ok guys, I painted my taillights, I think it looks pretty good, except its not shiny. Any idea how I could make it shiny like the rest of my car?

-bloodrain+Mar 23, 2005 - 1:51 AM
use glossy paint

could I just get a clear coat glossy?

yup

the spray on kind sucks tho, it leaves residue, any suggestions?

-bloodrain+Mar 22, 2005 - 7:49 PM


wet sand with 1000 grit and buff it

wet sand paper with 1000 grit? Im trying a clear coat enamel paint (paint on with a brush) the right side looks awsome but the left I am gonna have to do again. I'll take some pics tomorrow

bah ****, now im pissed, wasted most of the can of paint and I completly ****ed up the tail lights, Im hoping paint thinner will remove the ****, but my paint started to bubble horribly, now it looks retarded,

15 years of modeling Tamiya rides, I learned that brake fluid could strip paint. Though, that's for model cars, and it eats up plastic. Not sure if it'll help......

-tomazws+Mar 23, 2005 - 3:14 AM

Keep the brake fluid away from the lenses -- it's one of the nastiest fluids you'll ever encounter and trying to get the residue from it off is near impossible.

Much simpler and safer solution -- brass polish. I know, sounds insane, but it will strip paint quite easily. I discovered this by accident when I was polishing my rear lenses and stripped off the Celica badging on the back of my fifth-gen liftback.

Side benefit -- gets rid off the scratch marks. And you can then re-clean the lenses for painting as before. As an idea, you should be able to use a good quality spray clear coat, but it requires work afterwards to get it smooth. The way it's been explained to me is to do three layers, with a light 1000-2000 grit sanding between, and then a wetsand and polish on the top coat. Make sure to use an actual abrasive finishing polish such as Meguiar's Swirl Remover. Then wax it to preserve the finish. In short, treat it just like any other part of your car when it's been painted.