Notices
Scion tC 1G Aero & Exterior Aero parts and exterior dress items...

Painted my tails

Old 01-30-2011 | 11:10 PM
  #1  
qbnlykwhoa's Avatar
Thread Starter
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 388
From: Toms River, NJ
Default Painted my tails

So I decided to start this little project on Friday. Taking off the back bumper is cake and the tails are pretty easy to remove too. It's about 20F where I am and It was very cold. So I used my heat gun and a small heater I had to heat up the pieces and the paint before I sprayed.

I left the reverse open and it looks sexy with the 1.5w leds I put in there.
I also bought some LED bulbs for the brake lights but when I had them in they blew my tail and stop fuses. Not sure why so if anyone has any idea please let me know. I even tried filpping the led around and still the same thing.

Let me know what you guys think. The paint is very glossy and has only slight orange peel. I also did my TBL.






















Last edited by qbnlykwhoa; 01-31-2011 at 03:10 AM.
Old 01-30-2011 | 11:18 PM
  #2  
mmmpshh's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (5)
 
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 2,524
From: Oklahoma City From Brooklyn NYC
Default

Looks good... I tried it with mine and I didnt do a good job. lol Yours came out really nice
Old 01-30-2011 | 11:20 PM
  #3  
qbnlykwhoa's Avatar
Thread Starter
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 388
From: Toms River, NJ
Default

Thanks man, yeah I was working on my only set so really didn't want to mess them up. I started Friday and just finished today.
Old 01-31-2011 | 03:39 AM
  #4  
shiroitc's Avatar
Senior Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
 
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 116
From: New York
Default

Lookin' good. I'd love to do something like yours on my tail lights.

How's it done? What do you need to do this?
Old 01-31-2011 | 03:50 AM
  #5  
jayydm's Avatar
Senior Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 263
From: Orlando, FL
Default

what did you use to paint them? Id like to do this to my TBL also
Old 01-31-2011 | 03:59 AM
  #6  
jkhoury's Avatar
Senior Member
SL Member
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 257
From: nor cal, CA
Default

nice
Old 01-31-2011 | 04:12 AM
  #7  
krazyliltc's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (4)
 
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 513
From: Hillsboro, Oregon
Default

That looks really good! What kind of paint and clear coat did you use?
Old 01-31-2011 | 04:34 AM
  #8  
juzlookzfazt's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
 
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 705
From: O-town FLA
Default

Very interesting. What did you use to spray the tails? I don't think I've ever seen translucent red spray paint before.
Old 01-31-2011 | 07:36 AM
  #9  
x_Batman_x's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,111
From: New Orleans
Default

I wish you had left the entire upper chrome part unpainted. Having just the actual reverse light housing masked off comes off a bit awkward to me :-/

other than that I love the red tinting, haven't seen it done before on +08s :-)
Old 01-31-2011 | 04:45 PM
  #10  
JTAC's Avatar
Member
 
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 34
Default

Very nice! I painted my 05-07 tails candy red as well. Looks much better than OEM.
Old 01-31-2011 | 04:50 PM
  #11  
Yay Jaw Knee's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 303
From: Miami, FL
Default

Sick job!! Mind walking us through the process? What paint did you use? Prep work, clear coat?
Old 01-31-2011 | 05:00 PM
  #12  
JTAC's Avatar
Member
 
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 34
Default

Here are some before and after pictures of the tails.

Before (personally I think the stock OEM red is too bright; almost looks orange):




After (darker red, makes the tail lights and TBL pop):


Old 01-31-2011 | 06:40 PM
  #13  
qbnlykwhoa's Avatar
Thread Starter
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 388
From: Toms River, NJ
Default

The paint I used was krylon stained glass in the color red. This is just like any other paint and shades darker the more you spray. I bought it online, couldnt find it in any store. For the clear coat I used Krylon UV resistant paint since it will be sitting outside, was trying to stick with krylon.

As far as prep, I wet sanded the whole light with 1000 grit so it would have something to grab onto and then masked off the reverse light (This took a while getting them excatly the same on both lights). Laid down about 3 coats of red and let that sit over night. Wet sanded down those coats the best I could with 1000-1500 grit to get out whatever orange peel I could. Then laid down about 3 coats of clear and let that sit overnight. Next day I wet sanded them with 2000 and then hit them with 3m rubbing compound and some Plast-X. I can probably Sand them a bit more and polish them up but I didn't want to break through my clear so I stopped where I was.

I also had some sick 5050 LED bulbs for the stop/brake lights but when I put them in they blew my fuses. I think I figured out how to get them to work and will be testing them tonight with extra fuses in hand. Will put updated pics If they work.

Make sure you have a few days to get it all done. It would have came out flawless If I let it dry and sanded between every coat but I didnt have enough time for that so I only sanded after the paint and after the clear hence the slight orange peel. Still very happy with the results.
Old 01-31-2011 | 07:39 PM
  #14  
Joyride's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
Fail, INC
teamNJCT
Fresh Crew
SL Member
 
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 6,972
From: A dumpster
Default

---
Old 01-31-2011 | 08:14 PM
  #15  
ExpresScion's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 2,575
From: Phila.
Default

Not crazy about the top part, but you did a good job on them.
Old 02-01-2011 | 04:38 AM
  #16  
qbnlykwhoa's Avatar
Thread Starter
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 388
From: Toms River, NJ
Default

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the comments, I will be buying a buffer soon though, got a good workout at the end.

Well I was thinking about opening up the housing and switching around the light configuration to make the small circle the reverse light but this was my only set so didn't have the time to do that. With my tints I need that reverse light as much as I can get to see at night so leaving that area white was a must.

I love the way they came out, just not sure if it is the look I'm going for. I ordered a full TBL in red and will probably be selling the OEM tails and OEM TBL very soon. I'm weird like that. So this was more of an experimental weekend project.
Old 02-01-2011 | 05:58 AM
  #17  
x_Batman_x's Avatar
Senior Member
10 Year Member
5 Year Member
SL Member
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,111
From: New Orleans
Default

There is no reasonable way to open up taillights anyway. You cant bake them so, you have to cut them open and glue them back together, and its pretty much impossible to get is so the glue doesn't show. I would love if I could make my small circle my reverse light because I actually don't have a reverse light at all, its covered with an eyelid.
the reverse camera helps lol
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Rob54Monty
Maintenance & Car Care
2
01-20-2016 01:41 PM
jdmautoimports
Regional - Canada
0
09-24-2015 04:00 AM
jeremydoc
PPC: Exterior / Styling
0
09-16-2015 11:31 PM
mc1114
Scion tC 1G Aero & Exterior
3
08-10-2015 10:34 AM
umnitza
Exclusive Sponsored Sales
1
07-25-2015 07:54 PM


Thread Tools
Search this Thread
Quick Reply: Painted my tails



All times are GMT. The time now is 11:49 PM.