DIY Valenti Style Red Tail Lights for ~$15 Under an Hour

Items needed for this mod:

1 Roll of Blue Painters Tape
Newspaper
Razor Blade
Pen/Pencil
TESTORS 1605 Candy Apple Red Spray Enamel 3OZ Brand New
TESTORS 1261 Glosscote Clear Lacquer 3OZ Spray Brand New

First, tape off the tail lights over the reverse light and mask off the back of the car: (Excuse the dirty car)




Trim the tape covering the reverse light with a razor blade. (I used a gift card for the uniform round edges(Also, obviously I cut the shape before masking off the entire car)


One light misty coat of the TESTORS 1605 Candy Apple Red Spray Enamel 3OZ Brand New



This is after two coats:


Spray a coat or two of the TESTORS 1261 Glosscote Clear Lacquer 3OZ Spray Brand New

Here is with the brake lights on:



And all unmasked and cleaned up:



Overall I'm VERY pleased with the result and the lights are still nice and bright. I probably will colorsand the surface with some 2000 grit wet paper in a couple days after they have fully cured.

 

Thanks for the replies guys!

Could have been cheaper too.. most hobby/craft stores (Michael's etc) sell this stuff for $4.99 a can. I couldn't find any after a couple of attempts (sold out) so I just ordered online. So really.. it could be a $10 mod.

You're probably right on the reflectors. Here is the turn signal picture from this morning:

Yes. I did one coat with it taped off. And then one coat with the tape removed to seal the edges. Just used a piece of cardboard to shield the car from overspray.

I was going to remove the tail lights... but I really was excited to do it last night and I was running out of time/day light. So I just masked everything off carefully. If anyone doesn't have the patience to get the masking done perfectly then I highly recommend taking the tails off. I spent most of the hour waiting for paint to dry and masking the car.

I'm hoping the clear helps to keep it nice and shiny and fade a little slower... if it fades I'll probably just repaint them, or take em off and wrap them. We'll see how it goes.

 

Yeah, I do not know. I'll be sure to post back if it doesnt hold up. I am going to colorsand them this weekend and cut em with some 3M rubbing compound and put a nice coat of quality wax after that. If they fade, they fade. It didn't cost much of anything and I still have plenty of extra. Could always try something else. I'm sure the paint would strip right off with some carb cleaner on a rag or something.