backlights.....

How do you guys paint your rear lights...is it some form of clear paint?
I have tried to paint them with flat paint and it dont turned out well....

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In progress:
Tamiya Toyota Supra
Tamiya Nissan Skyline R32
Completed:
Fujimi Toyota Sprinter Trueno

I paint the inside of the clear parts with Tamiya Clear Red or Clear Orange. You can also paint behind the clear red/orange with chrome or use BMF to make it look more reflective.

Thanks! I gonna try this!

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In progress:
Tamiya Toyota Supra
Tamiya Nissan Skyline R32
Completed:
Fujimi Toyota Sprinter Trueno

Would it be more realistic to paint the outside clear red?

I'm scared to try =].

Before painting chrome behind the clear red though, I'll try painting chrome on the car's body instead and see how that works. Might add some depth.

no you paint inside.. so if the pait in uneven, it will still look good

then you can add some BareMetal Foil to get a really good finish, or paint the inside silver (will look good, but not as great as BMF)

also paint the body or the light itselft silver, never the clear part (it will give you a better finish) but as I said, get some Bare Metal Foil.. it's a must

Only paint the outside if you're using an airbrush that will lay the paint down evenly. In all other cases, paint the inside surface so the outside will still be smooth, like Vric said.


And the foil behind the clear parts will look great! I couldn't believe it when I first did it...

I never paint the inside of lights because on real cars the colour goes through the entire depth of the plastic because it is formed out of a semi-transparent plastic. This means that often I find that it looks inaccurate when the inside is painted because the colour is only present once you have looked through a depth of clear plastic. However, this effect is present on some real cars and in this case it is ok to paint the inside surface of the clear plastic because the effect is correct. From memory I think that the 300ZX and RX7 are two cars where this is the case. You simply have to find reference pictures to see which method is most suitable for the car you are modeling.

outer lights have foil behind them, inner lights do not.

painted with tamiya clear red acrylic on the inside only.

(shitty job, I shoulda smoothed the BMF better. but you can plainly see what kinda look the 2 different methods will produce)

http://web.tampabay.rr.com/blueboost/images/slow5.bmp

the foil isn't well aplicated (use a qtips) but it's a good exemple of what it could make

it's a real must have

i painted the outside of my prelude lights and i think they look pretty good. i used the tamiya "clear red" X-27

LUV IT

heres a link
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=197787