Today I attempted to try and smoke my tails, using VHT niteshades, but it is looking absolutely TERRIBLE! Idk what i did wrong, but someone please tell me i can fix it?

what i used:

Right light, after final clearcoat



Left tailight, after my attempts to make it glossy











Heres what i did, following this tut: https://www.scionlife.com/forums/scion-tc-1g-aero-exterior-1636/how-tint-your-tails-vht-niteshades-55976/ :
-Taped off car, cleaned light with alcohol
-Sprayed VHT nightshades until they were as dark as i wanted them. let dry for about an hour and a half
-sprayed clearcoat(used duplicolor acrylic enamel because i couldnt find acrylic lacquer like the DIY recommends), let dry for about 20 mins, sprayed another coat, let dry for about an hour
-wetsanded, clearcoat, wait half hour, wetsand, clearcoat

this is where they should of been done, but as you can see in the first two pics, they were not at all glossy, so i thought id polish them up...(this was about two hours after last clearcoat)

-used mequires polishing compound, didnt do much at all.
-used rubbing compound i found in my dads box of car cleaning stuff. looks like its 30 years old and heavy duty, but i figured i needed the cutting strength to get them to shine. Used it on a test spot, and it took away the glazed look alot, so i applied it to a large area and it didnt look so good...and it feels as if the clearcoat is just peeling away

Someone PLEASE help me!!! i dont want to try anything else in case i make it worse...

 

not sure which diy u used but it doesnt seem like u followed it to well

did u wetsand before spraying the vht and what grit sand paper were u using?looks like u scratched the left tail or maybe thats the clearcoat u said was "like peeling off"?

if you weren't using FLEA's diy i suggest looking it up,don't know if its still on here ill see if i can find it tmw but i followed that guide thoroughly and my tails came out perfect..just way too dark. when i removed the tint i used lacquer thinner(hes got a guide for that too im pretty sure..) and just buffed em..i suggest doing that and starting over another day following the guide perfectly.

and if u do,use spraymax2k clearcoat..very good stuff

 

resize the pics please

 

they orange peeled, di you wipe them with alcohol before painting and after sanding,after wiping them you cant touch them or teh oils from your skin wiff caue the paint to do what it did,also sand paper isnt needed,use a scotch brite pad to scuff them up

 

edited my post with the DIY i followed. it seemed like the best one on SL. I think fleas is the one i originally looked at a long time ago, but i think maybe its not on the boards anymore? found this one : http://www.smokedtaillightstint.com/...h-tutorial.php which looks better than the one i used, but i didnt find it until just now...

 

yeah, i wiped them with alcohol before painting, but not after sanding(DOH!).

but i dont think id describe it as orange peel. Someone correct me if im wrong, but orange peel is having pits and an unsmooth surface. My tails are perfectly smooth(except on the one i messed with), just not glossy...

 

did you wetsand after vht and after clearcoat?you have to wetsand after everything

 

i listed what i did. vht, clear, clear, wetsand, clear, wetsand, clear

 

wet sand what you have, add another coat of tint.

wetsand the tint, clear coat, wetsand clear coat, buff to a shine. what clear are you using?

 

duplicolor acrylic enamel.

and i dont want them to be any darker than they are now(alot darker in person than in pics), so idk about putting more tint on top of that...

and what do you mean by buff to a shine? i did pretty much what you said, minus wetsanding after tint, and it was far from glossy. Idk what to use to buff it up.

oh, and i used 2000 grit sandpaper, should i bump down to 1000?

 

looks good

 

wetsand,vht(as dark as u want),wetsand,clear,wetsand,buff is what u shudve done

look on that diy u found,that is fleas and look under the "buffing and waxing the taillight" section..thats what buffing to a shine is.

if their as dark as u want do wat blackdout said but wetsand the clear and reclear them..then wetsand that clear then buff

make sure to wetsand evenly after the clearcoat,the whole light should look dull,if its darker in some places and duller in others,wetsand over the darker areas until the whole light looks more or less the same,then rubbing compound,plastic-x and your wax.i did buffing by hand with microfiber pads..worked but would be alot easier with a buffer if u have one

 

i have a detailed DIY in my sig...

if u dont want it any darker, wetsand it, reclear with abour 4 thick coats so it looks nice and wet and shiny, wetsand the clearcoat after 24 hours, then buff them with 3M Rubbing Compound, then a good liquid wax

 

id try a diff clear..i used upol#1 and it was 10times better than the duplicolor and at first mine turned out like yours and i realized i was spraying close enough with the clear so i wet sanded and put a heavy clear coat closer up and they came out great..too dark bc now i have to get rid of them..keep gettin pulled over..

 

upol is the one of the best clears you can use!

 

Wow that looks like utter crap.

A. not suppose to use acrylic enamel but lacquer.
B. WTF did you do to make th left look so damn bad.
C. resize your pictures im in organic chemistry right now and my computer is going to hell cuz of these pictures.
D. read the DIY its not very hard.
E. If its your first spray paint job id recommend you find a friend who knows how to spray paint. I hate how everyone thinks spray painting is EASY ITS NOT

 

ok, today i am going to try and fix it. heres what i plan to do:
-go buy some new clearcoat. anyone know where i can find upol?
-wetsand what i have real good, clearcoat, wetsand, clearcoat, wetsand
-buff with 3m rubbing compound, plast-x, and wax

OR should i just try to strip it all and try again?

 

If you want to start over again, take the taillights completely off and go buy some Goof Off in a spray can. It will completely take the paint off and leave the taillights looking brand new.

Also, I know everyone will probably jump on my ___ about this, but all I did was clean my taillights and then spray them with VHT Nightshades. I never sanded or buffed or did anything with clearcoat and mine came out probably as shiny as possible. I work at a carwash and get my car washed at least once a week and the paint has held up fine.

 

200 grit is way to rough,use 800 or 1000 the black paper to wetsand, scuff with a scotchbrite pad

 

definitely wet sand it down and restart on it. dont worry, it can still be saved!