Opinions on tinted tail lights

[ForceFed]

No..THat needs completely Wetsanded off....No if ,and or But's about it.

Friends dont Let Friends Mod.

 

[NCZ13]

this is why vinyl is full of win. lol

 

[SwirlFX]

Rubbing compound and an random orbital buffer. Clean it up with plastic polish when your done.

 

[JCell]

No..THat needs completely Wetsanded off....No if ,and or But's about it.

Friends dont Let Friends Mod.

thats how i removed my current niteshades....

 

[SpeedBuild]

Alright thanks guys I'll try the wetsanding. Will the wetsanding remove it completely for me to spary them again? Exactly what did i do wrong here because i let each coat dry 5-10 mins and made sure it was dry to touch and then sprayed again. I read something somewhere about how there is mold release on the lights or something. Any other suggestions before I decide to kill myself after how bad I messed these up

 

[NCZ13]

wetsanding it down will make it an even dullness all around. Some polish (not a plastic polish because your polishing the niteshades, not the plastic) will bring some gloss back to the dullness.

I would use 1500grit. and move to 2k to smooth it out.

 

[SpeedBuild]

So can i retint them after sanding? or will the tint still be on the light after sanding but just dulled down? will a couple layers of clear coat help to give it a gloss back after sanding?

 

[SwirlFX]

No. Use a buffer and plastic polish.

 

[anomaly19782009]

have them vinyled....looks great if done right, and it's removable. Friend has his red celica done...looked fantastic....cost him $60 to have a professional do it.

 

[SpeedBuild]

Alright but I'm still confused can I respray after or will the niteshades still be on there just sanded down and then I can give it gloss with clear coat?

 

[SpeedBuild]

bump bump and help, i need to redo these asap

 

[TWISFM]

sand them down all the way back to original wet sand with 1000grit or more.. gunna take some time.. let dry..try again im still interested to see what can you used...post it up for s**** and giggles.

 

[Wagonbacker9]

if you've got em sanded down and they don't look like crap. I think you've done all you can do. if you want to mod them again, I would make sure you get very specific instructions from a lot of people who have done this successfully.... and don't do it if you're not comfortable. even your botched job looks very blotchy.

 

[SpeedBuild]

Haaa I used VHT Niteshades. I did it all correct but it turns out the light had a mold release on it so the stuff didn't stick. This time I'm just going to wetsand it down so it takes off anything on the light and then respray with niteshades again. Then they should work fine and it should adhere to the light just fine and then I'll spray some clear coat on the lights to give them back their gloss and shine.

 

[Wagonbacker9]

to anyone who cares to listen...

It doesn't matter what you are doing. The end result is going to be determined by the prep work. This is exhibit A.

ALWAYS make sure you're painting a clean surface.


Btw, mind my asking what mold release is doing on your taillights?

 

[BadBandar]

I guess im the only one that likes the red taillights. Oh well, keep up the good work.

 

[SpeedBuild]

When the taillights are originally made they are made with mold release but do to my not thinking of sanding them down this is what happened. I could have used lacquer thinner to take everything off but I was scared it might eat away the plastic. And btw BadBandar, I was just blacking them out because I'm going for that blackout look as i'm tinting about 15% tint this weekend and then I blacked out emblems and everything. But yeah I will be sanding them down this weekend and redoing them. Wagonbacker is completely right on prep work also. Thanks for the help

 

[yellowmsp035]

i didnt use anything to clean my tails before spraying them and they came out perfect. i just wiped mine down with a wet paper towel or rag to get any dust off..

so i think you are still doing something else wrong dude.. or it isnt the right s***

 

[Wagonbacker9]

i didnt use anything to clean my tails before spraying them and they came out perfect. i just wiped mine down with a wet paper towel or rag to get any dust off..

so i think you are still doing something else wrong dude.. or it isnt the right s***

I can't think of any earthly reason you'd have mold release on a taillight, unless you were building a mold for... idk a fiberglass rear clip? or... i guess a fiberglass trunk, if you were overbuilding it... I know that there shouldn't be anything on them from the factory... people don't tend to sell cars with greasy stuff on them, so this had to have been done at some point between here and there.

Either that, or like you said, there is still something else going on here.


How did you figure out there was mold release on them to begin with?! Seems to me that'd be hard to figure out with paint over it...

 

[SpeedBuild]

I actually read it somewhere that if the lights turn out to be milky white like mine that they have a mold release on them that needs to be removed with lacquer thinner(which I read after I did my lights). Just to ensure I am using the nightshades correct before I mess them up again. Do I clean, sand down to get rid of milky white and current nite shades, apply nice light even coats, sand again with higher grit to buff, then apply clear coat?