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What's Black And Red All Over?

Answer... An '88 Iroc-Z

By Mike Harrington

Taillight Tech

While we were working on the Camaro at Chino High School, former student Mario Wingate gave us a great custom tip on how to "smoke" our taillights and give them a tinted look. He even offered to help us do it. As you can probably guess, we accepted his help.

  • 0601Sc Final 13 Z
    You can see the stock taillight in his hands. First, Mario wet-sanded the whole taillight with some 1500-grit paper, which gave it just enough scuff for the clear to stick to.
    0601Sc Final 13 Z
    You can see the stock taillight in his hands. First, Mario wet-sanded the whole taillight
  • 0601Sc Final 14 Z
    Once the lens was dry and cleaned, we went into the spray booth and Mario used a tack cloth to clean any excess dirt, fiber, etc.
    0601Sc Final 14 Z
    Once the lens was dry and cleaned, we went into the spray booth and Mario used a tack clot
  • 0601Sc Final 15 Z
    Here is the secret. Mixed into the clearcoat is a small amount of black paint. Mario made several light passes with the spray gun. With each succeeding pass, the lenses gradually got darker, giving them a "smoked" look. The key is to make several light passes. If you get them too dark, you will have a miserable time sanding all the clear off and starting again. After he smoked the lenses, he then sprayed them with a regular clearcoat to give them some shine and protect the color.
    0601Sc Final 15 Z
    Here is the secret. Mixed into the clearcoat is a small amount of black paint. Mario made
  • 0601Sc Final 16 Z
    Here you can see the lenses drying in the booth. Let them cure for about 24 hours before you touch them. The clearcoat is soft and you can easily leave a fingerprint.
    0601Sc Final 16 Z
    Here you can see the lenses drying in the booth. Let them cure for about 24 hours before y
  • 0601Sc Final 17 Z
    Last, but not least, is the finished product installed on the Camaro. It looks fantastic and adds to the overall color scheme of the car. Thanks Mario!
    0601Sc Final 17 Z
    Last, but not least, is the finished product installed on the Camaro. It looks fantastic a
SOURCES
SLP Performance
1501 Industrial Way N
Tom's River
NJ  08755
Toyo Tires
6261 Katella Avenue, Suite 2B
Cypress
CA  90630
8-00/-678-3250
www.toyo.com
By Mike Harrington
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