R32 rear lights

[golf nutter]

this might be a really  question...does any of the light need masking off?  wont the original colours still show through without masking?  can you clarify about rubbing it down...how does that work?

[vRS_Pagey]

this might be a really   question...does any of the light need masking off?  wont the original colours still show through without masking?  can you clarify about rubbing it down...how does that work?

I'm sure you could tint the whole light but by masking out the indicator etc it makes it look like the R32 cluster which doesn't have tinted indicators......does that make sense?

Regarding the rubbing down, to achieve a perfect glossy finish, after the final coat of lacquer has cured a light sanding with 2000/3000 grit wet n dry to flatten it back and take care of any orange peel, then a few passes with a machine polisher (or a lot of passes by hand) and you will be left with a showroom finish.  

[patrickcullen87]

Thanks for that mate, how many coats of tint did you apply?

Apologies for modifying your picture, but am I right in thinking the area I have marked is the area you masked out??

yip your right on the ball there, thats exactly where you need to mask out. i done 3 coats of tinting spray but i reckon if i done it again i would apply a fourth coat! but thats just my opinion! be sure to add some pictures if you decided to do yours and let me know how you got on!  anymore questions just give me a shout

[vRS_Pagey]

Cheers for that buddy, I am waiting to hear back from the ebayer about the the incorrect price although they are others on there.  I will definitely be doing this as I think they look sooooooomuch better on a darker car.  Hopefully there will be enough spray to tint the side repeaters on the mirrors?

Gotta say, the picture of yours in post #15 looks awesome, love the angle. 

[golf nutter]

Cheers for that buddy, I am waiting to hear back from the ebayer about the the incorrect price although they are others on there.  I will definitely be doing this as I think they look sooooooomuch better on a darker car.  Hopefully there will be enough spray to tint the side repeaters on the mirrors?

Gotta say, the picture of yours in post #15 looks awesome, love the angle. 

is the tint red?  or just a dark tint?  with you stating youre going to do the repeaters i am assuming youre not going red with these   

[vRS_Pagey]

is the tint red?  or just a dark tint?  with you stating youre going to do the repeaters i am assuming youre not going red with these   

The tint spray is smoke, and if I have enough left I will do the wing mirror indicators to save buying them. 

[patrickcullen87]

is the tint red?  or just a dark tint?  with you stating youre going to do the repeaters i am assuming youre not going red with these   

The tint spray is smoke, and if I have enough left I will do the wing mirror indicators to save buying them. 

yeah you will defo have enough left to do the repeaters! iv loads left after mines! as for post 15 a havent got a clue what one that is but cheers anyways 

[golf nutter]

I'm sure you could tint the whole light but by masking out the indicator etc it makes it look like the R32 cluster which doesn't have tinted indicators......does that make sense?

Regarding the rubbing down, to achieve a perfect glossy finish, after the final coat of lacquer has cured a light sanding with 2000/3000 grit wet n dry to flatten it back and take care of any orange peel, then a few passes with a machine polisher (or a lot of passes by hand) and you will be left with a showroom finish.  
[/quote]

i have checked out the ebay items mentioned earlier...am thinking i will give this a go.  anyone got any pics of the whole rear light being smoked...that's the way i am thinking of going. 

dont have a machine polisher...just buffing by hand, with or without some type of product?  never done this sort of thing before (sanding down) so not sure how it all works.

[vRS_Pagey]

  Patrick, I mean reply #15, its the rear quarter view of your Golf with some crummy old Merc in the back ground......

@golfnutter, I live near Dover, if you are local I would be happy to give wet sand your lights and hit them with my polisher.  You have to be brave to wet sand, before I fitted the rear valance I gave the whole thing a wet sand with 2000 grit, once dry it just looked like a flat, dull, matt paint.  Then a few passes with the DA and bingo, showroom finish. 

[patrickcullen87]

Patrick, I mean reply #15, its the rear quarter view of your Golf with some crummy old Merc in the back ground......

@golfnutter, I live near Dover, if you are local I would be happy to give wet sand your lights and hit them with my polisher.  You have to be brave to wet sand, before I fitted the rear valance I gave the whole thing a wet sand with 2000 grit, once dry it just looked like a flat, dull, matt paint.  Then a few passes with the DA and bingo, showroom finish. 

haha oh right i get u now  yeh the mercs a bit of an eyesore in the drive, ive told him to get rid but he wont listen 

[golf nutter]

@golfnutter, I live near Dover, if you are local I would be happy to give wet sand your lights and hit them with my polisher.  You have to be brave to wet sand, before I fitted the rear valance I gave the whole thing a wet sand with 2000 grit, once dry it just looked like a flat, dull, matt paint.  Then a few passes with the DA and bingo, showroom finish. 

thanks for the much appreciated offer...if i were a couple of hundred miles further south i would take you up on it!  might have to be brave instead!  by the way, are the rear lights easy enough to remove?

[JoeDarKa]

The outers are easy to do, just take the bulbs out and move the carpet out the way and the bolts are easy to get to! The inners are a nightmare to be honest! You may need to remove all the boot lining and handles or you could remove one of the small caps either side!

[Jungle_Faced_Jake]

The outers are easy to do, just take the bulbs out and move the carpet out the way and the bolts are easy to get to! The inners are a nightmare to be honest! You may need to remove all the boot lining and handles or you could remove one of the small caps either side!

I recently replaced the stock pinkies with R32 lights and the inners can be awkward to remove. One of the bolts is difficult to get to but if you remove the bulb connector you can just about get a 10mm spanner on to it and with much fiddling and cursing get them off.

[golf nutter]

thanks guys!  sounds like it might be fun then...dropped bolts rattling inside the hatch an' all that! 

[JoeDarKa]

thanks guys!  sounds like it might be fun then...dropped bolts rattling inside the hatch an' all that! 

That happened to me more than once, definitely helps if there are 2 of you!