On my black 2012 I got clear alternatives smoked lenses or lights all around which looks great on a black bike. This 2014 is orange and black. on the front I could still use smoked TS lenses since the fairing is black where the lenses are. On the back the 3 lights are set in the burnt candy orange and I thought the smoked wouldn't look that much better than the clear white ones so I decided to try coloring them myself.

The turnsignals are 3 coats of transparent orange and 1 coat of transparent red on the inside of the lens. The tail light is 1 coat of transparent orange, 1 coat of transparent red followed by clear. As anal as I am I thinked they turned out pretty good.

As anal as I am I thinked they turned out pretty good.

Pretty good? Huh- that looks perfect. Nice job. Dark over light, clear on top. You must have done some test spray outs before you painted the actual parts..

Actually Rook my only spray test was 3 months ago. It was5 coats of transparent orange on the inside of one of my wife's clear plastic glasses, she was so excited. I learned 5 coats was getting too opaque. A buddy of mine agreed it needed some red. I was getting ready to tape up another glass and just decided what the heck, and sprayed the parts. This truly is a case of a scientific wild ass guess and blond luck working out.

Your finished lens looks flawless!!! Bet they look seamless and factory on the bike!!!

What brand of spray did you use?

Thanks,Tamiya

Nice job for sure !!
Got any pics installed on the bike you could post up ?

Love the way it turned out.

I have the sane color bike but 2014.
again what brand of paint was used ?
How Did you paint the inside of the lens?
I didn't realize it came apart?

Nice job for sure !!
Got any pics installed on the bike you could post up ?

Thank you, I will put it back together tomorrow, making sure the clear on the tail light won't get smudged.

Love the way it turned out.

I have the sane color bike but 2014.
again what brand of paint was used ?
How Did you paint the inside of the lens?
I didn't realize it came apart?

Tamiya PS-43 and PS-37, which are transparent paints for polycarbonate bodies. The turnsignals come apart, that little screw you see from the outside holds it to the base. I know for sure others have taken the tail light apart buy using a heat gun and softening the glue. My wifes hair dryer wasn't getting hot enough so I just painted it on the outside which is why I'm waiting to the clear to cure. No clear on the TS lenses since they are on the inside of the lens.

Alright, one of these days I'm going to have to listen to myself. I wanted to see these mounted as much as anybody. Should have waited like I said, now I have to rub out the tail light. They aren't perfect but I think much better than stock. The fact they turned out this nice is just pure blind luck. I am a terrible painter, I can ruin anything with a rattle can and don't even think of letting me get close to a paint brush.




The tail light really could use 1 more coat and since I have to rub out the clear I might try again. then again maybe I should just leave well enough alone.

* Last updated by: toledoUPSguy on 2/10/2015 @ 2:26 PM *

A few more views with the seat cowl on and showing the logos removed. Also you can see the tiger racing LSR chain guard that was supposed to be powder coated matte black like the rest of the frame. Ended up only costing me $10 since I was so ticked off at the local new guy and for that reason if you need powder coating done use our 06blackpearl. I'm going to try rattle canning it matte black myself.

I think the tail light and all look great. If you hit it with another coat of red, might be too dark. Then what? If you're getting down to splitting hairs, you'll notice most paints get a tiny bit deeper in hue after they dry.

* Last updated by: Rook on 2/10/2015 @ 5:23 PM *

Looks great. Very professional job

Thanks for taking the risk
It looks GREAT!!!
Now I will do mine

Hi Toledo,
Not trying to put a damper on what looks like an amazing job you've done, but when you advised you used Tamiya paints, was it the acrylics?
I only ask because I use to be very heavily into remote control aircraft with a dabble into RC boats and cars and I used a lot of Tamiya acrylic paint on clear polycarbonate car bodies.
Unfortunately I found the paint sometimes cracked over time.
Admittedly I never used the Tamiya spray cans or clear colors (only the Tamiya jars where the solid paint color was brushed on).
Plus the RC car bodies were thin and had quite a bit of flex which could also explain the cracking issue.
I always felt that the main challenge was I couldn't lightly sand the inside of the clear plastic to give a grippy surface for the paint to adhere onto otherwise the finish would be compromised.

But this was all a while ago and Im sure pretty much all paints have probably come a long way since then.

* Last updated by: yannih on 2/11/2015 @ 5:09 AM *

This paint is specifically designed for the thin polycarbonate bodies so should be perfect here. Look up the part #s on Tamiya's website.

* Last updated by: toledoUPSguy on 2/11/2015 @ 5:32 AM *

Cap I think you should go better than me if you're feeling adventurous. I think the orange on our bikes being candy is clear or translucent. Maybe try spraying that and see how it turns out. I'm thinking of doing the same and if it doesn't work out I still can fall back on these.

Toledo, Now that I can see it on the bike I like it even better, you did an awsome job!!! Color looks very even, nice touch!

Very nice.