Nightshade FTW - Tinted Tails - 56k=BAD

[brandondan1]

Does is matter if its matte before clear??? I guess if it does, you would need to wetsand w/2000 and then buff it afterwards, but i do that after the clear anyways.

A matte or gloss finish will look the same under a gloss clear.

Well I guess you missed the point that I didn't want to add clear. The metalcast paint I used on my red corners was high gloss to begin with, and has held up to almost a year of Texas abuse so far without wearing out.

I'm simply asking if the paint is matte finish, or just looks like that because of some weird reason like picture quality, temperature/humidity conditions, or spraying technique.

[Van Westervelt]

VHT is matte

[brandondan1]

Thanks for clearing that up.

[Desaevious]

I have a can of this that I tested on a spare tail. I put too much on it. How many layers did you shoot this with? I thought 3 light layers would be fine but the light output says otherwise. Can you get some pics of these at night or when its dark? I know all DIY will hinder light output but I'd like to see how well yours was done. Thanks.

[gearheadE30]

That's pretty awesome, the bodykit actually looks pretty good in that color.

[Van Westervelt]

MHW's limit the light output too contrary to popular belief.

[brandondan1]

E30_Groupie. As someone who has a lot of experience with this, I want to ask, shouldn't a matte finish reduce the transparency of the light more than a gloss finish(like fog on a window)? Even if you put clear over it, you're not getting any actual transparency back, just making the outside layer shiny, no?

Most of the lights I've seen with matte/clear have a "hazy gloss" and that's not what I'm looking for. I want a look that would be similar to applying vinyl tint over the light, and for that I'm thinking a gloss finish paint would be better. I'm going to try Smoke Metalcast and see how it turns out.

Any opinions?

[Van Westervelt]

Well, I have made many sets of these and each set gets better. Even my first set looks great.

The matte finish with a gloss over it wil not hamper light output as much as the satin look will. It wont lessen the output persay, but it will act as a filter/diffuser and soften the look of the light, making it look dimmer and cloudy.

Adding the gloss over the top will fill in all the surfaces and it will look glossy, crisp, and clear.

So yes, but not as much as your eyes make you beleive.

OP- If you are spraying a gloss clearcoat, and its coming out matte, or satin, you are either not using enough paint, or the paint you are using is shyte.

[BrewCity11]

beat me to it....

Matte, Satin, Semi-gloss, Gloss, etc, all refer to the way the surface of the paint dries.

If you spray matte over matte, there is no "line" in between. The new layer fills in the "pores"(surface) of the first layer, and now the top layer is matte.

When you spray Gloss over matte, the gloss fills in the "pores" of the matte, and the new surface is a shiney gloss.

Matte tint is no less transparent then gloss tint as long as the final coat is gloss.

Hope this makes sense.

[BrewCity11]

OP- If you are spraying a gloss clearcoat, and its coming out matte, or satin, you are either not using enough paint, or the paint you are using is shyte.

That was my biggest hurdle in making them look right. I have always sprayed light, even coats, and i kept getting a matte look to it. Finally, just sprayed a thicker coat, and got the desired gloss look.

[Van Westervelt]

They tails I do usually end up with about 6 coats of clear on them when done. But more are applied and removed.

[haso]

loooks great man i just did somethin similar too

[E30_fiend]

not a fan of eurogrills.

ban

[brandondan1]

That was my biggest hurdle in making them look right. I have always sprayed light, even coats, and i kept getting a matte look to it. Finally, just sprayed a thicker coat, and got the desired gloss look.

Yeah, that's always the key when spraying clear. If you don't spray enough it turns out like crap, but if you spray too much, you get runs. I usually do it until I can see a clear reflection of my pin light, but in this case I just wanted to find a good quality gloss tint so I could skip that step altogether :p

Thx for the info guys.

OP- try to post some more pics when you finish

[rwh11385]

painted tails = thumbs down. BTDT, and glad to have OEM tails

good luck not getting rear-ended by granda susie when she doesn't see the upcoming stoplight and doesn't notice your faded lights. why not remove the 3rd brake light as well like others and slam it on the ground so there's no possible way a truck could know you are slowing down if its too close.