The RIGHT way to clean up tail lights

[black94t]

FOREWORD: A common "complaint" on my MR2 has constantly been, "hey polish them tail lights!" At first I didn't think they were that bad but when I started thumbing around and looking at other cars' tail lights I quickly realized they were pretty faded and dull. Hey it's a 13 year old car afterall, what do you expect!? Anyway, I explored several different methods (i.e. polishing, buffing, home remedies and wetsanding) and it appears the only RIGHT long term solution was to do the whole 9 yards and wet sand from a fine grit to ultra fine grit. It seemed from other people's experiences that a polish and buff and even toothpaste would only last for several months before needing to do the process all over again. Being my lazy self, I knew I couldn't stay that committed to refinishing the tail lights quarterly. So, I figure I'd take the time now to enjoy the refinished lights for several years to come.

Purpose: The purpose of this write up is to show a step by step procedure of how to wetsand from 400g to 1000g, mask and paint, and finally to follow up with professional clear coat.

Scope of Work: The scope of this project is for plastic any plastic corner lights whether it be tail lights or front turning signal lights. This method is not to be used on any painted surfaces as the 400g will eat the paint.

Credits: I want to recognize Baktasht and Extreme Body and Paint (out of Jefferson City, Missouri) for their input and help towards the completion of this project.

What you will need:
1 - sink
4" of water in sink
1 - flexible sponge (do not use scour pads or the like) The sponge's duty is to keep the tail lights wet.
1 - Phillips Screwdriver
1 - Flathead Screwdriver
1 - 8mm socketdriver
1 sheet of 400g
1 sheet of 600g
1 sheet of 1000g
2 cans of Krylon Fusion Spray Paint ($4/each at Walmart) Color of your choice


Things to Keep in Mind:
1. Remember you're dealing with plastic. Old parts stuck in one position for several years may become brittle and break if too much force is used. Extreme caution should be used at all times.
2. Keep in mind the purpose of wetsanding. The water acts as a lubricant for sanding a fine layer off the lights. If the surface area and paper is too dry, plastic will get between the grit of the sandpaper and will produce a deep scratch into the plastic. Consequently you could crack the lenses or have to resort to a courser sandpaper to eliminate the scratch. There's only so much thickness in the plastic. Sanding too thin will lead to cracking. In other words,KEEP THE SURFACE AND SANDPAPER WET AT ALL TIMES. A sponge nearby can be very helpful.
3. My process will show starting out at 400 grit sandpaper. 400g will do the following: shave the little letters AND paint trim off the tail lights. You will notice that the paint trim is faded anyway; however, if you want to keep the old paint and letters, I would sand no lower than 1000 grit sandpaper.
4. The removal process is for 94+ tail lights. There could be different steps involved in removal of 91-93 tails.
5. The best paint is Krylon Fusion paints. Fusion paint is a plastic bonding paint, so this is the correct application. The body shop can do paint the tail lights too, but prepare to spend $50-75 for their work which requires tedious masking time. After seeing my results, it's fair to say the fusion paint with a professional clear coat can match the results of what a body shop can do.

DISCLAIMER: What you do to your car is 100% your responsibility. This is the procedure that worked for me and me alone. This is not the extent of cleaning tail lights, several other methods work; however, this method I feel works best.

The next several posts will show the complete process from tail light removal to wet sanding to clear coating to tail light installation. Thanks for viewing my write up!

PROCESS FOR WETSANDING AND CLEAR COATING TAIL LIGHTS
Step #1: Draw a sink full of water. Temperature is not of importance.


Step #2: Wash the tail lights. Washing the tail lights removes any external grime off the surface of the tail lights. If you do not remove the grim, it could catch in the sandpaper and lead to deep scratches. Get em clean as you can.

Step #3: We now begin with the removal of the tail lights. First and foremost, we want to remove the triangular corner pieces first. They have a metal clip that simply snaps into place. With your hands push the triangle corner piece towards the front of the car to create a gap. Take a flat head screwdriver and gently pry towards the back of the car to release the corner lights from it's clipped position. Turn the bulb socket 1/4 turn counterclockwise to release the bulb from the corner light.


Step #4: Take a phillips screwdriver and remove the two screws with hold the end of the tail light assembly.


Step #5: Take a phillips screwdriver and remove the single screw at the top of the tail light. You will need to open the trunk to access this screw.


