I finished painting and installing clear tails on my 95SE. I documented the process I undertook to get it done. Check it out and let me know what you think.



M

 

i think you did a great job but then i still think the stock one is more darker? by the way did you only paint the outside? not the inside?
let me know

 

Thanks. The inside whites are darker because of the difference in the reflector patter. The new reds are darker though. The inside reds are more orange. I'll try red bulbs to see if I can get a closer match.

I intended to paint the inside but had a real hard time getting them apart. So, instead of possibly breaking them, I thought I'd give the outside a shot first. So I tried two coats of red on the outside corner of one lens. After I compared the look with the stock tails I thought they looked good. The VANS paint is really translucent which helped.

M

 

That is as good as it gets right there, you should continue on DavidL7's hobby if you can handle that....

The only thing I hate about the 95-96 clear/reds is the real white signal pieces, that what really messes it up. only if they came darker!

 

Good job, looks good.

 

Looks really nice, however do you think they will fade out after a while of being exposed to the natural climate?

 

great job man ... looks really good .. i'm think i'm going to do the same

 

Yeah, those look really good.

 

Those look just as good as DavidLs... a very clean job.
-Cyrus

 

David L's work 3yrs later:


BTW very nice job

Ant

 

ny96max, you have a really sweet lookin 96. Do you have any more pics of it online?

 

ive been meaning to ask what is that reflection of in everyones 95-96 clear/red's. Is that peeling or something or what?

 

damn, i can't get over how good those look. you said you used VANS spray paint .. where would one be able to get this, home depot?

 

www.lightningmotorsports.com

$30 a can

Ant

 

what are you talkin about?? peeling??

mine are sprayed on the inside not outside

No peeling here man after 3yrs.

Ant

 

damn thats pretty steep for one can ... but i guess it's worth it

 

it most certainly is

Ant

 

Thanks. Fade? Nah. 6 coats of paint and three of clear coat. Even if they did, the car would probly be in the boneyard by then.

M

 

Around the borders of the red lense.



Why is that white?

 

Try VHT metal/anodized look paint from racesearch.com or summitracing.com. I've used it on lights before and it's good and much cheaper than Vans ($20/can). This is like 8-10 shipped. much better and same thing - see through red.

 

That part is white because he painted the inside of the lens. You can't paint the areas where the edges meet. Another reason I painted the outside.

M

 

Mike, I like what you did with my former tails. Wish I'd had the guts to try out the exterior painting. I also balked on doing the interior, on account of the risks (David L already had this down from experience). Anyway, glad to see someone put them to good use.

So, now we've got two successful methods for updating the '95-96 clear tails to clear/red!

 

Man, everydaycardomain locks people out for a few hours. I wish they would do these later on at night instead.

SuDZ

 

ahhhh! I want your style then, Think yours will last as long as DavidL7's?

 

I don't know how long DavidLs are lasting but I'll tell ya - with the amount of paint and clear I put on those things, that finish isn't going anywhere. I wet sanded the sixth coat to knock off the shine and it didn't go through the paint. That convinced me I went the right way in painting the outside.

M

 

Great job with the tails. They look very clean and I agree with you that tehy will prob. never fade...and in the case that they do 2 or 3 years down the road, you can always take them off sand them down and respray them. Id much rather take the chance of having to respray than take the chance of breaking the assembly taking it apart. Now if we can only get someone to start making the all clears again...they are practically impossible to find these days. Anyway, they look awesome man..good work!


Warbucks

 

I think the paint job will last as long as you don't go through car washes. Those rollers, even "brushless" ones, are very abrasive. I noticed the painted bumper covers get dulled from them. I can only imagine the more fragile painted lenses will get scratched.

But then, any true Maxima owner will only hand wash his/her car.