slake8086

Finally decided to go ahead and blackout the tails and markers, was a little skeptical at first. I heard the covers caused cave in's ocassionally due to heat, and being from texas figured it could be problematic. I was worried about VHT nightshade being permanent, and if it faded i'd have to redo it and risk it looking worse and worse. So I sucked it up and went with it.

theres a couple writeups out there but if you want another here you go.

1) Remove lights: you gotta remove right plastic trim in trunk, loosen the spare tire (to reach one wing nut), and peel back the carpet. Each light has 5 plastic wing nuts that hold it in place. After taking them off both lights and the center piece detach from the rear. Each bulb will twist off and your good to go.

Note: I went ahead and treated the center piece just like the tails to ensure an even black tone across the entire rear. Didn't want them do be different color/gloss.

2) Roughing up surface: Either use 1000 grit sandpaper, or the green side of a scoth brite pad (i used scotch brite worked fine) and scuff up the entire surface that will be painted. Take a microfiber towel and remove all dust.

3) VHT time: Follow the instructions on the can, first coat make it a light mist, after that lay on decent sized coats without running the paint. Give about 2-3 minutes between coats. I used an entire can on the tails, center piece, and markers. Once you've got the desired tint let dry for about an hour before proceeding

4) Clear coat: Scuff the surface with 1500 grit paper to remove any dust that landed while painting. Try to be very even cuz you are taking away some of the paint which will make your tint darker in some areas if you aren't careful. Remove dust with microfiber towel. Take your clear coat and put on a mist once again. Follow with decent coats every 6-7 minutes, once again don't let it run. I used an entire can of clear coat. Let dry over night (i gave mine about 12 hours before handling)

5) Install: Reverse taking the out. I went ahead and gave mine a light wac using turtle wax.

I've got some pics below of how it turned out, I've got some more pics of throughout the process, let me know if you want to see them.

transam5.7lt1

iTrader: (18)

Looks like you got some burn out bulbs there......

98RedBird

iTrader: (77)

Looks good man, but I would wetsand them now with 2000 grit and then polish them. They will look much better. For reference I just did these tails about the same way you just described with the only exception being that I wetsanded/polished them afterwards. It really brings out the shine.

DriftR

iTrader: (4)

I never did mine because I heard of VHT deteriorating after a few years (again I haven't done it so I don't know if it's true), I have however seen many that are doing black automotive paint tinted with clear (or vise versa) for the same result with the hope of added durability.

I agree with the above post. Cut and buff would really bring out the shine!

-Looks like you did a nice job!

slake8086

Ha, yeah i got one burnt out bulb, I already replaced three others today. After doing the lights i noticed a lot were out but never realized it cuz i never got the burnt bulb indication so i didn't notice till i went to check how dim the tint made the lights.

I considered wetsanding them but i wanted to put them on first to see if i liked to flat black look. I'm still debating whether or not i like the heavy gloss look or the flat look. I think the flat adds a little bit of a stealth effect, i'll give it a couple days before i make a final decision on it though. After all i can always wetsand it later if i decide to get that glossy look.

Thanks for all the input!

blindxeyed

iTrader: (8)

Personally, I wouldn't have sprayed that set of lights that you have. They looked to be in good condition, which is VERY hard to come by on the 93-97 grid lights. I would have just found a cheap set on ebay that wasn't in as good condition and sprayed those instead.

Not a bad job though, I would definitely suggest wet sanding and buffing them for that smooth shiny look.

slake8086

yeah the condition of the lights were really good, but i doubt i could have found a pair for very cheap, they had there usual clearcoat scratches though so it wasn't that big of a deal.

97knightrider

hmm I was thinking of doing this but instead of a paint on black I was thinking to get them tinted. Any thoughts?

slake8086

If i had money i'd take it to a shop or had the tools myself and have them spray black mixed with clearcoat, probably stronger than rattle can paint. As far as appearance goes, i think they look great either way not much real difference but I'll have to wait a couple years to know how well it lasts. I guess if it fades i can wipe it clean and do it again. Overall i'm satisfied and it seems pretty tough.

1994formulalt1

paint>covers>vht nightshade

95hitam6

iTrader: (1)

i just did mine as well, i'll try and post pics