0utlier

I've been reading, and reading, and reading about this and it seems there are two camps regarding painting the tail lights red.

1. Mask off the entire light, minus the yellow part. This will paint the yellow part only, leaving the lower red and the white back up untouched.

2. Mask off JUST the white back up part and paint the entire tail light assembly, including the lower red section.

Which way is the "best" way? It seems painting the entire lens, minus the white back up part, would give the most even look. For those that have done this what are your thoughts?

AO

I painted just the yellow portion and am very happy.

Jim M.

I painted just the yellow part almost three years ago, and it's still perfect. Painting the red part will make the lens darker and less visible and that much harder to get the yellow to the same shade of red. When I did mine I just set the un-painted lens next to the one I was painting and sprayed until the colors matched. Cheapest mod I've ever done, under $2.00 and I've done three cars with the same can of candy apple red ENAMEL. Don't use lacquer paint, as it may react with the plastic lens.

Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS 5-spd

928ntslow

I masked the back up lens and painted the whole thing red. The brake lens did not turn out darker. YMMV

0utlier

Did you use the standard Testors 1605 Candy Apple Translucent? Did you clear coat, or just paint?

Jim M.

No clear coat is necessary. Cars used to be painted with enamel paint, so the painted lenses will hold up well and can be waxed with the rest of the car.

Jim Mayzurk
93 GTS 5-spd

Tony

What Jim said..ive done it to mine as well. No issues at all here in the heat of summer in Vegas. Just besure to mask off far enough inside the reverse light area..some of the orange will be visbile if you dont.

IMHO, it really updates the car.

Sab

What is the prep work? Sand it with fine grit paper or just clean it?
How about spraying a very thin layer of translucent black to get the "smoked" effect the AMG Mercedes come with? Clear coat after?

Tony

I just prepped it with rubbing alc. to get rid of the grease..waxes etc. No sanding..no clear coat. The translusent black will work as well...the more coats the darker it gets. I found that if you spray tooooo light of a coat you get a "frosted" appearance...try and go heavier but with out running. Good thing is if you muck it up, good old mineral spirits will take it off and you can start over again after re prepping.

bobbigham

I think the lights look great all red. I thought about it before but was worried it might come out a little cheesey. I guess I was wrong.
Where do you get the translucent paint?

AO

Any good hooby store will have it. Ask for "Testors" brand spray paints. The official color is "Translucent Candy Apple Red" #1605.

928ntslow

Yea, what they all said. However, I started a different route before the paint thing happened. I used red window tint. It came out great, but didn't last more than a few months. I ended up sanding off the raised letters and such and tried it again. That didn't last long either, so I sanded the whole lens except for the clear part and painted it red. I buffed mine out after it dried and came up with a serious high glass finish to match the reflector strip. On a pre GTS, you don't have to worry about this.

dr bob

Added to Keith's note-- His painted taillights look perfect, just like a set comes from the factory. No hint that they had been any other condition. The change in the rear look on his car is subtle if you don't know that they were changed. Very wide white GTS butt, wider with the custom wheels and tires, and the red-with-no-orange lenses complete the picture. I've followed his car a bit and it looks impressive going down the road.

Jadz928

I would recommend scuffing the surface with scotchbrite.

icsmike

Anyone done anything for the 86 and earlier style?