So I smoked my TL's today

So i smoked my tail lights today and they turned out ok, i did not get the black glossy shine i was looking for .

I used rust-oleum crystal clear enamel it says it will give a "glossy" finish but not enough for me. Can i buy another clear coat and put it over this one or will i have to sand it all down and start over?

 

looks like you didnt wetsand between coats..

take what you have now, and wetsand it, then hit it again with clearcoat,wetsand LIGHTLY, then if you wanna do it properly, buff it with some good wax

 

smoking plastic is a bad idea man.

I've been hesitant to do my TL's cause i don't want them pitch black, and i want them the be just as shiny as stock. I've only seen one or two like that.

 

Ok i'll give it a try tomorrow i used some turtle wax buffing compound and it helped a little bit but we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

 

I first thought: "How many TL's does this dude have????"
Then I realized: "Ohhhhhh shit he means taillights!"

 

I just did it to mine. Just wet sand them till all the orange pell is gone then a cleaner wax, then polish. They will look like glass.

 

So i need to use wax and the rubbing compound?

 

I did.
1. Paint
2. Let dry
3. Wet sand the orange peal away. It will look scratched to hell.
4. Then use a cleaner wax
5. Then a polish

I will try and get a pic of mine soon. It came out really well.

 

Oh! Don't forget to do your third brake light. That is the one i did first. Just to see how it all came out

 

Ok please do thanks, and i did it jsut wasnt in the pic

 

Like the ones on my lexus..

 

^perfect

 

Well i went and got the wax and some polish, i wet sanded then wax and polished them again. They turned out alot better then what they where but still not a high gloss shine . Oh well im done messing with them for this week maybe next week I'll take them off and try again .

 

Finally, I got my pic's of my TL's that i did. The 3rd one is with a flash. That's why its so light.

 

I would not worry about it, those look good.

 

I like the look and its not glossy my kind of look good job.

 

Much better with pics!

 

What grit sandpaper did you use to wet sand? Start with 400, and then go over it again with 600. Each time you are turning large scratches into smaller scratches. It's a process, and if you skip any part of it the results will show in a dull or lack-luster finish.

I smoked my tails today with Niteshades, and they turned out great.

A bit darker than I expected though. I only did 2 coats. Guess I put them on a bit too heavy.

I put 4 coats of clear over the Niteshades, wet sanded, buffed them out with rubbing compound, polish, and then wax. Smooth as a babies butt.

One thing I did that not too many peeps talk about is I wet sanded the lenses before spraying the niteshades. That should help a lot with adhesion and keep them from pealing or flaking.

If it all goes bad I'll just spend the cabbage and get some aftermarket tails.

 

I tried to debadge my buddy's IS250 yesterday, but ran into holes behind the badges... I see that your IS does not. Clarify?

 

How many cans of Night Shade did you use?