Step #6: This is where I remind you that old plastic is easy to break. The tail lights seem stuck in place it seems. Little do we know (if you're a newbie) there are two plastic pegs that snap into place on the back of the light.

Gently with your right hand grip the tail lights from where the corner piece would be and pull from that position. The tail lights should come out fairly easily.


Step #7: Dont grab the lights and turn around yet! The bulbs are still in the socket. Use the same method of turning the bulb socket counter clockwise 1/4 turn to release the lights.


Step #8: Remove the center panel reverse lights. There are two phillips screws at the top of the center panel to be removed. Pull from the top of the center panel to release the clips from the plastic pegs. Unscrew the bulbs like previously stated and remove center panel. Remove the two 8mm nuts from the back of the center panel to remove the reverse lights.


Step #9: Remove the other side of the tail lights using the same procedure above.

At this point, you should have tail lights completely removed.


Step #10: We now enter wet sanding stage #1. We are using a 400g water proof sand paper. Completely submerse the sandpaper into your sink full of water and get it good and wet. Take your sponge and squeeze abundant amounts of water over the lights to get it good and wet. Begin sanding the tail lights in a circular motion if at all possible. Wet sanding in straight line motion could lead to excessive pressure and leave deep scratches and possibly even crack the lense case. Circular motions will force you to sand a bit lighter in stroke. Sand in 400 grit for 30 minutes. Keep a keen eye on the time. If you wet sand for 30 minutes on the left side, then wet sand for 60 minutes on the left side, there's a possible uneven contrast in the final product. The purpose for 400 grit is to eliminate the faded black paint trim and to shave the small letter that are projected on the surface of the tail lights. DO NOT WET SAND ANY COURSER THAN 400 GRIT.


You'll notice in the picture above, there is a pasty white substance that is left behind. My understanding is this substance is some form of oxidized substance left from wetsanding. As we move to finer and finer grits, the white substance will minimize.

Step #11: In the art of wetsanding we cannot jump from a course sandpaper to an ultra fine sandpaper. 1000g simply cannot smooth out a 400g surface. So we want to wet sand at smaller increments to achieve a 1000g surface. Therefore, we wetsand at 600g. Again, wetsand in circular motions (where possible) for 30 minutes keeping the surface wet at all times exactly how we sanded at 400g.

Step #12: Next and final level of wet sanding is 1000g. 1000g is considered ultra fine; however, there's 1500g, 2000g and 3000g but this is not necessary for our project. On this level of sanding, I spent an entire 60 minutes of wet sanding. I wanted the smoothest texture as possible. After the hour is completed, I put the tail lights on the end of the sink so I could take a nap. My arms were sore! No, but seriously, we want the tail lights to dry naturally. Do not use any towel or rag to dry them off. We have fully removed the clear coat and there are increased risks of scratching. Yeah, I know, it's probably alright, but am I interested in wet sanding for another hour? Heck no.



Notice my sink. All the sink was used for was wetsanding after initial wash. That dirt and grime was embedded in the plastic! Crazy, it seems. That sink is dirty. Better redraw fresh water. :thumbup

Step #13: After completing the wet sanding stages, we now want to begin the painting stage for painting the trim on the lights. You will notice from my pictures that not having the trim makes the lights stand out way too much. Having the trim will keep the lights lower profile.

In this step, we mask off the trim of the lights. It is recommended to use the 3M blue mask tape and not regular tape. Regular tape has a lot more adhesive and will get all over the lights. The trim is bordered with a small 1/16" joint. Use your fingernail to run along these joints to mask them off better.




Step #14: Now that the masking is done, we begin with spray painting. Hold the nozzle and spray onto a practice area to get a feel of how the paint is being applied. Hold the can 12-16" away from the surface and in sweeping motions apply the paint to the tail lights. Do not hold the nozzle in one location on the tail lights as paint will easily puddle up and run. First layer should fully cover the tail lights. The can says 15 minutes is all it takes to let the paint dry. I gave it 3 hours at least (especially for the first layer). Come back 2-3 hours and spray the 2nd layer exactly the same way the first layer is sprayed. At this point I let the lights sit overnight to fully dry. The next morning before work, I sprayed a 3rd layer (like the first and 2nd) and went on my way to work. After work, I sprayed a 4th layer. I waited 3 hours again and sprayed a 5th layer before going to bed.

