I came onto a pair of "perfectly matched" 95/96 red clears - BIG LOAD OF ****. The seller was MaxiPad96 and he took $290 of my money. Whatever.

I am stripping them down to clears and then re-painting them from the inside with some Testors Candy Red paint (1605). I was able to get the first layer of paint off (seems to be some sort of latex paint, very little light went through, and it was almost sticky coming off). I used Goof Off for that, and it worked very well.

There is another coat underneath it though... It is much harder then the last coat, and I can almost pick it off with my fingernail (very brittle, but still stuck on there). I'm assuming its Testors or simular, because of its texture. I don't want to ruin these tails by using some harsh crap, but what do I do? I've tried:

-Goof Off
-Turpentine
-Mineral Spirits
-Afta Adhesive Remover
-Rubbing Alchohol

The mineral spirits had an effect for a little bit, but eventually it stopped working, and no more paint would rub off onto the rag. The others wouldn't make the stuff budge.

I'm at my wits end, kinda ****ed, slightly stupider after those fumes, and anxious to get those god damn altezza's off the Max.

So, any suggestions on how to get this stuff off?

 

sorry bro cant help u there

 

If you can't help him why did you bother posting?
Anyway, use nailpolish remover on that. It will take lots of elbow grease but it works, trust me. I removed testors tint from ALL my lights. Make sure to polish/buff them afterwards. I used mothers 3 step crap and they look awesome.

 

I could have told you he was rip off artist. I still have his info if you need it. That guy is a thief.

 

yet he still posts

 

Wish I'd known he was an *******. I'll try out the nail polish tonight. If that doesn't budge the paint, I found some stuff online called strip a kit - made for models, it's supposed to be safe on plastics.

Thanks

 

The key - Fume Free Easy Off Oven Cleaner. It strips the enamel or whatever the hell it is, right off. A little work with a toothbrush and its back to all clears for these tails. Thanks for the suggestions though.

 

yeah but I would wear some latex gloves when using that stuff. I was painting my buddy's truck and I used that stuff to take the decals off (worked like magic) and I got some on the back of my hand and it burned through some of my skin and left a little scar. It also doesnt wash off easy, I had to use Carb. cleaner and fast orange.

 

yet again... the pictures were still posted and he never claimed they were DavidL's taillights. Ive seen them in person and the look just like they did in the pics that are on his website... im sorry you arent satisfied with the results..but you get what you see

 

will the oven cleaner work on clearing a set of tails from a '96 ? Then I could just repaint the red portion. and walla....red\clears for a '96. Or am I just way out there...

 

yes, you are way out there... our tails are not painted, its the plastic itself that gives it the color

 

007Max,
Since it seems that you are the "smart" guy of the group, then what are my options?

Vortex SE

 

thanks... i try to be

you could completely red out your tails using the above mentioned paint, or you could drop $350 on a real set of red clears... your choice there...

i'll be redding mine out myself sometime soon

 

Are you saying to just paint the back side of the orange lens? If I did that, wouldn't it be hard to get the colors to match...you know both reds(original red on bottom and the painted red over orange on the top)?

Vortex SE

 

spend $250+ and hope that you will find a set of red/clears

spend $5 for red paint or vinyl and just red-out the ambers.

 

Anyone have pics of the ambers redded out with paint?

 

no! no! no! you don't paint the inside because how is that going to help if the plastic is still orange on top of that paint the outside only!

as far as matching and pictures... you'll have to ask they guys who have done it already... this thread comes up about once a week so just look through the archive and you will find a butload of pictures

 

i prefer red transparent vinyl film because its' not a permanent solution + I can get it to look real smooth.

here's mine after 4 months since I applied it:

 

They didn't look bad in those pics, but in person, HORRID. They didn't match, at all. The pics you sent me were from a great angle, because the real tail lights I recieved were completly non-transparent. i.e., as if you used a flat latex paint. Also, if you're going to lie, do it right - The bottom coat was a testors paint, and didn't look half bad, but the top coat was the ****s - some sort of latex (re-read my first post).

You said perfectly matched in your FS post - these were far from it. You are either color blind, or wanted to get more then they were worth. I feel it was the later.

I really wish I took pictures of the tails before I stripped them, from an off angle. You couldn't even see the reflectors (not to mention, there is a crack on the right tail light, behind the black border).

 

where'd u get the Fume Free Easy Off Oven Cleaner? i need these for my faded/chipping red/red tails. I've been trying so many things and all of them failed. Goof Off, Paint Thinner, Oops! All purpose remover, rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover. They all just took the dirt off of the tails.

 

Check the household cleaning section of the supermarket, they should have it. Make sure its the fume free version - they have a regular version (that burns hands like fastmax mentioned) which contains lye - it'll stain the plastic lenses.

I just soaked the painted section in stuff, left it on for 20 minutes and scrubed it with an old toothbrush. You'll notice it start to fade, slowly. Repeat this two or so more times, til you notice that the paint is starting to flick off. Then cover it in the stuff for 40 minutes, then run it under water. The paint will just completly rip off with a little toothbrush work.

Make sure you use some dishwashing soap on the lense when you're all done - it'll stain the plastic after a few hours if it isn't washed off.

 

im not saying anyone is wrong....but these pics dont make them look good at all. compare the two red portions of the light

 

exactly... mine look the same way. Im not sure if you can see through DavidLs.. but you sure cant see through mine either... the look (close to matching) but by no means match

 

I don't think you understand - there were two different layers of paint on those tails, requiring two completly different methods of removal.

(edit) The bottom layers of the paint, the enamel, looked really good, and matched perfectly. The top layers on the other hand, the thick, latex type paint, looked like garbage. (edit)


If you're going to do something, do it right. I am painting these from the inside, with testors candy red. I've seen it done 100 times, and its very easy to match the color, if you take your time with very thin layers. Pics will be posted when I'm through.

 

You can also see the reflectors and the rear of the housing in these pics. In real like, the color is much brighter, and had nearly no transparency.