painted the tail light center panel

[grayman]

ok, flame suit on....

I just got done painting the tail light center panel to color match the 2001 pewter.
I don't like stickers. I don't like day-glow red. I don't much like the screaming chicken icon. (it just seems real dated to me...especially when it's a faded day-glow red sticker) (I do like the embossed fire chicken on the front license plate cover, though)

anyway... cleaned unit with sonara whipes, then scotch brite rub down then more sonara whipes. when dried applied 1 coat bulldog adhsesion promotor. Dried for 15 minutes then applied about 7 coats or transtar EZSand primer. I let that sit overnight then applied black guide coat and wet sanded with 400 grit. Applied second black guide coat and wet sanded with 600 grit. Smooth as silk...no outline of red firebird logo nor the red screaming chicken logo. Let to dry for two hours under heat lamp and fan.
Next up was 4 coats of Dupont base coat followed by 3 coats of transtar clear.
It was such a small area that I ended up with very little orange peel (no more than factory orange peel) and also no real defects or blemishes/bugs/hairs/dust particles in the clear coat.

Just wanted to share with the group.
pics of the painted panel... http://home.comcast.net/~grayman99/Exterior-pics.htm

the gun is HVLP 1.4mm (color/clear) and a 1.7mm tip was used for the primer.

[ September 19, 2005, 03:04 PM: Message edited by: grayman ]

[shenanigans]

hmm... different but looks kinda cool [img]smile.gif[/img]

[HokieBird]

Doesn't look bad, but I think I prefer a plain black panel with the chicken removed.

[Arctc Wolf]

I think it looks better batched to the color of the lights. Keeps the flow going across the rear. Perhaps if you were able to make the black honeycomb pewter to match the center section, it would look better.

[Loochy88]

not bad, it flows well.

[Camarolover98]

Not bad...Different, but not bad. Props for trying something new.

[silverV6firebird]

The bird on my panel faded off too, and there is some kind of white mark on mine(Its a real eye sore at car shows). I was ready to go buy a new one, but I like the way yours looks so I might try that route. If I mess it up or don't like once I've already painted it I guess I'll go ahead a buy a new one. I wouldn't really be losing anything because it needs fixed or replaced anyway.

[grayman]

Originally posted by silverV6firebird:
The bird on my panel faded off too, and there is some kind of white mark on mine(Its a real eye sore at car shows). I was ready to go buy a new one, but I like the way yours looks so I might try that route. If I mess it up or don't like once I've already painted it I guess I'll go ahead a buy a new one. I wouldn't really be losing anything because it needs fixed or replaced anyway.

i am not a pro with plastic...but when I was using the sonara wipes it melted some of the plastic. (destabilyzed the plastic might be better way to describe it) I ended up with a couple of white spots as well. no noticieable sratch, but like the black 'paint' on the plastic panel was melted away to show white underneath.

In general my choices were gloss black or color match the car. there are many differnt 'blacks' so i was pretty sure that the black tail lights would not end up matching a painted black panel. Add clear coat on top of that and it really wouldn't 'match'. It would be black but not with the same tone nor depth. (clear coated black would look deeper and have more gloss.) It was a tough call...black or orginal pewter. My brother was big on black... [img]graemlins/omg.gif[/img]


I am so tempted to add ghost flames to the front of the car. small flames coming out of the side heat extractors as well. maybe next year....

[wenbanfirebird01]

Hey grayman, I saved this pic of a trans am that painted the whole tail lamps to match the body color. I kind like it, but it takes a certain color to pull it off.

[BLLDOGG]

yours doesnt look too bad [img]smile.gif[/img]

Originally posted by wenbanfirebird01:
Hey grayman, I saved this pic of a trans am that painted the whole tail lamps to match the body color. I kind like it, but it takes a certain color to pull it off.

thats ugly

[grayman]

wow. how long did it take him to do that???????? talk about a masking nightmare.

[wenbanfirebird01]

I really don't know, but i found the car on ebay, a while back.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6420

[Scarano]

Originally posted by wenbanfirebird01:
Hey grayman, I saved this pic of a trans am that painted the whole tail lamps to match the body color. I kind like it, but it takes a certain color to pull it off.

Now that looks silly to me.

[HokieBird]

That thing looks absolutely horrid [img]graemlins/barf.gif[/img]

Grayman-
I was looking at your's again and I think I would actually really like it if you put a black fire chicken back on the center. It would tie the lights together a little. Right now it just seems like a lot of empty space which is what turns me off about it.

[grayman]

i have thought about an aftermarket bird sticker just likeyou mentioned...centered on the panel. I also thought about 'shadow painting' a bird in flames. (lighter and darker pewter)

It did seem a little 'vacant' until I saw the car for a few days. now it (to me) looks like it is supposed to be that way.

it is sorta like a sunfire but with bigger tail lights and not 'wedge point' in the back.

i would feel much better about putting something on that center panel if it was raised or embossed. the 'firebird' on the doors is raised lettering, the phoenix on the front (license plate cover) is raised and the PONTIAC in the back is in relief. I think if I add something it should be 3 dimenionsl rather than a sticker.