05-09 Exterior Modifications Making Your '05 Stand Out from the Crowd

"How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels

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Old 6/30/07, 05:38 PM
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"How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels

OK I'm no TacoBill but I decided that I would paint my tail lights with flat black today and take some pictures of the process. This took me about 2 hours not counting the time it took for the paint to dry. I really tried to be as precise as possible on masking the lenses. The flat black gave it almost the same texture of the surrounding black and I'm happy how it turned out. Cost about $5 for the paint and I already had the masking tape.

Required tools
1. #30 torx driver
2. 7/16 open end wrench
3. 2 single edge razor blades
4. Paint of your choice
5. Squeegee helps
Attached Thumbnails "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-1.jpg   "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-2.jpg   "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-3.jpg   "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-4.jpg   "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-5.jpg  

"How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-6.jpg   "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-7.jpg   "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-8.jpg   "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-9.jpg   "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-tail-light-bezels-11.jpg  

Old 6/30/07, 05:41 PM
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Looks really good! A ton better than stock!
Old 6/30/07, 06:54 PM
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Nice work, excellent outcome!
Old 6/30/07, 07:07 PM
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Looks good GRAYPNY.
Beats paying $50.00 for the bezels,although I still am happy with mine.
Old 6/30/07, 07:08 PM
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Looks good Rich! Really sets off the the tail end.
Old 6/30/07, 08:02 PM
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Did you sand or use any adhesion promoter?
Old 6/30/07, 08:46 PM
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Lightly scuffed the area that I wanted to paint.
Old 6/30/07, 09:30 PM
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Looks **** good And unlike the flat bezels, it covers the edges of the lens. May have to pop em off and do mine. Doesn't look like a mod-looks factory.
Old 6/30/07, 09:40 PM
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Rich-

I've been waitin' all day to see these..... I've thought about doing this myself and now your results cemented it! Great job, looks killer, fits very nicely with the theme and the stripes...... dam man that's nice!
Old 6/30/07, 09:48 PM
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i think i am going to do this tomorrow, just need to go buy the supplies
Old 6/30/07, 11:02 PM
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Hey Rich,

Those turned out super nice!! Looks great with the stripes and definitely looks factory! Nice mod.
Old 7/1/07, 12:23 AM
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That looks awesome. Much better than even the bezels. I'll put this on my list...
Old 7/1/07, 05:53 AM
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Hey Rich,

That really does look great. It's hard to find a mod that we can do that only costs a couple of bucks. Great find!
Scott
Old 7/1/07, 06:09 AM
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Originally Posted by 05GT-O.C.D.
Did you sand or use any adhesion promoter?
I painted mine the same way over a year ago. I did not use any adhesion promoter, just cleaned them with alcohol. The paint is sticking strong, no chipping, no peeling.

Painted tail lights
Old 7/1/07, 09:20 AM
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I painted mine over six months ago and they still look good. So good that I just sprayed my wife's taillights about one month ago. The thing is, the painted portions are recessed, effectively protecting them from being scratched, scraped, etc.
Attached Thumbnails "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-4214a.jpg   "How To" Paint Tail Light Bezels-4247a.jpg  
Old 7/1/07, 09:39 AM
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I did the same but painted the lights while they were still on the car. Never thought about removing them... Oh well Haha..

As far as promoter the spray paint I used was made for plastics and said it required none. So i didn't bother.
Old 7/1/07, 09:41 AM
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Nice mod!
I may try this when I get some time.
Thanks Rich.
Old 7/1/07, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by pittperson
I painted mine the same way over a year ago. I did not use any adhesion promoter, just cleaned them with alcohol. The paint is sticking strong, no chipping, no peeling.

Painted tail lights

I taped mine over the entire raised part of the lense. It looks like you just taped the flat top part. Either way is probably fine but I just wanted the grooves painted so it has a recessed look.


Thanks for the compliments!
Old 7/1/07, 07:55 PM
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hey rich how many coats of the black did you use, i am thinking about doing this and i also wanted to know what did you use to scuff the painting surface
Old 7/1/07, 09:11 PM
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I used 3 coats of paint. I lightly scuffed the gooves with very fine sandpaper. I only had one sheet and I can't remember the grit. I really doubt if it's even necessary to scuff the lense.


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