some raised black painted areas, just scrape around them and don't worry about them..  Once you have fully scraped the inside of the glass, clean it once more to remove anything that is left from the scraping. Just to recap- wash inside and out, scrape inside, wash inside.  Now the glass is ready for the film.
 

2. Get the rough size: Cutting the film. Using a tape measure, start by taking a rough measurement to cut our tint down to a length longer than the windshield. Also determine the width you would like your eyebrow to be. I went nine inches on mine, which is pretty big, so I wouldn't recommend going much larger. Find a nice flat surface to roll the tint on. Measure it out and cut the measured length and desired width. You should now have a long strip of tint.

3. Cut tinting to shape:  Before we do anything with the tinting we need to determine which side of the tint is to be applied to the glass. To do this take two small pieces of transparent tape and stick them both on one of the corners of the tinting facing each other and sticking them together. When you peel the two pieces of tape apart you should see the tint start to separate from a clear plastic. The side attached to the clear plastic is the side to be applied to the glass (I usually mark it with a piece of masking tape). Now, standing outside the truck with the plastic sheet side facing you, tape your strip of tinting over the windshield. When you do this you will want the factory cut edge facing downward (this way you have a perfectly smooth line along the bottom), the bottom of the tint straight across the windshield (where it will sit when installed to look straight), and the top and sides to be out past the windshield. Once you have the tinting lined up be sure to secure it in multiple places with small pieces of masking tape. Using a sharp razor blade, Cut the tinting along the inside edge of the weatherstripping across the top and down the sides.Check to see if you will have to cut a notch around your rear view mirror mount. If you do, mark the tint where you need to cut and take a little off at a time until you have the proper cut. You should now have a strip of tint that is the correct shape.

4. Apply the tinting: If you have an extra set of hands around they would be nice for this step. Spay the inside of the window to be tinted with your soap & water mixture.  Using the "tape trick" begin to separate the film from the clear plastic sheeting. As you separate the two, soak the emerging side of the tinting with your soapy water mixture. Be careful not to fold or crease the film. Once all the plastic is removed place the tinting on the soapy glass (using caution not to fold going over mirror) and spray the other side of the film. Now, begin by lining up your smooth factory cut bottom edge straight across glass. Use your plastic card to smooth this whole bottom edge. Remember to keep the tinted soaked where you are smoothing and to be gentle so you don't scratch or rip the film. Check to make sure it is straight, if it isn't you can slide the tinting around to where it needs to be. Once you have your bottom edge straight with the bottom couple inches smoothed, begin smoothing the rest of the tinting. Try to push most bubbles up or out the sides. You may also have to do some minor trimming with a razor blade around the upper corners and/or mirror mount. For bubbles giving you trouble leaking back behind the tint, push it out and hit it lightly with a hairdryer do dry the liquid you are pushing out. Another alternative is to pop a problem bubble with a pin. I prefer the first method. Once you finish smoothing....Congratulations, You have an eyebrow! I would recommend not washing the windshield where the tint is for at least a week.

Finished Product:

Final Thoughts: This was my third time ever doing an eyebrow. I do have to say that I love the looks of these from the inside an out. One really great benefit is not to always be fidgeting with my visor while I am driving around. Also you won't have to duck down to see traffic lights like you would if you had a vinyl decal (which I had on a past vehicle). Great project for anyone looking to get some bang for their buck.

As always, thanks for checking out my project and feel free to ask any questions or just tell me what you thought about this project.

What next? How about giving this truck an some cab lights...(I know there in the pic already, but it was a great project)

In my next post I will be covering adding cablights (lights on roof) to my 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic. Be sure to check back!

How To Tint Silverado Windows

Think it is too hard to tint your own windows? Think again! It is much easier than you think. 

Today I will be covering tinting the windows on my 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic.

Window tint offers a lot of bang for your buck. Tinting the windows on your ride can drastically change the appearance of the vehicle as a whole. A roll of tint can cost as little as ten dollars and the benefits are absolutely worth it. My favorite reason for having tinted windows is the security. It all goes back to, "out of sight, out of mind". People won't steal what they can't see.

Doing your own window tint is easily achievable with some patience and attention to detail. It is important that you take your time and do it right once.

*** Laws regarding window tinting for automobiles varies from state to state. This website is a good resource for those of you looking to find the legalities of window tint in your state. ***


Okay...Now onto the fun part.

What you need:
-Glass Cleaner
-Paper Towels
-Flat Razor Blades
-Spray bottle with soapy water (a couple pumps of dish soap and some water will do fine)
-Plastic Card (license, credit card, or similar)
-Roll of tinting
-Towel

Project Time:   A few hours taking your time.

Place a towel over any electronics to keep them from getting soaked.

1.Preparing the surface-  This is a critical part of the tinting process. Thoroughly clean and dry both sides of the window with glass cleaner. Then spray the interior side of the window again with glass cleaner. Holding a flat edge razor tilted back to you about 45 degrees (see picture), gently scrape the entire window keeping it wet around the blade to remove anything that was too stuck on for the glass cleaner.  Once you have fully scraped the inside of the glass, clean it once more to remove anything that is left from the scraping. Just to recap- wash inside and out, scrape inside, wash inside. Now the glass is ready for the film.

Scraping the glass.

 2. Cutting the tint- Before we do anything with the tinting we need to determine which side of the tint is to be applied to the glass. To do this take two small pieces of transparent tape and stick them both on one of the corners of the tinting facing each other and sticking them together. When you peel the two pieces of tape apart you should see the tint start to separate from a clear plastic. The side attached to the clear plastic is the side to be applied to the glass (I usually mark it with a piece of masking tape). Now, standing outside the truck with the plastic sheet side facing you, tape the roll of tint a bit above the window on the door. Unroll it over the window and trim a couple inches past the bottom.  Slowly begin to trim the tinting to the size and shape of the window. Be sure to get a smooth cut along the bottom edge.  Don't worry too much about the tops or sides, a little big is fine because we will be trimming it back a bit more in the following steps. If you have rain guards you should cut the tinting along with the top edge of the guard where it turns to flat plastic along   the door.

