I took my car out of storage after 4 years to find the left tail light which was from a wrecker to have bad delamination.
Seeing the members here having great success restoring the delamination I contacted a friend who owns a body shop. They prepped, painted, clear coated and polished to a mirror piano black finish. I want to point out this included them polishing the inside of the lens so there is a crystal clear lens . To save money I brought home the interior parts and cleaned, polished them myself, then brought them back to the shop to have them re assembled.
Thank you PFF! I would never have thought to do this otherwise.
we tested out the lighting. The Pontiac is only visible now with the lights on. Very stealthy and I love it. Simular effect as Tinting the entire lens with Night shades etc.
All the pictures I have seen, and after discussion with the painter it was agreed that masking the pontiac would be a compromise due to the depth difference of the paint and the original backing.
That is EXACTLY what I want to do with mine!!!! (I know I might get hate mail, but I never liked the "PONTIAC" lettering)
Please post some pics with them installed. I REALLY want to see how it looks on the car. I've been tempted to do this for so long, and yours look so good I might have to just try it myself.
------------------ Tim Bay City, MI '87 GT original 2.8 All Poly suspension w/Eibach springs Aussie Stage 2 side scoops Deck scoop, Fiero Warehouse lip spoiler
......after discussion with the painter it was agreed that masking the pontiac would be a compromise due to the depth difference of the paint and the original backing.
The translation of that is "that's a hell of a lot of work to do properly and will add significant cost to the project". When I used to restore the lenses for people, I used backlighting and masked just inside the original black laminate to ensure that all of the original black would not be seen from any angle. We're talking fractions of millimeters within the original lines so without a measuring tool, you could never tell the letters were a hair smaller. It took a hell of a long time to hand cut all of the angles properly. In the end, you couldn't tell they were even painted. Now that Napoleon_Tanerite is offering this as a service, he can chime in on how labor intensive the masking process is.
However, I like the idea of what you have done. The lenses look great.
The translation of that is "that's a hell of a lot of work to do properly and will add significant cost to the project". When I used to restore the lenses for people, I used backlighting and masked just inside the original black laminate to ensure that all of the original black would not be seen from any angle. We're talking fractions of millimeters within the original lines so without a measuring tool, you could never tell the letters were a hair smaller. It took a hell of a long time to hand cut all of the angles properly. In the end, you couldn't tell they were even painted. Now that Napoleon_Tanerite is offering this as a service, he can chime in on how labor intensive the masking process is.
However, I like the idea of what you have done. The lenses look great.
Yup. Masking the lettering is tedious, time consuming, and aggravating. Polishing them takes longer though. I take it really slow and look at it from lots of angles.
it prob would not take much effort to create a vinyl stencil that can be put on the lens before painting. I've seen stencils for painting Pontiac Rally II rims and others. It would not have to be high quality or cost much, because its going to be peeled off. Diff part would be getting it right (size, shape).
It cost me $125 for 75 Pontiac vinyl "stencils" when I was doing lenses.
It would be nice to have that file for a plotter. I spent many hours editing the font thickness, height, and length just to get something close to the factory lettering.....and I still have to do it by hand.
Scroll about 3/4 of the way down the page and they're there. The problem is you're going to have a helluva time getting them PERFECTLY aligned with the OE lettering, and if you screw it up, good luck peeling them up to move them without stretching them. There are a few tricks out there to help, but as easy as masking decals seem, they do bring their own set of challenges.
Scroll about 3/4 of the way down the page and they're there. The problem is you're going to have a helluva time getting them PERFECTLY aligned with the OE lettering, and if you screw it up, good luck peeling them up to move them without stretching them. There are a few tricks out there to help, but as easy as masking decals seem, they do bring their own set of challenges.
The only way to really apply those accurately is to use water to transfer them on and a squeegee. Then you will have an accurate mask once you can slide them around and align them correctly. I'm glad he offers those for those people who want to try this on their own.
And just so I don't hijack this thread..........Samuraijack, they look great. I'm curious how they look in the dark with the light shining through the Pontiac. Post a pic when you have a chance.
Slammed, I should have been more clear....I would have loved to have that file WHEN I did these for people. I no longer do these and Napolean is doing a great job with his restore business, but I appreciate the offer. Thank you.
Or as I tell people it is a bunch of work that isn't even needed well unless you want to read the pontiac with the car in the off position...
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Originally posted by IMSA GT:
The translation of that is "that's a hell of a lot of work to do properly and will add significant cost to the project". When I used to restore the lenses for people, I used backlighting and masked just inside the original black laminate to ensure that all of the original black would not be seen from any angle. We're talking fractions of millimeters within the original lines so without a measuring tool, you could never tell the letters were a hair smaller. It took a hell of a long time to hand cut all of the angles properly. In the end, you couldn't tell they were even painted. Now that Napoleon_Tanerite is offering this as a service, he can chime in on how labor intensive the masking process is.
However, I like the idea of what you have done. The lenses look great.
Do you know how they sprayed them? I assume they masked the clear portion, masked just over the Pontiac with straight tape without actually masking each letter individually, sprayed solid black around the edges to cover the delamination, unmasked the lettering then sprayed a dark candy color such as House Of Kolor Pagan Gold over everything?
[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 09-25-2016).]
Do you know how they sprayed them? I assume they masked the clear portion, masked just over the Pontiac with straight tape without actually masking each letter individually, sprayed solid black around the edges to cover the delamination, unmasked the lettering then sprayed a dark candy color such as House Of Kolor Pagan Gold over everything?
He prepped the exterior, masked just the left and right clear section, painted, clear coated, then polished the inside and the clear coat to a excellent mirror finish. It was done in the paint booth, he just painted over the entire lens not sure what paint he used but he said the paint "should" allow the pontiac to be seen. I Didn't care if the pontiac showed or not it was just a suprise bonus that it did. I decided to go with it and put in the red LEDs. I was originally thinking of removing the bulbs and could care less if the pontiac showed.
[This message has been edited by Samuraijack (edited 09-25-2016).]
. To save money I brought home the interior parts and cleaned, polished them myself, then brought them back to the shop to have them re assembled. 
well unless you want to read the pontiac with the car in the off position...
