[Phatmiata]

Anyone sanded their markers down like this? Looks really clean, i have some 2000 grit at the house...... :-k

Phatty

 

[Dothedoo]

Yeah I did it in 2004 or something like that. It was easy and you no longer have to look at the crappy letter with gunk from wax and misc.

I will have to post a pic later.

 

[JDMAflac]

I was thinking of doing this before i tint them. Looks clean

 

[gwilo]

I have done all the lights/markers except the 3rd brake light , I forgot that one.

As the car is a '92, I took my time and sanded and buffled the whole lens .... they look just like new. Fifteen years of scratched gone.

 

[kabel]

Yep. Almost have all of them shaved.
One of those great little projects you do not have to do all at once.

 

[gwilo]

The only problem with doing this if you get stopped for a vehicle inspection all your DOT (MOT in Canada) markings are gone.

 

[LostSoulMiata]

Take a look @ mine if you don't do yours before the meet Randy. I went progressively down on the grit, starting from 800 to knock the letters down fast, then about 3 more steps to 2000 over the entire lens. Finished 'em off with cleaner then polish. I'm gonna do another set, but black them out. They're just reflectors for me now, I removed the sockets and wires for the time being.

 

[2zum]

i did mine about 2 years ago i think it looks sexxy bare like that but then agian its a mod no one will ever see

 

[That7guy]

i did mine about 2 years ago i think it looks sexxy bare like that but then agian its a mod no one will ever see

I did mine. God is in the details.

 

[gwilo]

I took mine down to 1200 grit the took out the polishing stuff (have done a few valve covers).

Next (this weekend) I will be doing an intake manifold.

 

[Phatmiata]

Yeah I did it in 2004 or something like that. It was easy and you no longer have to look at the crappy letter with gunk from wax and misc.
I will have to post a pic later.

That was one of my main beefs for doing the mod.

 

[RichyVRLimited]

yup me too,

Done the sidelight/indicators, side reflectors, taillights and 3rd brakelight

 

[airbrush1]

shaved mine and blacked em out to match the shaved and blacked out tails.....

 

[vote4pedro]

My father has a plastics business, so it was REALLY easy for me to sand the side markers on a belt sander, and then polish them up nice on a buffing wheel. I was planning on doing some sort of chrome trim, but have since changed my mind...

 

[xn7]

what is everyone using to tint lenses??

i tried the VHT stuff and it looks very unprofessional and blotchy. anyone want to buy a like new can of it? i used maybe 1oz if even that :mrgreen:

 

[airbrush1]

The VHT needs to be put on a clean, sanded surface (like 800 grit wet sandpaper) and applied lightly in 4-6 coats.....

Make sure you use a degreaser, and possibly even an adhesion promoter (clear adhesion promoter) on the side markers.....

You can see how well the VHT'd tails turned out in the first pic, and the 2nd pic shows the blacked out sidemarkers.....

I also clearcoated both the tails and the markers for durability and shine....

 

[airbrush1]

A tip for shaving the letters also..... you can use a single sided razor blade to do the majority of the shaving if you are careful, and then finish off the shave job with wet 800 on a soft saning block if you plan on painting them.... if you plan on polishing the lenses I would suggest you still use the 800, but progressively step up to higher and higher grits of paper....

A mothers Buff ball works well for polishing the lenses, when used with 3M plastic polishing products..... just be sure not to heat things up too much!

The wetsanding trick also works on pitted NB headlights that don't respond well to regular polishing.....The headlights take more time to polish, as they are made of a harder material.... but the results are worth the trouble, especially if your lights are as pitted, scratched, and hazy as mine were!

 

[Bill-B]

Did you guys do the sanding and/or the vht on an extra set? Can you do any damage that would look bad that is not reversible?

 

[airbrush1]

if you sand the lights and the apply VHT..... you will NEVER GET IT OFF!!!!!!

I never tried to remove it.... but it's made to adhere to plastic lights, I would imagine that with a lot of work, you could revert the lights to a just polished look if they weren't sanded prior to VHT application...

I did not use an extra set, as I was confident in my painting skills (being a paint and body guy).... and I promised myself I wouldn't destroy anything....


If you use too heavy of a grit sandpaper, it is possible that there would be scratches that won't come out with polishing..... I would not go any coarser than wet 600 on plastic tails or markers.....

Also, keep the paper wet, dry the light from time to time to check your progress, and don't be in a hurry...... The object is not to sand THROUGH the lense, but just to make it smooth for polishing, or smooth with a bit of tooth for paint application......

Also, with The VHT..... make sure you allow AMPLE DRY TIME BETWEEN COATS.... I was anal and made things a 2 day project.... spray, wait 2 hours, wetsand lightly to remove dust nibs, spray again, wait another 2 hours.... repeat..... THE KEY IS GETTING IT ON EVEN!!!!!!!!!!

 

[xn7]

airbrush, any pictures of it close up? interested on how smooth it can be when applied a proper technique.


also, i've sprayed it on plastic and removed it successfully in the past. just wet sand it out.