I masked off my car and left the tail-lights in place. Then sprayed.

Shortly beforehand, I had just washed and detail cleaned my car.

"One thing I am totally confused about...is sanding between coats. How can you sand a clear or niteshade and get it to show clear once you are done sanding it? (dosnt it just look foggy?)"

Well on my 2nd coat, I managed to get drips at the bottom on both sides.

So I first got 600 grit sandpaper and sanded down til the surface was even again, then I wiped clean the surface, then did a quick brush with the 1500 grit sandpaper, This is where it get's hazy or foggy as you mentioned. To get it nice and clear again, you gotta buff it out. I think there's a polish or chemical you can use to make it much easier, I have no idea tho.

after I sanded it smoothe, I layed down the final layer of niteshade.
I haven't clearcoated anything yet.

 

It is very good to make sure that all the lenses are perfectly clean and free of contamination. You do not need to sand the surface to make it stick. When I did my corners and grille lights, I wetsanded with 2000 grit after each coat of niteshade and clear. When you wetsand, whether is be paint, niteshade or clear, it will become hazzy/foggy. That's the "side-effect" of wetsand. To remove the hazyness, use a compound that is designed to take out the grit of sandpaper that is used. The compound I use is, Presta Ultra-Cutting Creme Light. It's designed to remove 2000grit scratches, but it's a very versitile product that can remove deeper. To get the best possible finish, I recommend to wetsand after each coat of niteshade and clear. The end product will be alot better. Depending on how it's applied, 5 coats could be alittle too dark. I understand you want it to be dark, but it may be too dark too be legal. Like I said before, I did 2 coats on mine, and it's dark, but the lights still look bright when lit. I have pictures, but better can be taken tomorrow. A bodyshop can lay down some clearcoat for you, but you can save some money by doing it yourself. If you can spray niteshade, you can spray clear. My recommendation for the brand of clear are, U-Pol or DuPont. Anything else, feel free to ask [thumb]


---Randy


edit: I apologize, but new pictures will have to wait.. My brother went to PA for some kind of reunion and took the digi. I enclosed a few pictures that I had from before...
Grille, Lights off
Grille, Lights on

 

It is very good to make sure that all the lenses are perfectly clean and free of contamination. You do not need to sand the surface to make it stick. When I did my corners and grille lights, I wetsanded with 2000 grit after each coat of niteshade and clear. When you wetsand, whether is be paint, niteshade or clear, it will become hazzy/foggy. That's the "side-effect" of wetsand. To remove the hazyness, use a compound that is designed to take out the grit of sandpaper that is used. The compound I use is, Presta Ultra-Cutting Creme Light. It's designed to remove 2000grit scratches, but it's a very versitile product that can remove deeper. To get the best possible finish, I recommend to wetsand after each coat of niteshade and clear. The end product will be alot better. Depending on how it's applied, 5 coats could be alittle too dark. I understand you want it to be dark, but it may be too dark too be legal. Like I said before, I did 2 coats on mine, and it's dark, but the lights still look bright when lit. I have pictures, but better can be taken tomorrow. A bodyshop can lay down some clearcoat for you, but you can save some money by doing it yourself. If you can spray niteshade, you can spray clear. My recommendation for the brand of clear are, U-Pol or DuPont. Anything else, feel free to ask [thumb]

---Randy

copy. paste. save.

 

Very light coats. I found nightshades to run very easy.

 

How dark it turns out depends on how thick it is applied. I did light coats and did 5 on the markers and 4 on the tails (granted 4 was too much lol) Just take it slow and DO NOT RUSH!!!

 

I think I might just lay the clear myself...because the auto body guy quoted me 20-50 depending on how many coats he did.

I think Ill try to get some automotive clear from autozone or even the dupont stuff from walmart (no I wont use the 97 cent cans lol)

I think I will try the wet sanding because I want it to come out really nicely and not looked hacked.

