I've decided to paint the stock amber corner lamps with VHT Nite Shades, however, I messed up and oversprayed. The paint on the lamps is un-uniform and it has dried out, very dusty looking surface. I would like to strip the paint and start anew but don't know what to use to get rid of the old paint.

Since Nite Shades is acetone based I thought that nail polish remover (which also contains acetone) would work well but it's not so. I've been soaking the lamps in nail polish remover for about an hour now and some of the paint is coming off but the dried out, dusty looking texture remains.

Does anyone know how to properly strip VHT Nite Shades and not damage the lamps?

i think i had better success with goof off. i had to scrub hard but it seems to take off stuff a little better. just make sure you don't leave it on too long in random spots or it might leave a funny texture on the surface. just applying and wiping off to strip it should be fine though.

goodluck and post some pics when you're done!

howcome you didn't smoke it from the inside btw?

I think you need to buy another light and start over. VHT says it is perminant, so good luck getting it off. The only way to really make it looks good is to use a think coat. I know that sounds wrong but it looks the best.

3 coats of flat black spray paint pics below.

Where can I buy goof off, Autozone, HomeDepot, or somewhere else?

I'll definitely post pics when I'm finished.

Because it's a hassle to take them apart, it's much easier to clean, mask off, and paint and it looks better painted from the outside IMO.

I don't think it's permanent because when I started to soak the lamps in the nail polish remover some paint came off but not all of it.

I did use a thick coat and that's why I'm having this problem. I tried spraying with light coats and repeating (I didn't mess up all of the lamps but only two pieces) and that looks so much better.


How about paint stripper, would that work?

use regular mineral spirits aka paint thinner or just get another set of lenses and start over..

I'll try paint thinner tomorrow...thanks.

That looks terrible dude. Does the light even get through that paint. It looks too dull and it messes up the front.

Paint thinner will probably not work. If it does it will leave the lense very, very dull and cloudy.

Yeah...paint thinner doesn't work as well I hoped. It does strip the paint but you need to rub the lights like there's no tomorrow. I spent 20 minutes and only cleaned off an area of less than 1/2 inch, so I may just find some other lights and use them.

Anyway here are some pics of the front peices that turned out half-decent.

Close up. The clear pieces replace those that I messed up.
This is how they would look in very bright sunlight. Yeah I know, it needs a good wash.
Blinker on

So what do you think?

VHT Niteshades is pretty much impossible to take off. I messed up one of my tail lenses and tried takign it off and only messed it up further. Either get over the f*ck up or get a new lense and start over.