Smoking or Redding BRZ/FR-S Tail Lights

[vincent201089]

Originally Posted by Ric0

If anyone is debating doing this have no fear! If I can do it so can you
Steps on how I did mine.
1) clean tails and make sure you mask everything off
2) VERY light 1st coat of Dupli-Color Metalcast anodized red
3) after 15-20mins another light coat of paint (repeat this step 3-4 more times)
At this point you might be taking shit as the lamp may look dull and you can't see thru it.
4) Using 2000 grit sand paper wet sand it with soap until it's smooth (becareful you don't over do it, if you do... paint, wait to dry and wet sand again lightly)
5) VERY light coat of clear (I used Dupli-Color acrylic enamel clear coat)
6) after 15-20mins another coat of clear (repeat these steps 3-4 more times)
7) Wet sand with soap, don't over do it just enough to get rid of the orange peel
8) Rubbing compound (removes scratched from wet sanding)
9) Polish (gets it's smooth and almost shining)
10) wax the crap out of it to bring out the shine.

How difficult to cover the signal part? btw, do you feel the edge between the painted part and non-painted one.

[Ric0]

To cover the signals was simple,
1) First tape the the square with one color tape (I used green painters tape)
2) cover the inside with maybe 2 layers of blue tape
3) lift the green tape which should also lift the blue since it's on top
4) flip and cut the green out (this should leave the signal shape left)
5) stick it back on the tail light and repeat process for the other side

I used 2000 grit to smooth everything out, just don't over do it, you can't feel it on mines, just take your time when doing ur tails, buy all the stuff the day before and wake up early the next day if you need your car ready for next day.

[Danny86]

Originally Posted by Ric0

To cover the signals was simple,
1) First tape the the square with one color tape (I used green painters tape)
2) cover the inside with maybe 2 layers of blue tape
3) lift the green tape which should also lift the blue since it's on top
4) flip and cut the green out (this should leave the signal shape left)
5) stick it back on the tail light and repeat process for the other side

I used 2000 grit to smooth everything out, just don't over do it, you can't feel it on mines, just take your time when doing ur tails, buy all the stuff the day before and wake up early the next day if you need your car ready for next day.

The key to getting this right is definitely in taking your time and being patient with it. I'm currently doing this and found out the hard way. I tried rushing it two days ago and it came out like shit. Yesterday I decided to sand it back down all the way and start over. I took my time with it, prepared it really well and did several light coats of red and let them dry overnight. Today, after the red has dried completely over night I sanded it again this morning with 2000 grit and now I'm applying the clear. I will do a few more coats, let it dry, and sand again with 2000 grit and finally wax and buff them. So far, they are coming out Amazing.

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[Ric0]

Originally Posted by Danny86

The key to getting this right is definitely in taking your time and being patient with it. I'm currently doing this and found out the hard way. I tried rushing it two days ago and it came out like shit. Yesterday I decided to sand it back down all the way and start over. I took my time with it, prepared it really well and did several light coats of red and let them dry overnight. Today, after the red has dried completely over night I sanded it again this morning with 2000 grit and now I'm applying the clear. I will do a few more coats, let it dry, and sand again with 2000 grit and finally wax and buff them. So far, they are coming out Amazing.

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Pics or it didn't happen!! =P

[Danny86]

Originally Posted by Ric0

Pics or it didn't happen!! =P

Lol. It happened.

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[Bones36]

what kid of polishing compound / wax is everyone using? i got it pretty shinny but there are some fine scratches i cant get out.

[MrMarinakos]

So i got a question, does anyone know if you try to do like frs8six's, could you do the vht niteshade black with a really light coat and then cover the signal with tape and do 3 medium coats of red nite shade(or 4) will work out? Then sand it and then do clear coat?


edit: oh i meant to put that you take off the tape before clear coat

[Turkish]

Some vht diy videos I have seen on youtube did some wetsanding prior to applying coats of the nightshades. Based off your results here, it seems that isn't necessary? I would prefer to not do that incase I eff up and want to reverse it. Ultimately, I want to do this right. If I permanently eff up, I guess I am going to buy those valenti tails a hell of a lot earlier than I originally planned LOL. Great write up, definitely impressed with all of your write ups; ESPECIALLY that wheel directory which is amazing, especially when trying to figure out offset.

[Ric0]

Tape off the blinker, paint tails, once dried removed tape from blinker and tape off te rest of the tails, smoke blinker, let it dry, remove tape and sand everything lightly with 2000grit sand paper then clear everything, once done, sand again lightly, then rubbing compound, polishing compound, and wax... Should be just as clear and glossy as a pro shop

[smbstyle]

Originally Posted by Turkish

Some vht diy videos I have seen on youtube did some wetsanding prior to applying coats of the nightshades. Based off your results here, it seems that isn't necessary? I would prefer to not do that incase I eff up and want to reverse it. Ultimately, I want to do this right. If I permanently eff up, I guess I am going to buy those valenti tails a hell of a lot earlier than I originally planned LOL. Great write up, definitely impressed with all of your write ups; ESPECIALLY that wheel directory which is amazing, especially when trying to figure out offset.

I actually re-did mine THREE times, lol, and can tell you with 100% certainty that wetsanding the red basecoat before applying a clear or the VHT tint makes a big difference in clarity.

Also, if you plan on doing the clearcoat, wait about 7 days or more before wetsanding.

[Shindig]

Originally Posted by smbstyle

I actually re-did mine THREE times, lol, and can tell you with 100% certainty that wetsanding the red basecoat before applying a clear or the VHT tint makes a big difference in clarity.

Also, if you plan on doing the clearcoat, wait about 7 days or more before wetsanding.

Out of curiosity, did you wetsand the clearcoat prior to the 7 days and if so, what happened? Did it make the finish hazy or something?

[MrMarinakos]

So far i've done pretty good with this.

Step 1: i did was to tape it


Step 2: I used mineral spirits to clean it off from any bacteria/dirt/anything bad off of the tail light.

Step 3: I put it out on card board and started using VHT nite shade-red
This was right after a coat or two.


Step 4: I did 4 coats of the red and waited around 15-25 minutes in between each(pretty sure i should've waited longer because it's pretty cold over here)
but this was right after that


I'm getting 2000 grit paper tomorrow and i'll finish it up by smoothening it out (little fisheyes and etc.) and then i'll do the clear coat.

[smbstyle]

Originally Posted by Shindig

Out of curiosity, did you wetsand the clearcoat prior to the 7 days and if so, what happened? Did it make the finish hazy or something?

Nope, after spraying the clear, I didnt even touch it for 7 days. First time around I tried wetsanding the day after spraying clear and it was a little hazy and the clearcoat didn't fully cure, as I noticed a few fingerprints stuck in the clearcoat from putting pressure on it.

When I waited 7 days, the clearcoat was still a little soft, and started with a heavier polish to remove the wetsand marks, then had to follow up with a very good polish that removes light haze (3M Ultrafina) on a soft finishing buffer pad at a low RPM on the rotary, and that did the trick.

[Danny86]

Here's a before and after comparison

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