1970 Barracuda Reanimated.

[anlauto]

Looks fantastic, I love (and may have to steal) the saw blade trick

[Marty]

Stop thief! 

[Rbob]

Marty, you are a master of the arts and thank you for sharing.

I missed the saw blade trick, what? 

[Marty]

I picked up a pair of the front parking lights a couple of weeks ago. $150. A great buy as far as I was concerned. Other than a small piece of plastic broken off on the corner, they were exactly what I was looking for in price and condition. The ones that were included with the Barracuda were too beat up for restoration.

The first thing was to disassemble and wash the dirt out of the lenses. The inner lens was like new. The tougher part of the cleaning was removing the yellow dried goo that stains the plastic from the black vinyl that covers the top rear of the lens. Lots of soap and a sponge with a roughish backing did the job. I wasn't concerned about scratching the acrylic plastic.

Once cleaned, I sanded the face and the back of the lens with 1000 grit wrapped around a foam block (soaked in water) sandpaper. Continued with 1500,2000,2500 and 3000. I set up the buffer on a sawhorse and buffed the lens as I did on the Barracuda paint. All the scuff's and scratches were removed and the lens looked as good as new.

The back of the bulb assembly was scuffed with a red scuff pad and wiped down with Acetone along with the pigtails. Fortunately, the silver reflection coating was in very good condition. Everything was masked off and the assembly was sprayed with etching primer then followed up with gold Duplicolor spray bomb.

Going back to the lens, I had to decide what to do with the blacked-out area on the top of the lens. I know that the black vinyl is available but decided against it. Electrical tape was out. It looks funky and never really stays put and will become a gooey mess once it's aged. So, I went for painting it.

The factory vinyl is about three inches wide and extends about halfway down the sides. I used vinyl tape to mark off the exposed area, then finished the masking with 2" masking tape. The vinyl tape holds up to the scuff pad which was used to prep the exposed plastic. The taped area must be pressed down to avoid the paint from bleeding under the tape which will result in a sloppy look. I sprayed on three coats of Semi Gloss-Black duplicolor paint then I pulled the tape after a few minutes.

I let the paint dry overnight before assembly.

[Marty]

Continued:

The only defect that I couldn't remove was the two tiny rock chips in the center of the left lens. Sanding them out would distort the plastic surface. So, I dropped a tiny drop of clear coat in the chips but it didn't change anything, so I just let it dry and didn't attempt any further repairs. You'll never see them once the lights are installed in the grill.

[dodj]

 
I'm realing liking your series of "how to" instructions.
Excellent work!

[Marty]

Thanks! Here's to you and E-Bodies.org. 

[usraptor]

I went through a similar process to restore the OEM lenses on my '70 Cuda but you took it to the extreme and the extra effort shows.  I thought mine came out pretty good but yours are fare nicer than mine.  Great job!

[Marty]

  I really appreciate your comment. Thanks.

[Marty]

The rocker moldings were in pretty good shape, just needed a coat of paint as far as I was concerned.

Scuffed them up with a red Scotch Brite pad, clean then sprayed on a couple of coats of an adhesive promoter. Mixed up some Argent silver base and clear coat. Sprayed the base till coverage then a couple of coats of clear coat.

Next, was the intense part. Masking off the Gills. It wasn't as easy as you might think due to the mild curve on the edge of the Gill.  First, the masking tape then followed up with the vinyl tape on the edges. The vinyl tape is pliable and molds easily to curves. What a masking marathon

Once all the masking was completed, I mixed up some low gloss black single stage paint into a Preval bottle and lightly sprayed it till coverage after the adhesion promoter flashed. Although I expected the paint to bleed under the tape in some areas due to the rough surfaces, keeping the coat's light prevented this for the most part. Besides, the first light coat after flashing makes a decent seal on the tape edge.

Removed the miles of tape after the paint tacked up and let the molding dry. Mixing up some clear coat in a bottle cap, then I would dab a brush dipped with some silver base and touched up the black where it may have leaked under the tape. In the lower picture, the touch-up has not been done.





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[Rbob]

 

That looks great!, Not just a masking marathon, its also an unmasking marathon.

[anlauto]

A lot of patience there 

[dodj]

And that's why body shops cost so much. A lot more labour than it looks.

Looking good Marty!

[dhh]

Learning so much from this thread. Thanks @Marty   

[Marty]

  to those that commented.