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Painted my tails the CORRECT way. *pics*

9K views 63 replies 46 participants last post by  NukkaLee 
#1 ·
I finally got around to painting the taillights on my DB8. The orange just had to go, and i wasn't ready to pay for some 2000 tails.

Apple Red
Clear Coat




Getting her all dressed up.


she's ready for clear...


After a good 24 hours of drying it's time for the "oh! soo smooth." process


Before and after pic of wetsanding and polishing.


Byebye orange


Money.



all done.


Totally worth $20 bucks in my opinion.



Quick step-by-step:

Use the 2000grit sand paper to rough up the taillights so the paint will adhere nicely. DoN'T throw away the sand paper, you will need it later.

Make sure to wash the tail lights with soap and water, use a soap that doesn't leave any residue, like dish soap.

Put about 3 or 4 coats of Red....remember, LIGHT coats.Just enough to cover the orange.

I used about 5 or 6 coats of clear, also very light coats...just make sure you cover it all evenly. And build it up pretty think, so you have plenty for sanding.

Let it dry for 24 hours at least before you wetsand....i used 2000 grit. It's almost as smooth as paper and takes a long time to sand smooth, but that's what you want to use for this project.

Pretty much any paint polish will work to polish them, I used "Meguires Swirl Remover 2.0" and "Adam's Revive polish". Don't use plastic polish, remember your taillights aren't a plastic surface anymore.

once you are done polishing them, (all the sanding marks out and they are bling blingin' like glass) put some wax on them, and make sure to wax them every time you wax your car.



---------------------UPDATE 4-13-08-------------------

It's almost been a year and some questions have been asked about the quality of the paint over time.

See for yourself!

These pics were taken today.





---------------------------------5/5/08------------------------

one year anniversary for my painted tails is coming up in a couple weeks. Figured I'd post a few BIG up close pics for you all to see.

Look just as good as the day i did it.








--------------------UPDATE 5/21/09----------------------------

Well guys it's just about been 2 years since I painted my tails so I took some new pics this morning to show you how they are holding up.







This is with no extra care other than waxing them while waxing the rest of the car. The paint is still holding up perfectly after 2 years, 24,000miles.
 
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#7 ·
It makes me laugh that people go through all that work to mask off their car, when its easier to take a few bolts off to take off tail lights. Also your paint doesn't run and is more even when it's laying down. Also you can tell if one light is darker than they other.

They look good, put I wouldn't paint my oem lights. Plus I like my amber, all red is over rated. Each to his own though.
 
#23 ·
they look great when i saw the thread name i thought i was bout to see a disaster but im gald they turned out nice it might become a future project for me if i cant find some 98+ tails
 
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