Smoking or Redding BRZ/FR-S Tail Lights

[retrosmiths]

Originally Posted by B-R-Z

I'm going to do mine tomorrow. Is it best to apply the red then wait a few days to do the clear or is same day better? I just read on metalcast site that if you wait over an hour between a coat that you have to wait like 6 days to respray. Does this only apply to metal cast coats or clearing after the metalcast?

Can someone who has successfully redded with the below cans please post your prep procedure and dry times between red coats and time between red and spraymax?

Using metalcast and spraymax 2k.

Dude, read my post a few pages back..

[B-R-Z]

Originally Posted by retrosmiths

Dude, read my post a few pages back..

10-4, thanks buddy. How are yours holding up? Any more pics?

[retrosmiths]

It looks great, the clear coat took 2 days to dry though. Tomorrow, I will sand and polish it.

So yeah, I was forced to wait a week between the red coat and the clear coat and it turned out fine.

[retrosmiths]

UPDATE:

Here are my steps again, in case you guys missed it:

* Clean lights with dishwashing soap+water, then with prep spray (optional).
* Sand with 1000-2000 grit all around, make sure it's even. Wash off dust.
* 3x light coats with MetalCast, 30 min in between.
* 2x heavy coats with MetalCast, 30 min in between.
* (Optional) Wait for a week. I only did this step because my clearcoat has not arrived yet.
* Clean lights again with soap+water.
* Same coat method as the red, but using 2k SprayMax this time. Note that it only lasts 24 hours once activated. Also, note that I did not sand the final red coat before applying the clear.
* I let it dry for a week, just to be safe. A few hours after the final coat, the surface is still soft. Three days later, it hardened into a transparent, glossy coat, but there is the issue of the ugly orange peel texture.



* Polish time! I bought an assorted pack of sandpaper from Autozone (1000,1500,2000,2500 grits). I also have this set of plastic polishes from Tap Plastic. I guess you can substitute with rubbing compound and polish compound.



* I then used the sandpaper from the lowest grit to the highest, making sure that the sanding is even all around. Don't panic if after the 2500 grit the lens are still fuzzy.
* I polished the lens using the Tap Plastic stuff and microfiber towelettes (those are not tissue paper!!!). It worked really well, from a hazy, matte look to a clear, candy gloss.



Good luck, guys!
@B-R-Z

[B-R-Z]

Looks awesome @retrosmiths, might be doing this today, the paint atleast. Will wait a week or two for clear like you did to be safe. Thanks for the pics\info.

[ihaskrayon]

I really want to do this, but I always suck at painting. I think I'll practice on some plastic bottles before I attempt to touch my lights. And for wetsanding, do you use a side to side motion, up and down, circular? Not familiar with wet sanding.

[retrosmiths]

I wetsanded for both prep and polish. Basically, I have a bucket of water nearby (or running water) to wet the sandpaper and the surface of the lights, dipping back every now and then. No particular hand motion, but every once in a while I'll wipe the lens dry so that I'll see which still need to be sanded (they will still be glossy, while sanded areas will be dull).

[B-R-Z]

I just got done with the first coat, so far so good (I hope)

[B-R-Z]

Mine came out good, I will be doing clear coat with SprayMax 2k next week. I used MetalCast for the red.

1. Ready for prep. 2000 grit paper, bucket of water, windex and paper towels. I only windexed prior to prep.


2. Both tail lights sanded evenly and then masked. This part is time consuming, just be patient. You will need to completely dry the light to see what parts haven't been sanded, sand missed parts, repeat.


3. First coat of red


4. After 3 light coats and 2 heavy coats, 30 mins in between.



5. Done and installed. Still have to do clear coat. The lighting is bad, they do not look this dark in person.

[retrosmiths]

Awesome! Clear coat next week, then I would wait for it to harden, at least 4 days before sanding and polishing.

[B-R-Z]

Originally Posted by retrosmiths

Awesome! Clear coat next week, then I would wait for it to harden, at least 4 days before sanding and polishing.

@retrosmiths, did you use a respirator with the clear?

[retrosmiths]

I have one of those cheap respirators, but yeah, it's highly recommended because the 2K urethane is really bad to your body.

Also, don't forget to isolate your painting area. I had to clay bar the whole car yesterday due to overspray.

[B-R-Z]

Originally Posted by retrosmiths

Also, don't forget to isolate your painting area. I had to clay bar the whole car yesterday due to overspray.

Thanks for the heads up.

[retrosmiths]

Originally Posted by B-R-Z

Thanks for the heads up.

Yeah, man, it was a PAIN to claybar the whole car. When I noticed the overspray, it was too late (I was like 15 feet from the car, I thought it was a "safe" distance). The surface of the car's paint turned into something like a 400 grit sandpaper.