The reason why I put 5 layers of paint on the tails is simply to build up a layer I can wetsand without loosing too much paint. The fusion spray paint is designed to provide a glossy smooth finish; however, we want to wetsand for a much better professional clear coat.




Step #15: Now that we have completed the spray paint process, we want to do a very VERY light wetsand using 1000g to not only scuff up the fusion paint (for clear) but to remove any paint that didn't get masked off correctly and to remove any residue. I noticed when I peeled the tape off my finger nail caught the tail lights and produced a scratch. So be careful peeling the tape off. Don't wetsand more than 3-5 minutes. The paint can be removed rather easily.





Step #16: Now the easy part, dump it off at your trustworthy body shop to have them professionally clear coat the lights. I know the owner of my body shop, so I can trust him when he says that the clear coat at Oriellys does not compare to the clear coat a professional body shop has.

Well, today I got the tail lights back and it looks fantastic. To reinstall the tail lights reverse the steps above for installation. You'll notice how much easier they are to install. In the following posts, I will show various pictures that show before and after and the rear of the car with the left side completed and the right side untouched. You can definitely see the difference!

Final product before Installation:

[black94t]

COMPARISON BEFORE AND AFTER (UP CLOSE)




100% COMPLETE BEFORE AND AFTER:

[black94t]

SOME ADDITIONAL PICTURES FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT WANT THE PAINTED TRIM

PICTURE OF BEFORE WET SAND AND AFTER:


PICTURES OF LEFT SIDE FINISHED (WITHOUT BLACK TRIM) AND RIGHT SIDE UNFINISHED:

[black94t]

dont need, please delete

[black94t]

dont need please delete

[black94t]

dont need, please delete.

[Ben]

Excellent write up. I'll probably be doing this before I get my car painted!

STICKY!!!!!!!!

[Davis]

^ Agreed!! Wow look at that shine!

[Sang]

Nicely done Kevin. I did my 91-93 tails in the past, but instead of clear coating them, I just got some polishing compound after doing 1500grit. Came out great Of course I also went ghetto route and smoked my tails without coating those a couple weeks later and they look like crap 2 years later...now I gotta do it all over again

[black94t]

dont need, please delete.

[Davis]

Hey Kevin, I was wondering how much did it cost you to get the lights clear coated?

[baktasht]

Very nice work, they look great. Probably better than when they were new.

[black94t]

Originally Posted by Davis

Hey Kevin, I was wondering how much did it cost you to get the lights clear coated?

Well, to be honest, I really dont know. It's something I'm going to add to the write up. I got the sandpaper for free and they clearcoated them for free. I know the guy there and he installed my border front (on my old 91, I did the 94).

So, I'll find out what kind of costs are involved. I wouldnt say more than $50 though. depends on the 3M sandpaper. I'll update when I get it all finished. Yesterday I finished at 1000g on the right side. They are smooooooooth and itchin for clear coat. So this week, they'll clear coat and I should have em done this weekend.

[Mister2.2]

Good write up but there's really no need to wetsand with anything below 2000 grit IMHO unless you have some scratches that need taken out. I used 2k on mine which came out very smooth and took out all the fine scratches I needed them to take off. You can actually shave a good bit of plastic with 2K.

[Davis]

Hmmm alright then, can't wait to clean up my lights.

[black94t]

yeah dont do anything until I'm completely done. there's going to be some significant changes although I still stand by the 400-600-1000g wetsand process.

[baktasht]

I think one additional reason that Kevin started with a lower grit sand paper is to sand the letters off

[black94t]

as stated in my writeup!!!

I'm not sure if 600g can completely pull the black trim off and I'm very certain 600 cannot shave the letters. So I started at 400 and I wanted to get back to 1000g, and I cant do that without small increments.

It's amazing on the vast array of opinions on how these tails are done. WOW. I mean, I've heard 1000 is too fine.....1000 is too coarse......400 is too coarse....600 is the only level necessary. But what it comes down to for me is this: I want to shave the letters, I start at 400. I believe 1000 is a very fine and makes the tails smoother than a baby's behind. After seeing the "prototype" of what clear coat would look like, I'm sticking to my process.

But keep in mind, whichever process you guys choose, DO IT ON BOTH SIDES. do not mix processes as they will achieve different results.

[warhawk]

wait, what about the polishing?? did the shop polish the lights, and clear coat them for you?

[magnesmurf]

Nice result!