Removing Orange from the Corner lights and painting tail lights

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

I was just thinking today about what i can do for exterior enhancements and came up with a few things.

I have looked all over the internet and cannot find any clear corners for a 2000 toyota solara. It is very dissapointing. Can i use a paint thinner or remover to just clean out the orange paint and have an all clear corner light?? Is there anyway to convert my stock orange turn signal to being a clear corner without buying a new set(b/c i cant find any)??

Also i want my tail lights to have some a black covering. I have seen some of you guys on here paint them. Is it possible to do with regular old black spray paint and just do one or two very light coats?? I am trying to ball on a budget so i dont want to spend like $150 for two tail lights. If spray paint doesnt work can anyone tell me about how much they paid to have a shop paint them? I need everything to be legal because its my DD, but i think black tail lights would really help set off my exterior.

Click to read more...

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

for the ambers in your head lights you may be able to get away with opening the head light itself and removing the plastic amber peice. i do not know how they are set on the solaras but for honda civics they just pop right off. as for tinting your tail lights you can either take them to a shop and have someone spray tint them with clear coat and some black paint mixed in to give the tinting effect, most recommended.

another way is to spray tint them yourself, though if you don't have the materials to spray tint them properly you may end up spending the same amount it cost to get them tinted professionally. for spray tinting you could look for a product called VHT nightshades made by Summit, there are other products out there but i do not know of them, i'm sure someone could shine some light on that. 2 cans of this stuff would be sufficient for trying to get you where you want to be at w/e level of tinting preferred.

here is a semi tutorial i made when i tinted my tail lights myself.

http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12817&hl=tail+light

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

stick pantyhose over them

 

[Sudden_Impulse 10+ year member]

I was just thinking today about what i can do for exterior enhancements and came up with a few things.
I have looked all over the internet and cannot find any clear corners for a 2000 toyota solara. It is very dissapointing. Can i use a paint thinner or remover to just clean out the orange paint and have an all clear corner light?? Is there anyway to convert my stock orange turn signal to being a clear corner without buying a new set(b/c i cant find any)??

Also i want my tail lights to have some a black covering. I have seen some of you guys on here paint them. Is it possible to do with regular old black spray paint and just do one or two very light coats?? I am trying to ball on a budget so i dont want to spend like $150 for two tail lights. If spray paint doesnt work can anyone tell me about how much they paid to have a shop paint them? I need everything to be legal because its my DD, but i think black tail lights would really help set off my exterior.

Have you thought about making a vinyl overlay for the reflector? With the tails, any alteration to darken them isn't legal, so you're taking a risk putting any amount on.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

I would think white side lights aren't legal either.

 

[bw_audio 10+ year member]

..

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

Well, this is what i did. Now after reading that any altercation is illegal i am kind of scared because they are dark. Would wet sanding help get the paint off if need be?

Before:

After:

I was thinking about getting paint happy and painting the grille black too. Maybe even fog lights. What are you guys' opinions on that?

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

did you add any gloss to your tail lights???

they look flat..

 

[RipDaJacka]

i used Duplicolor car,truck, and suv paint sold at autozone.. its a trim paint and sticks well to plastic.. I have never sanded or cleared any after painting..

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

did you add any gloss to your tail lights???
they look flat..

no, i didnt use any clear coat. I agree with you that they look flat. I used the plastic duplicolor paint as well and it came out like that. If i can a coat or two of clear should i sand any before i paint it?

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

bump.... sand or no before clear coat?

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

is the spray you used for tinting? link to product if possible?

when i sprayed clear on mine i did not sand the tint, sanding the tint can cause un even shades of darkness if you over sand in one area.

what you should do is buy 2-3 cans of clear, yes, 2-3 cans.

hopefully you did not get any oils from your hands on the lights since you put them back on. spray the lights with LIGHT coats of clear. do your first layer, wait about 5-8 minutes then spray a second layer, go a little thicker on the second but not too much because you do not want any runs of clear. a single run of clear will **** up the entire light. anyways, after the second coat wait 15-20minutes and spray again with a light coat and repeat every 15-20 min add another light coat. use all cans of clear. you want a THICK amout of clear when your done. why? because now it's time to wet sand it. after your done spraying clear you have to let the tail lights sit for at least 12hrs before sanding. you need to let the paint cure and harden. when it's time get some 2000 grit sand paper and wet sand the lights untill there is no orange peal and have a complete smooth dimple free surface.

the reason for all the clear is so that when your sanding the orange peal away your not over sanding and removing all the clear and hitting the tint.

after your done sanding grab some liquid rubbing compound and buff the tail lights. that will remove the swirl marks of the 2000grit paper.

after buffing with the rubbing compund you need to buff with a polishing compound. after your done with the polishing compound you can wax it up.

yes it's alot of work. lol

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

is the spray you used for tinting? link to product if possible?
when i sprayed clear on mine i did not sand the tint, sanding the tint can cause un even shades of darkness if you over sand in one area.

what you should do is buy 2-3 cans of clear, yes, 2-3 cans.

hopefully you did not get any oils from your hands on the lights since you put them back on. spray the lights with LIGHT coats of clear. do your first layer, wait about 5-8 minutes then spray a second layer, go a little thicker on the second but not too much because you do not want any runs of clear. a single run of clear will **** up the entire light. anyways, after the second coat wait 15-20minutes and spray again with a light coat and repeat every 15-20 min add another light coat. use all cans of clear. you want a THICK amout of clear when your done. why? because now it's time to wet sand it. after your done spraying clear you have to let the tail lights sit for at least 12hrs before sanding. you need to let the paint cure and harden. when it's time get some 2000 grit sand paper and wet sand the lights untill there is no orange peal and have a complete smooth dimple free surface.

the reason for all the clear is so that when your sanding the orange peal away your not over sanding and removing all the clear and hitting the tint.

after your done sanding grab some liquid rubbing compound and buff the tail lights. that will remove the swirl marks of the 2000grit paper.

after buffing with the rubbing compund you need to buff with a polishing compound. after your done with the polishing compound you can wax it up.

yes it's alot of work. lol

wow i guess i should have figured all that out before i got spray happy. The paint is not specifically for "tinting" i dont think. Like that other guy said its duplicolor for cars, trucks, and suvs and i also bought it from autozone. Straight black paint i am pretty sure. So the entire clear coating process will take at a minimum a full day just because of the drying time, and i would have to go buy a few cans on paint, 2000grit paper, liquid rubbing compound, rubbing compound, and wax. That seems like a hell of a lot of money and work for two little lights. haha I am not looking forward to that.

What would be the best way to remove the paint i already put on there? Would the best/easiest thing to do it just buy new tail lights?

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

ehhhh, removing the paint may be a little difficult as you want to use a remover that won't damage the plastic.

you could try sanding the paint off but would still have to use a buffer with the compounds to get it back to it's gloss like shine.

you could try to find a paint thinner that is safe on plastic, acetone maybe? other than that i have no clue man. i guess you shouldn't of had just shot the gun.

question, since you used straight up spray paint does any of the light even shine out of the tail lights when you press the brakes???

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

oh yeah, at night it really isnt bad at all. During the day its a little difficult to see, but i have two other brake lights in the back too... One on the rear deck and one in my spoiler. Both of those are easily visible. I did 2 coats with about a 10min interval.