3. Applying the Film- If you have an extra set of hands around they would be nice for this step. Spay the inside of the window to be tinted with your soap & water mixture.  Using the "tape trick" begin to separate the film from the clear plastic sheeting. As you separate the two, soak the emerging side of the tinting with your soapy water mixture. Be careful not to fold or crease the film. Once all the plastic is removed place the tinting on the soapy glass and spray the other side of the film. Now, begin to line up your smooth cut bottom with the bottom of the glass and use your plastic card to smooth the bottom couple inches of the tint. Try to push it into the  bottom weatherstripping. Slowly begin to cut the bottom sides back to fit the glass. Remember - cut a small amount at a time! You can always take a bit off, but if you cut it short you will have to start over. Once you get the first couple inches cut into place and smoothed roll the window down a small amount (Keep a close eye to ensure tinting doesn't shift, If you think it did roll up, correct as necessary, and try again. Begin to smooth the rest of the window starting from the center and pushing towards the outside edges. Cut the tinting back to the shape of the glass along the top and sides even with the glass.  Then continue smoothing the film and trimming as necessary.

To cut the tint back to its final shape you will want to get a fresh razor blade. Hold your hand along the window edge with the knife blade between 1/8" to 1/4" in from the edge make your final cut, leaving a smooth uniform edge of tint and clear glass around the outer edges of the top of the glass (see picture)  I cut the tinting to fit inside the weatherstripping along the sides of the window.

Important notes for step 3: Keep the side of the tinting you are smoothing from continuously wet with soapy water while you are smoothing. Use a light touch when smoothing so you don't scratch or rip the tint.   Cut a small amount at a time. For bubbles giving you trouble leaking back behind the tint, push it out and hit it lightly with a hairdryer do dry the liquid you are pushing out. 

4. Repeat all steps for next window.

Finished Product:

Final thoughts: 

So the windows are tinted and look great. I had a lot of fun doing these too. I logged onto my Pandora Radio account and took my time to ensure a great looking end product. All in all I spent about three hours doing this by myself.  For the money saved I am very happy with  this project. The tint I chose to use was 20% tint that I purchased for $14.99 at my local auto parts store.

As always, thanks for checking out my project and feel free to ask any questions or just tell me what you thought about this project.

What next? How about giving this truck an "eyebrow".

In my next post I will be covering adding an eyebrow (tint across top of windshield) to my truck. Be sure to check back!

Welcome To My Blog

Hey everyone!


First off I want to tell you a bit about me and the purpose of this blog. 

* First off I should let you know that this will probably be the most boring part of this whole blog.  Don't worry, my feelings won't be hurt if you skip this page.

Second off, I feel as this is the right time to fill you in a bit on who I am and why I drive what I drive.

I am in my early twenties and live in the North East.  I work for a small family owned construction company so having a truck for work is a must for me. Back when I was eighteen I purchased a 1998 Chevy 1500 single cab pickup with an eight foot bed. This truck was what got me hooked on the Chevy/GM brand.  I had downgraded when I purchased it (I previously had a 2001 Toyota Camry with lots of extras). This single cab didn't have many extras, but it was "Like a rock".  It was mechanically sound and never gave me any issues, even when I was pushing 180,000 miles.  I had a lot of good times driving that old truck. I was often going off roading on the weekends and always had a blast. Ever since I bought that truck I have always wanted a Silverado. 

A few years back I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to purchase my dream truck. It was a 2003 Chevy Silverado Extended Cab 4wd.  It felt like being in a luxury car compared to that old single cab 1500 with the bench seat.  I had the Bose stereo package, many power options, and the looks of the truck were great.  I don't really want to discuss this vehicle too much because I no longer own it and don't have any pictures of it besides the ones to follow.. Sadly it was totaled a little over a year ago.   Here is a site I put together with the pictures of the damage. My Old Truck

Well, I went a while without a vehicle to save some money, but finally last November I decided I needed to get back on the road. 

I went down to see a friend that works at a local dealership one Friday afternoon. He asked what I was looking for. I explained to him what my old truck was and how much I liked it. He quietly got up and left the office saying, "Hold on one minute."   Next thing I know there it is pulled up right outside the door. A 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic.  He walked back in, tossed me the keys, and said "go drive that".  I loved it from the beginning. It was the same as my old truck that I had loved so much.  There were even a couple better things about this one.  Heated leather seats, dual power seats, power heated / folding mirrors, driver information center options, and memory seats.

And so it begins.  I really enjoy working on my truck.  I don't have a bunch of money to dump into it and am by no means a mechanic. I am always looking for that next project to do to my truck. I have done a bunch of really affordable modifications to my truck that I plan to share with you all. 

This blog will discuss all of the different projects that I have done to my truck. I will create how to's for most projects and be available to help you all with any questions pertaining to these modifications.  Here is a teaser picture of my truck stock and my truck how it sits today.

There are many mods that I have done.  Bet you can't spot them all! (yet)

My next post will cover doing window tinting on my Silverado.Did you know a roll of window tint costs as low as $10 at your local auto parts store? I will explain how to cut and apply the tining, how to install, and some tips to ensure a great job every time. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but the following post will describe some small projects that I did with the leftover tint!  Be sure to check back soon!

Well, there it is all. My first and hopefully most boring post on this whole blog. I can't wait to get back on hear and give you all an update.  If you just skipped to the end, don't worry this blog is going to get interesting now!