Smoking my tail lights!

[Dark_horse]

Good job Ultra

Ultra you did a great job on you lights. You definitly took you time and did it the right way. For those of you wanting to go a shade lighter here is what 3 coats looks like on my Alloy....

Sorry for the crappy camera phone pics

With just the headlights on:

 

[jodadejss06gt]

I messed up round 1 of my lights. It looks ok in the picture but there is actually some orange peal way down in the base. I didn't sand well enough to start, so I'm taking it back off to redo.

What's the trick for sanding between the 3 lights (2 vertical cracks if you did sand this part)? I'm having a hard time sanding that evenly.

I also took mine a step further and taped off the reverse light and I think it looks banging that way.

Thoughts???

 

[bronxbomba63]

Looks good Ultra!!! Here's a couple of pics of when I did my tails, 3rd brake, and corners.

 

[acrophobia13]

I also took mine a step further and taped off the reverse light and I think it looks banging that way.

Thoughts???

Looks good! More importantly, it's worth noting that in some states (incl. NY and NJ) the taillights can be smoked but the reverse lights CAN NOT. The red lenses can be as dark as you like but if the reverse lights are even a little tinted you'll get nailed.
Just food for thought!
edit: I meant the legality of tinting the lights and avoiding tickets.

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

What's the trick for sanding between the 3 lights (2 vertical cracks if you did sand this part)? I'm having a hard time sanding that evenly.

I just folded the sandpaper until it made a narrow sanding edge then took my time and sanded between the lights. It doesn't take much sanding if you put alot of light coats of clear, sand, clear, sand.....etc.

Ya'll look fantastic too!

 

[tylerxfire]

or just dont sand between at all between the lights and leave a matte finish between the lights to break it up..just a thought..

i dont like how it looks with reverse light not smoked too...stands out too much

 

[jodadejss06gt]

Well that light you see has to come all the way back down to start over, so I'm not sure what I'll do with the reverse. I'm thinking I like them though.

It kind of reminds me of the saleens where they had the black pannel over the inner brake light and then the reverse light. Besides its different and takes more time. I could just take the easy road.

Edit: I do really like the all blacked out look

 

[NastyStang113]

How long did you wait after a coat before wet sanding? I've done this exact method before but I was worried about dry time so I waited a day before wet sanding. I only wet sanded twice, after the VHT and than after clear. Buffed with a DA and some compound and it came out smooth as glass. I was really impressed.

 

[jodadejss06gt]

To tell you the truth my girl talked me out of doing it myself, so I took it to a shop that charged me 140 and it wasn't dark enough and they wouldn't make it darker. I sanded theres down to dark over it but didn't sand enough. Thats where the inperfections came from. I'm going to just lightly sand between coats with 2000 this time. I spent 4 hours taking everything off 1 light. Its going to be a long process.

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

$140 bucks?!?!?!?! WTF!!!

Do it yourself and make them as dark as you want. You can't mess this up I assure you. If they come out too dark, sand some more.

THe more you sand, the smoother they will become anyways. LOL!

 

[NastyStang113]

UltraKla$$ic

Did you see my question?

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

UltraKla$$ic

Did you see my question?

Sorry for the delay, as for the time between sanding, I waited 15-20minutes between layers of VHT as well as Clear EXCEPT for the last coat of clear. I let it sit overnight and then wetsanded with 2000 grit and final buff.

Again, 15-20 minutes between coats of both VHT and clear coats since this stuff "dries" pretty quick as long as you're putting THIN coats on top of each other. Sand ALL the orange peel out between layers too.

Last coat of clear, dry/cure overnight and wetsand with 2000, and final buff.

 

[Motivology]

Sorry for the delay, as for the time between sanding, I waited 15-20minutes between layers of VHT as well as Clear EXCEPT for the last coat of clear. I let it sit overnight and then wetsanded with 2000 grit and final buff.

Again, 15-20 minutes between coats of both VHT and clear coats since this stuff "dries" pretty quick as long as you're putting THIN coats on top of each other. Sand ALL the orange peel out between layers too.

Last coat of clear, dry/cure overnight and wetsand with 2000, and final buff.

Looks awesome Ultra, just got a question. What buffing cream or scratch removal did you use to smoothen the lenses after tinting them?

 

[NastyStang113]

Personally I used Meguiars 105 & 205 via a PC7424 / G100.

 

[Motivology]

Personally I used Meguiars 105 & 205 via a PC7424 / G100.

Is that what you used for buffing in the end? How do you like results of their products?

 

[NastyStang113]

Is that what you used for buffing in the end? How do you like results of their products?

Yes. Meguiars products? I use #105 & #205 on my car so I really like the combination. It's an awesome combo. I used to use #80 on my car with good results but this is even better.

This is a crappy picture from my iPhone but you get the idea.

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

Looks awesome Ultra, just got a question. What buffing cream or scratch removal did you use to smoothen the lenses after tinting them?

I'm not familiar with the products Nasty used but it looks like his came out good so go with that or this is what I use on ALL my polishing projects:

This stuff is the SHIZNITS!!!!

Here's my Harley's saddlebag after a quick polishing with this stuff

that's a satsuma tree you see in the yard over 100ft away. LOL

 

[Motivology]

Yes. Meguiars products? I use #105 & #205 on my car so I really like the combination. It's an awesome combo. I used to use #80 on my car with good results but this is even better.

This is a crappy picture from my iPhone but you get the idea.

I see, looks like that stuff works real well. Thanks for the info on the products you used.

I'm not familiar with the products Nasty used but it looks like his came out good so go with that or this is what I use on ALL my polishing projects:

This stuff is the SHIZNITS!!!!

Here's my Harley's saddlebag after a quick polishing with this stuff

that's a satsuma tree you see in the yard over 100ft away. LOL

Damn, that's really shiny and reflective. Might as well give both a try. Hopefully I'll be able to smoke these tail lights soon.

 

[NastyStang113]

Do you have a DA?

 

[Motivology]

Sorry if I sound like a newbie, but DA?