I finally replaced the cracked tail light on my 03 Cav. That being said, it means I have a "test" tail light to pain before I go doing the real deal. THAT being said, I have no idea where to start, so what I need to know is:
What grade(s) of sand paper?
What kind of primer (if any)?
Steps of sanding, priming, painting and clearing.
TIA
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I had mine done at the body shop. Still perfect after 2 years. Not sure if its a good idea to do it yourself with spray paint, etc but I wish you luck! It's a great appearance mod in my opinion.
I painted mine without ever sanding them. I used ppg basecoat mixed in a spray can and cleared them with acrylic enamel in a spraycan. It held up for 4 years before I decided to put the covers on that are on there now. Before I put on the covers I just used some lacquer thinner on a rag and it took the paint right off. A little polish and they were like brand new. I didnt sand them just incase I changed my mind later on down the road. Its a good thing I did beause I ended up changing my mind.
First wipe the taillight down with some degreaser to get the oils off of it. Rough it up with 400 grit for the primer to stick to it. Primer 2-3 times then wet sand with about 800 grit till its smooth. Base coat then clear coat then wet sand with 2000 grit then buff. Exactly what i did and mines been through 2 winters and summers.
Thanks guys. Since I have that test tail.. I may try the sand/primer/paint method on part of the tail, and then the paint w/o sanding on another part.. see what looks better.
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I'll be picking up a can of sandable primer, black auto paint and clear coat, along with 400, 800 and 2000 grit sandpaper tomorrow and attempting this on my "test" taillight.. if it works out, I'll hit all the back end pieces.
Wish me luck.
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So far my biggest trial with the test light is masking. I forgot to pick up some painters tape today, so I just went with what I had (regular tape). Also.. masking off the round areas proved to be a tad difficult. I only did half of the tail light just to see. I've gotten as far as the base coat and am waiting for it to dry. Before I attempt this on the real deal I will get some of the good quality masking tape.
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Masking isn't a difficult part, were you trying to lay round edges for a design? I found it far easier to mask the whole area draw the design and gently with a razor blade cut and peel it out (careful not to scratch the surface too deeply).
Did mine the exact same way as DCStang67 as far as surface prep goes, THAT is the most important step in my opinion. But as far as how it looks, that depends on the quality of the paint and # of clear coats and initial polishing. Just for reference heres mine after 4 coats of duplicolor indigo blue and no clear...haven't got around to taking pics of the final clear yet.
Yes yes..double posting is the devil, but this forum desperately needs an edit button..
Just remembered i had this bookmarked. An inspiration for painting my tails, a real quality job
w00tburger's cavalier with your year style tails unlike mine. Just scroll about halfway down and theres some really clear shots.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/707130/2
Admiral558 wrote:Masking isn't a difficult part, were you trying to lay round edges for a design? I found it far easier to mask the whole area draw the design and gently with a razor blade cut and peel it out (careful not to scratch the surface too deeply).
Did mine the exact same way as DCStang67 as far as surface prep goes, THAT is the most important step in my opinion. But as far as how it looks, that depends on the quality of the paint and # of clear coats and initial polishing. Just for reference heres mine after 4 coats of duplicolor indigo blue and no clear...haven't got around to taking pics of the final clear yet.
It's harder to mask it since the lighted parts are raised.. but I figured out a pretty good method that won't involve TOO much xacto use =P
As for surface prep, I messed up and only primed it once before basing.. so I went back w/ 400 and scuffed the whole thing up and primed it. Waiting for that coat to dry and then I'll put a couple more coats on, wet sand that with 800 and start applying base coat. Two questions though.. sould I sand in between base coats? And should I sand my final base before clearing?
Thanks a bunch guys! I'm so glad I'm finally able to get around to doing this.
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@!#$! It's thundering outside.. I hope it holds off until I can at least get one coat of base colour on =(
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rain never came..
3 coats of primer, lightly wetsanded with 400 then 3 coats of base then 3 coats of clear. It looked great until I wetsanded the clear with 2000 grit. I waxed it and it looks better, but you can still see the marks from the sanding and it's hazy in spots. Am I doing it wrong or should I maybe just not wetsand the clear at all when I actually do this. It looks alright, but it was better before and I don't want the real thing looking like @!#$.
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after you wetsand the clear you have to buff it out, i use 3M products when i do mine, their kind of pricey but the final product looks amazing, i dont believe you can just wax it
