DIY - All Red Taillights

[CabrioPunk]

Wanted to bump this up. I have Testors Candy Apple Hot Rod Red and 2000 grit. Need clear coat. Fun winter project. Great thread.

[Karlspackler]

Turns out awesome! One of my favorite things I did and probably one of the cheapest

[Rsully70sev]

^ fuck you I'm jelly

[e30m20TurbO7]

you may want to clear coat them because if you live in a plaze wheres its hot in the summer they will fade!
just a tip

http://e30.bmwdiy.info/red-tails/index.html

I did mine on Saturday. After painting just the amber section, I then did a light coat of the entire light. It looks perfect. I used Testors #1605 Candy Apple Red, with no clearcoat.

[DatUtahGuy]

Wanted to bump this thread with useful information. I am the type of person that doesn't just want to KNOW how to do something but WHY it has to be done that way.

Here's the skinny:

When tinting tail lights with a testors/duplicolor red and an automotive grade clearcoat, there is a series of chemical reactions that are taking place.

First, the Testors Candy Apple Red - 1605, is what is called a SYNTHETIC ENAMEL. This means it does not use a hardener/activator. On the other hand, ACRYLIC ENAMELS use a hardner/activator that allows them to cure much faster and the shine to last longer/be stronger. A synthetic enamel takes longer to dry because of the absence of an activator, if you read the label, it says it takes 48hours to fully cure.
ENAMELS are your single stage in the automotive world.

Second, if you are using a readily available automotive grade clear coat, SprayMax, PPG, Transtar, Spies Hecker, you probably are using a URETHANE clear coat. Urethane clearcoats require an activator/hardener to cure.

The problem here is that URETHANE clear coats DO NOT LIKE going over ENAMELS(they are meant to go over urethane base coats), they are two different chemical reactions (think mixing water and oil). If you do not allow THE FULL CURE TIME on your ENAMEL before going over it with your URETHANE clear coat, bad things will happen. Furthermore, ENAMELS already have a clear coat mixed into them, so you need to scuff(wet sand) them before applying your clear coat, otherwise, you MAY have adhesion failure down the road.

As outlined by multiple people above, shoot your amber with your Testors/Duplicor SYNTHETIC ENAMEL, allow for the FULL CURE TIME, take the shine off your ENAMEL by gently wet sanding, shoot your URETHANE clear coat over it, allow cure time as outlined in the product label, then wet sand/buff to your hearts content(if you so wish)

Phew! Sorry for such a long post but hopefully this will give you an insight as to why you are doing what you are doing and what might have gone wrong for those of you out there who got less than stellar results.

[Voyd]

Schwarz3 makes some excellent points. Here are some pics of the process I have been using to tint tails for my customers. I used products that can be found by any DIY'er.

Products used. Disregard the Rustoleum clear and use the SprayMax 2k clear. I will snap a pic if anyone wants.


OEM amber tail:


Wax and grease remover:


600 grit:


Wetsand everything:


Final product after sanding. Everything should be dull:


Tape off:


Wax and grease remover again:


Tack the tail:


1st coat:


2nd coat:


Final coat of color. You can see the blended area. I don't tape off the amber as it leaves a hard line and I will be clearing so the blend wont be visible.


Wetsanded again w/ 2000 grit and ready for clear:


Clear applied:


Wetsanded w/ 2000 grit and buffed:

[CabrioPunk]

Very nice. How much cure time did you use?

[Voyd]

Very nice. How much cure time did you use?

I let the color coat dry/flash for 24hrs before the clear. I sand the clear as soon as it is dry to a hard touch as it is easier to buff out.

[SeatownE30]

The Duplicolor website says that the Metalcast line is specially formulated to work over properly prepared shiny, bare metal, and faux chrome-like surfaces. There is no mention of its use on plastic surfaces.

Do we know for sure that this is okay on plastic? I'm guessing its fine since alot of people have used this product, just caught my eye when i was on the DP website.

I'm SO doing this mod in spring! When its warmer outside of course. :)

[JasonC]

The Duplicolor website says that the Metalcast line is specially formulated to work over properly prepared shiny, bare metal, and faux chrome-like surfaces. There is no mention of its use on plastic surfaces.

Do we know for sure that this is okay on plastic? I'm guessing its fine since alot of people have used this product, just caught my eye when i was on the DP website.

I'm SO doing this mod in spring! When its warmer outside of course. :)

I used the dupli color metalcast on my e30 tails and Festiva tails. Both had no problems, but would put a good clear coat over them, cause i found that the red faded over time with no clear.

[SeatownE30]

Voyd - PM sent

[blueapplesoda]

If you use urethane 2 part in a el cheapo wal-mart spray gun, and some reducers for the temps you're spraying in, you can get it to be just right where you don't have to buff at all (no orange peel), just let it cure. Seal it after a week or two. It cures and looks like a wet cherry jolly rancher, no orange peel.

[ELIXIR]

i have an extra set of tails! looks like I have another project ahead of me :)

[quikveedb2]

Question, are you guys color sanding before applying clear? I'm in the middle of doing this, and using Testors I'm getting a pretty rough looking finish, will clear/wet sand/polish take care of it, or should I wet sand the Testors before applying the clear?

[bmwwheelman]

Hey guys,
I noticed a lot of you are using the Testors paint. And that's what I've been using in the past on my e34 but ended up painting the lights 4 times because it always went hazy. Clear coat or not.

Until I found this,

http://www.vhtpaint.com/products/niteshadesred/

So far I haven't had any problems with it going hazy or anything! It doesn't need a clear coat and looks as close to the factory as it gets!