993c2cab

Have you had to redo them?? Mine are flaking.. did I prep poorly?? not enough clear coat?? to much road salt?? want to get it right next time. TIA.

MisterRisky

I don't want to hijack this thread, but have any of you who painted your lights also had hairline cracks? Mine have little spiderwebs and I am getting a little moisture in there. If I don't fix the cracks I will have moisture issues inside the lights. Any suggestions?

Richard Curtis

I painted mine last summer. No spider-webbing although you can see any defects within the plastic very clearly now. No flaking, chipping, hairline cracks, etc. I prepped the surface thoroughly (much wiping down with wax remover, for ex., followed by a very light sanding with 2000 grit wet paper). Applied one very thin coat of the Candy Apple Transparent followed in 20-minute intervals with thin coats of clear.

elbeee964

What is it with this one friggin', cocked-hat, plastic german tail light assembly that it can't 'get' what the rest of the plastics industry takes as givens?: ie, color stability & durability.

Excellence was expected -- except in their wobbly plastics. Ridiculous.

[end of rant]
-Lonnie

Chris M.

I painted the tail lights on my former 964 and after 2 years they looked great. They didn't have any cracks but were pretty faded. The paint was holding up very well with no cracks, no fading, and no chipping. There are some great hreads here about the process.

jimq

they haven gotten much better even on my 996TT. $140K frigin car and both tail lights have 2 stress cracks in them. A $10K Kia tail lights will last the life time of the car without a problem

Boeing 717

Mine are still going strong with no flaking or cracking after more than a year. If i had to do it over i would find a way to get the plastic off and try to paint the inside red instead of the outside. Then epoxy the plastic back on.

JERRY

Hambisa

After one year and 20K miles, the paint on my tail lights has completely dulled, and has rubbed off altogether in patched on the center panel. They looked great for a few monthsOur wonderfully perpetual Southern California sunshine also wreaks havoc on much of what it touches, so now I have to remove it all without affecting the plastic lens. I used Testor's Candy Apple Red and Gloss Coat; any suggestions how to safely remove it?
I agree with the previous rants: Porsche has some of the best automotive engineers in the world, but there have been times when they must have handed projects over to the interns, and 964 taillights was one of them.

psychoideas

It would be nice if you could get a Chinese made copy.
Probably cost $20 and stay red forever!

elbeee964

The part I don't understand is why this plastic's composition is/was/will-ever-be NEVER changed?
It's as though there's this mistakenly ordered, mountainous, 100-year supply of back light bezels that are slowly being consumed out of this (formerly East) German warehouse...
And that until that pile is used up, we all get pinky lenses as replacements.
This, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. I want my Toyota-quality rear light plastic. [my one & only big Porsche 964 rant]

meek

How about using a tinted clear vinyl to re-finish or protect new lenses. I have fitted a new light bar and was thinking of adding a tinted stone guard. There are plenty of tinted semi-opaque vinyls out there.

porsche356sc

does anyone know where to get diods tail light, thath whould be nice

Meares

sorry for the ridiculous ? but, what do you mean by "painting" taillights?

parsecnc4

Close... but probably will cost closer to $30 since fuel costs have risen since and only 1/2 of the $20 is really in materals and labor.

Pesty

mine are still fine. must be well over a year ago now.
I did give it lots of coats though(was bored at work) they looked a lot better colour wise buta bit orange peely. keep meaning to polish them but never get round to it.