Cool we can take care of your handles too. You have my number just give me a shout and we will get you taken care of ;)

I'll defiantly give you a shout this week.

I did something similar using VHT with my tails, but masked the white part. They got dull like this after the two light layers of clear coat. I used dupli-color crystal clear acrylic enamel. What would be the best way to buff these to get a better shine on there? I was hoping the white part of my tails would keep the OEM look-- no haze, just perfectly clear.

This is before the clear coat:
http://www.the370z.com/members/jakes...clear-coat.jpg

This is the finished project:
http://www.the370z.com/members/jakes...6-finished.jpg

Sorry if this is going a bit off the OP's original topic as he already suggested he wasn't looking for a gloss/shine look on this tails, but this is the closest thread I could find regarding this.

I've been thinking about doing the VHT myself on my tail lights. However, I do like the shiny look better, so anyone have any advice on how to get that?

I'm a complete noob when it comes to working on my own car, but would it be possible to do this with the lights still on the car. Maybe just use painter's tape or something to mask off the surrounding areas and just get the lights. The Z is my only car and I work 6 days a week so having to take them out will be a huge PITA. How long does the process take from start to end? If I can do it within a day, I can use my one day off.

if you can get hold of some painter it would be better I asked the guy to make a mixture of 2 part black paint and 8part clear coat and spray two coats, then some wet sanding and then wax polish. Total it will take an hour max.

You can easily do this in a few hours (if you've never removed tails/painted before) from start to finish. There's a few DIYs that show you how to remove the plastic in the back and get at the tail lights; It's very easy. http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...p-install.html I used the parts of this DIY that show how to remove the tails.

The third break light is a pain in the *** to remove so I chose to leave it on, mask behind, and paint on the car-- It was painless.

http://www.the370z.com/members/jakes...over-spray.jpg

That's what i did, masked off the hole rear. Much easier. Just get the masking tape behind the light using a card of some sort to push in behind.

To the op, nice turn out on your lights.

Cool. I wouldn't be able to get a mixture from the painter and do it myself though. Just trying to save some money by using the VHT instead of getting it done professionally. Also, it's always fun to work on your own car. Had my first experience yesterday with installing an exhaust on my car.

Thanks guys! Looks like with enough masking/prep I should be ok to do it without taking the lights out. Any issues with leaving it in the sun or anything? I should probably keep it away from trees if I can to avoid pollen getting into the paint before it dries. Don't have a garage of my own, so I may need to leave it in my cousin's garage for a few hours.

Man, I would have it done professionally if I were you; not only you get peace of mind but if anything happens, they will cover the costs. Do it once, do it right; if you do it yourself and end up not satisfied with the result, you would have wasted time and resources and would spend more to have it fixed. Just my opinion man of course.

Going to find out the cost first. At the worst it will be a waste of like $20-30 and it will be a good learning experience. If I get it done from a shop, they would have to sand it down first anyway which would get rid of the VHT. The money I save could be put towards something more important like tires. Just a thought so far, need to get some prices from shops before I make a decision. If its not more than $150, I will let a shop do it.

Sounds like a great plan with the right priorities.

Its gonna be around 150 for a good shop. If you got friends at shops they may cut it down to 100 ish

After getting the dull look that the OP had on his tails, I wet sanded with 2000 -> 1500 -> 2000 again and then used a buffing compound such as Meguiars (or anything similar should work fine).

Lights turned out exactly how I wanted and they look much better than when they had the hazy orange peel look/texture. If I had to do it over again, I'd still do it myself as it was a learning experience in taking the back end apart as well as spraying clear coat. There's not too much that can go wrong and worst case you just need to buy new tails if you hate the end result.

Here is a great option without having to paint the lights. There are different shades and even a few colors. Its a film very similar to paint protection film but its prefectly smooth and can easily be removed. Down here in Texas tinted lights are illegal so you cant get your vehicle registered with them tinted. With this option you can easily peel them off then re-apply the new ones.

The paint can be stripped off completly and redone. No need to buy more.