Thanks for the tips, if anyone has anymore keep em coming!


**EDIT**

I just thought..it is VERY humid here right now, and we have been getting a bit of rain, should I spray outside and take into the air coniditioning to dry?

I am just afraid it will take FOREVER for the coats to dry with the humidity and also the chance of the niteshade and or clear coat doing the hazy/blushing affect because of moisture in there.

Let me know your thoughts on that ^^

 

Don't spray when it's insanley humid. Do it in dry conditions.

As far as the clear coat hazziness goes, I have a secret on how to get it nice and glossy. What you do it is, hold the light while you spray and spray JUST ENOUGH clear to where it will BEGIN to run. The secret is, continue to rotate/tilt the lens in your hand WHILE you spray. After you lay a nice heavy coat on there, continue rotating the lens for a lil bit of time. You'll get a nice, even coat every time.

 

about not doing it when its humid...cant avoid it at this point! lol I want it done before jetfest and I dont want to hold off until the last minute. I think I might spray outside and then bring them in the AC to dry.

 

Here are those new pics I promised...

Picture 2


---Randy

 

mine look about identical I have the bumper and corners back in, and am satisfied with them (dont show much light...but they are not as important as the tails/headlights so im not too worried, hopefully the cops dont care!)

Having the tails cleared by an auto body guy today, get to pick them up tomorrow and my car will be done! hooray! Thanks for all the help guys.

 

I did around 3 or 4 on my tails and that was just a tad too much.
It seems that nightshades gets darker as it drys so keep that in mind.

 

so you have to wet sand between coats of nightshade

 

^^ for the best results, yes. I didnt sand between coats of niteshade, but did between coats of clear.

I had a hookup for a guy to spray autobody clear, and I must say the finish on my tails looked the best over quite a few niteshaded tails I saw at jetfest (imo anyway, some might have been going for the dull/matte look, dont know)

 

Ok. I'm new to this also. Let me know if this is right. You clean the light. You spray the niteshade. You wetsand after it dries. You spray the niteshade again. You wetsand after it dries. You spray the clearcoat. That's it?

 

In addition to that, after your clear dries, wetsand.


---Randy

 

Thanks! I'm gonna try this real soon! One more thing-wher do you get the niteshade at? Like Autozone or something?

 

From what I've read and been told, Autozone, Pepboys, Advance Auto Parts, Napa, do not stock Niteshade. It can be found on Ebay, Summit, and any of your local specialty stores. It can be very hard to find in certain areas. Prices vary online, but generally around $15-22 per 7oz can.


---Randy


edit: Summit Racing $13.39 w/o shipping
Ebay, Search for VHT Niteshade. It's around $15.50 w/ shipping
PitstopUSA.com $9.88 w/o shipping
Autotoys.com $9.69 w/o shipping

 

yes... I really reccomend finding an automotive place nearby that sprays a lot, and see if you can toss your tails in the next time they spray clear, will probably do it for cheap. The ture automotive clear has such a nice finish even compared to the expensive dupont automotive stuff I tried first.

 

Ture..? I, as well as lots of others, have had great high-gloss results with DuPont's clear.


---Randy

 

My tails have about 7 coats of niteshade. About every two coats I would wet sand them. I wouldn't really recommend a rattle can of clear. I tried it and it looked like crap except in a few spots where i sanded it really good w/ 1500 grit sandpaper. After a few days of tryin to spray the clear my self I wetsanded it back off and took it to a body shop and they wanted $20 to spray them, and do I love the results. If you are going for the really shiny look I'd recommend taking it to a body shop otherwise you will probably get a dull finish doing it yourself unless you do everything perfect.

 

What is the process of “wet sanding”?

 

buy some sand paper meant for wet sanding (it will say for wet sanding, or there is the "wet or dry" that works for both)
Soak it in water for awhile, and keep whatever you are sanding very wet.

I am sure someone can chime in with more details but that is the jist of it.