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It was suggested by a forum member after looking at my GTO progress thread that I do a How-To on removing spray tint from tail lights, side markers, etc.
Basically a buddy of mine and myself did this on a whim a couple days after I bought the car. He paints on the side so has all the guns and supplies so we did it at his garage hence why I don't have any pics.
I'll do the best I can with just text
Supplies Needed:
-sandpaper, I used 1200 mirror finish sandpaper, You don't want to leave huge scratch marks in the plastic
-Goof Off Graffiti Remover-can looks similar to the can below but it will have a black label for the graffiti remover. Best place to find the stuff is Home Depot, it's only a few bucks.
-Grease and Wax Stripper if you have it (I recently found out this stuff has pretty much been outlawed by the EPA), if not use Windex to clean before clearing the lens
-Your choice of clear coat, we used actual clear coat and not rattle can but I don't see why rattle can wouldn't work
Lets begin:
1. Remove your tail lights or whatever you want to remove the tint from
2. Setup a station to work at, where you can spray the Goof Off and not worry about it getting on other things, put a towel down or something similiar you can throw away after.
3. Generously spray the Goof Off onto the lens thoroughly coating the tint, a good 1/8th of an inch layer and let it sit. When you see the tint start to wrinkle it's time to start rubbing.
4. Take some paper towels, shop towel preferred and start rubbing the Goof Off into the lens, the majority of the tint wil come right off. For the harder areas just keep rubbing with the paper towel soaked in Goof Off. This is the most difficult part.
5. Once all the tint looks to be off, take the lens out and clean the lens with cool hose water. The goof off will turn hazy and so will the lens-don't panic like I did lol.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 if there is any remaining tint
7. After all the tint has been removed thoroughly dry the entire assembly.
8. Lightly sand with very fine paper the lense to just rough it up a tiny bit. By now the lens will look so terrible you'll be thinking-OMGWTFBBQ HAVE I DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9. Thoroughly and I mean thoroughly clean the lense to remove the particles from sanding. Make sure the lense is dry, there's nothing on it from sanding, bugs, etc.
10. Time to clear, mix up your clear or shake that rattle can. Spray one good coat-the lens should look back to new by now. Let that first coat setup then spray a second coat if you so please, I would recommend it for durability.
11. Let the clear cure for a few hours and reinstall your lights.
Before:
After:
DISCLAIMER:
This is the process that worked for my GTO, mind you the plastics may be different for each car. I know the headlights changed on the 6's a couple years back which means the Goof Off may affect the plastics differently. However I don't believe the Goof Off Graffiti Remover to be strong enough to melt any plastics but just be carefull when you first start. Just wanted to let everyone know.
I've never been a fan personally of tinting the tails, headlights, or anything else and I'm sure there's others out there who wish they never did so hopefully this helps you all out a bit.
Any questions feel free to post here or shoot me a PM, always here to help!!!
Basically a buddy of mine and myself did this on a whim a couple days after I bought the car. He paints on the side so has all the guns and supplies so we did it at his garage hence why I don't have any pics.
I'll do the best I can with just text
Supplies Needed:
-sandpaper, I used 1200 mirror finish sandpaper, You don't want to leave huge scratch marks in the plastic
-Goof Off Graffiti Remover-can looks similar to the can below but it will have a black label for the graffiti remover. Best place to find the stuff is Home Depot, it's only a few bucks.
-Grease and Wax Stripper if you have it (I recently found out this stuff has pretty much been outlawed by the EPA), if not use Windex to clean before clearing the lens
-Your choice of clear coat, we used actual clear coat and not rattle can but I don't see why rattle can wouldn't work
Lets begin:
1. Remove your tail lights or whatever you want to remove the tint from
2. Setup a station to work at, where you can spray the Goof Off and not worry about it getting on other things, put a towel down or something similiar you can throw away after.
3. Generously spray the Goof Off onto the lens thoroughly coating the tint, a good 1/8th of an inch layer and let it sit. When you see the tint start to wrinkle it's time to start rubbing.
4. Take some paper towels, shop towel preferred and start rubbing the Goof Off into the lens, the majority of the tint wil come right off. For the harder areas just keep rubbing with the paper towel soaked in Goof Off. This is the most difficult part.
5. Once all the tint looks to be off, take the lens out and clean the lens with cool hose water. The goof off will turn hazy and so will the lens-don't panic like I did lol.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 if there is any remaining tint
7. After all the tint has been removed thoroughly dry the entire assembly.
8. Lightly sand with very fine paper the lense to just rough it up a tiny bit. By now the lens will look so terrible you'll be thinking-OMGWTFBBQ HAVE I DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9. Thoroughly and I mean thoroughly clean the lense to remove the particles from sanding. Make sure the lense is dry, there's nothing on it from sanding, bugs, etc.
10. Time to clear, mix up your clear or shake that rattle can. Spray one good coat-the lens should look back to new by now. Let that first coat setup then spray a second coat if you so please, I would recommend it for durability.
11. Let the clear cure for a few hours and reinstall your lights.
Before:
After:
DISCLAIMER:
This is the process that worked for my GTO, mind you the plastics may be different for each car. I know the headlights changed on the 6's a couple years back which means the Goof Off may affect the plastics differently. However I don't believe the Goof Off Graffiti Remover to be strong enough to melt any plastics but just be carefull when you first start. Just wanted to let everyone know.
I've never been a fan personally of tinting the tails, headlights, or anything else and I'm sure there's others out there who wish they never did so hopefully this helps you all out a bit.
Any questions feel free to post here or shoot me a PM, always here to help!!!
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