Nimitz87

iTrader: (17)

I VHT'd my tails a while back but never wet sanded them...what grit paper is needed?

Chad

SSwt00SS

iTrader: (18)

use wet/dry 2000 grit sandpaper.

soak the sandpaper and use a squirt bottle with a water/soap mix. keep the area you are wet sanding wet with the squirt bottle and lightly wetsand. once you are done, you can clearcoat them and if you choose to wetsand the clear you can. then polish, wax and you are done...

Nimitz87

iTrader: (17)

thank you very much for the details, how do you know when your "done" wet sanding when its nice and shiny?

they have already been cleared just wanted to get them nice and shiny with the wet sanding.

Chad

SSwt00SS

iTrader: (18)

usually the most common reason to wetsand is to remove runs or oragne peel or 'fisheye-ing' of paint/clearcoat. wetsanding will only remove imperfections, it does not make anything 'shiny'. once you see that the imperfections like mentioned above, along with light scrathes, scuffs, etc., that's when you know you are done. making them shiny is what polish and wax are for.

the method to wetsanding is to remove a little at a time, use a soaked and wet 3M rubber squegee (sp) to wipe down the area you wetsanded and look at the progress. then towel try with a 100% cotton or microfiber towel.

then use a polish of your choice, and then a coat of wax for additional protection.

you dont want to sand through the clearcoat and into the VHT, so use very light pressure while you wetsand and just take off a little at a time.

Nimitz87

iTrader: (17)

thanks...I'll see how it turns out tom.

Chad

SSwt00SS

iTrader: (18)

good luck!

just take your time and all will be good.

i need to wetsand and then clearcoat the VHT tail-lights i picked up for my TA sometime soon as well. you can see that with no clear coat they are extremely dull and you can see the imprefections and fisheyeing i mentioned above.

ws6onSLICKS

What does VHT stand for?

Lvmyz28

iTrader: (1)

You will have to polish them after you wet sand them. 3M heavy cut cutting compound works great for that!

LS1-MEX

after you use the 3m cutting compound use a nice polish like meguiers nxt or so

Pavetim

iTrader: (15)

So you wetsand the tail lights before you apply the paint too? What if there are minor scratches and scuffs before you paint? And after you get them painted do you use just regular car polishing compound or some special stuff made for plastic? Thanks.

Jeff Smith

iTrader: (44)

WW Looks awesome!!!

Wonder, can any different color painted on stoplight lens after wet-sanded.
I think about painting flat gray on my Camaro's stoplight.

lilicedout24

iTrader: (33)

i use 1000 grit paper wet sand then fully dry wipe wipe laq thiner really good they will look cloudy, the you can take a little clear coat and easly drop black paint in there till clear is tented to you deside. note do not make it to black coats will darking as applyied. then after no more then 3 coats. let sit 40 min. then shot clear over tent to protect your new smoked tail lights. ill post pics when i get off from work of my cars lights

Nimitz87

iTrader: (17)

they are wet sanded down to the VHT, no clear what so ever, so just to make sure I have this right, do I clear them THEN polish them? ; Or polish them now and THEN clear?

Chad

SSwt00SS

iTrader: (18)

clearcoat then polish

Swiat34

iTrader: (9)

I haven't tinted my taillights on my 'Bird, but there were a lot of scuffs and scratches. I wet sanded with a 800 grit first until most of the bad spots were gone, then progresed to a 1000 grit, then 2000 using a foam sanding block with the papers. I then polished with Meguires Heavy Cut polish, then buffed with Meguires Machine Glaze. They look NEW now! Used the same process for removing the emblem from the center section. If you plan to paint em, wet sand with the 800 to get the imperfections off the surface first. Then shoot your tint. If the tint has any runs or fish-eyes or has more orange peel than you like, wet sand it with 1000 grit. The low areas will look dark and glossy and the high spots you've sanded down will be unglossy. Sand until it all looks evenly non-glossy and then you're smooth. Drying it from time to time will show this up really well. Once you've got the tint color smooth, you can shoot your clear and repeat the wet sanding process with the 1000 and then with 2000. Then buff with the grits I said above. Your lights are now a PAINTED SURFACE and should be treated as such. Use the wax you use on the rest of your car's body and wax em often.

Swat

Lvmyz28

iTrader: (1)

800 is pretty agressive. I've used 800 on really nasty headlights before. Most of the time you only need to go down to 1500, then 2000, then polish.

Swiat34

iTrader: (9)

My friend's wife has a Gand Prix GTP and the headlights were SO bad, I started with 400 grit! But only because I knew I had to take off some layers to get those things clear again. 800 IS VERY aggressive, but if you want all the scratches and junk gone, you can spend a whole day with 1500 grit, or a couple hours with the 800 plus a couple hours with 1000 and get the same results. Really it depends how bad the lenses are. I'd think the average car wouldn't need 800 grit.

Swat

Fabian

iTrader: (5)

https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...nel-today.html

FamousZ

iTrader: (4)

I will use these tips... I had my tailights tinted with VHT but overtime the sun faded them and now they are back to almost stock color... Although it does leave a cool effect because they are sorta tinted but they arnt black, I wanna make them black again! lol

kyles2000z

iTrader: (8)

VHT, then clear, THEN wetsand, then polish, then wax


no need to wetsand before you clear it, the clear will add more orange peel.