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(Fixed)Alright guys the previous owner of my G did a horrible job at tinting the tail lights. It looks like he spray painted red tint and its all cracked up, dull, and definitely brings down the look of the car. Question is has anyone faced this problem before? Should i try to clear the paint of and buff(ive done this on another vehicle and its nearly impossible to get back to that stock clear lens) or should i just save time and money by buying new tail lights?i honestly like slight tint on tail lights but this is bad.
So I gave these tail lights a shot. Wet sanded them down with 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000. After that I cleaned them up then put one light layer of vht tint then I put a few layers of clear coat. Once that dried I polished and waxed. They didn't come out crystal clear but they are a lot better than what they were.
Last edited by Datsun40; Sep 30, 2016 at 07:59 AM.
Reason: Fixed
just wet sand it and then polish it. If you take your time, you should get it to looking brand new.
Mask off the reverse light area. Start off with a lower grit to get rid of most of the paint then work your way to the finer grit. Then finish it off with a nice polish. Heck, Meguiars Scratch remover works fine to finish it off. Then add a coat of wax.
or, if you're LAZY like I am, I would hit up ebay and just buy a set.
You have to wetsand in stages to get back to clarity. Start at 500 grit, and do the entire thing, then 1000 grit, 1500, 2000. It's a long and arduous project, but will be worth it in the end. Once you have completed the wetsanding you can go over them with compound and polish to finish them off and make them pop like better than new.
Actually once you get done w/ the wetsanding and are happy w/ the new smooth finish be sure to shoot a few coats of a QUALITY clear coat. Let the clear coat dry 48 hrs then do a very light wetsand of 1500 grit to remove the orange peel, then a final polish and you'll be amazed!
I would remove the tails and use aircraft paint remover. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes then wipe it all off. THEN IF YOU NEED TO, you can just sand with 2500 and 3000 grit and buff with a compound. That will save a ton of time and taillight material but should have to unless the tails are in bad shape under the paint.
I would remove the tails and use aircraft paint remover. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes then wipe it all off. THEN IF YOU NEED TO, you can just sand with 2500 and 3000 grit and buff with a compound. That will save a ton of time and taillight material but should have to unless the tails are in bad shape under the paint.
I wouldn't advise this.. Sorry but, you have to be rreeaaalll comfortable with aircraft remover to do this. Even if you are very comfortable.. I still wouldn't use this method.
I wouldn't advise this.. Sorry but, you have to be rreeaaalll comfortable with aircraft remover to do this. Even if you are very comfortable.. I still wouldn't use this method.
Put in the work and wetland it..
Why put in the work you don't have to, work smarter not harder.. Why not use paint remover to remove paint? Take the tails off the car and let it peel the paint off, no harm done.. Explain your reasons?
Why put in the work you don't have to, work smarter not harder.. Why not use paint remover to remove paint? Take the tails off the car and let it peel the paint off, no harm done.. Explain your reasons?
Not 100% sure, but aircraft paint remover is meant to remove paint from a metal substrate, it may have harmful reactions to plastic, but ???
The sanding labor shouldn't be too bad since you use the lower grit to remove the bulk of the paint and the higher grit to remove the prior grit scratches.
Why put in the work you don't have to, work smarter not harder.. Why not use paint remover to remove paint? Take the tails off the car and let it peel the paint off, no harm done.. Explain your reasons?
Like a idiot when I was a young ricer, I put aircraft remover to remove painted eyelids on my headlights. 1 minute goes by and I wipe it like you mentioned.. the end result was me buying new 2003 (this was in 04/05, cheap ebay lights were readily made yet) headlights.
Put some on your finger, just a dime size and wait 45 secs... then tell me if I need to explain it more.
I would remove the tails and use aircraft paint remover. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes then wipe it all off. THEN IF YOU NEED TO, you can just sand with 2500 and 3000 grit and buff with a compound. That will save a ton of time and taillight material but should have to unless the tails are in bad shape under the paint.
Terrible idea. Paint remover is going to melt the plastic. Even using lacquer thinner on it would possible mar it and it is not near as corrosive as paint remover.
