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No more amber tails!

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Old 07-23-2017, 09:43 PM
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No more amber tails!

Well since my car is out for paint I decided to ditch the amber. I read on many different ways to so this. Most were paint the inside. Which I didn't really want to do incase I messed up. Much easier to polish the outside.

I ended up going with VHT night shades since I could get it local.

-clean with water and soap (almost destroyed them using a glue remover!) Also found out the black in between is just paint.
- light scuff with a red Scotch Brite
- taped off with some 1/8 painters tape then wider stuff for the outside
- start with one super light coat of vht. Then follow up with 3 heavy coats
- start out with one super light coat of clear then finish with 3 heavy coats (this way you can polish if need be)

I used a heat gun to speed up the vht process.

Sorry no pics on the car since it is out for paint!

Jay













Old 07-24-2017, 01:00 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

Quite impressed how well the color matches old.
Old 07-24-2017, 01:52 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

I'm also pretty surprised how well it matches after being sprayed over the yellow. Have you tried it with the lights illuminating it? Is there a noticeable difference in brightness or color compared to the brake light?
Old 07-24-2017, 03:03 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

I did put my led flashlight behind it. It still shows a tad orange but it is alot more dull. But it pretty well matches the illumination of the factory red brake lights though which surprised me. I'm debating doing sequencial LED as well.

Jay
Old 07-26-2017, 11:13 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

I love it...great Job. I will post pics of what I did to my plate lights. it would look great with your look of the lights.
Old 07-26-2017, 11:46 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

Looks good.

I've done two sets similar to what you did using Testors Candy Apple Red. One thing I did in addition to that was add a few coats to the factory red lenses too so they all have the same sheen. On one set I also repainted the black lines.
Old 07-26-2017, 11:56 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

Looks good Jay.

I've got to admire the good ol' Beaver saw you've got there. Beaver made good tools.
Old 07-29-2017, 11:12 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

You may find yourself scuffing and reapplying that in a year. I tried it several years back (maybe 10?) and eneded up sanding it off and re-polishing the tailights. It faded and I didn't want to be refinishing it every year.
Old 08-17-2017, 12:03 PM
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Re: No more amber tails!

Wonder if anyone has done a comparison of Testors Vs. VHT?
Old 09-16-2019, 09:05 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

Originally Posted by Firebat
Wonder if anyone has done a comparison of Testors Vs. VHT?
These are my tail lights after using the testors red and clear on them.






Old 09-16-2019, 10:28 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

Originally Posted by Jay_rich


Two years later, how has the spray paint held up? Still glossy or has it dulled?
Old 09-30-2019, 11:55 AM
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Re: No more amber tails!

i took the lenses apart and sprayed the inside of them with the VHT and none of the amber shows thru when the lights are lit




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