Great write up. I plan to do this exact same thing following your post.
What clear coat did you use?
I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road
My exact steps were like this.
- Remove tail lights.
- Mask off everything but the lense, also mask off the reverse light if you don't want it tinted.
- Wet sand the lights with 1500 grit sandpaper until a uniform flat finish is achieved, removing all gloss from the light.
- Dry them really well.
- Lay on a light coat of VHT, using a 50% overlap.
- Allow to dry about 10 minutes between coats.
- Apply additional coats of VHT in the same manner until the desired dark level of the tint is reached. For me I went with 3 coats.
- Once that is done let the VHT cure for a few hours, overnight if you can.
- Gently wet sand the lights again using 1500 grit until all of the orange peel is removed. Keep wiping the light off as you work with a clean microfibre towel, if you still see little shiny spots then that is your orange peel and you need to keep sanding. If it is flat and smooth with no shiny spots then you are ready to move on to the next step.
- Again, dry the lights really well.
- Apply a light coat of clear coat to the lights. I repeat, light coat.
- Allow to dry about 10 minutes between coats.
- Apply a medium coat of clear to the lights.
- Wait 10 minutes....
- Apply a 3rd heavy coat to the lights.
- I used Dupli color perfect match clear coat. I found it was easy to work with and ha held up very well over the years, but im sure there is better out there. If you have access to a compressor and a spray gun then all VHT is, is over reduced black paint.
- Allow the clear coat to cure for at least a few hours.
- Repeat wet sanding step again, checking for shiny spots as you go, take your time, be gentle until they are all gone.
- Dry them off really well again.
- I then hit them with mequiars ultimate compound, then mequiars ultimate polish, then mequiars nextgen 2.0 wax.
- Unmask them, Done deal, enjoy.
