Rear Tail Light Section Rework

I had mentioned in an earlier post that while doing some preparation work on getting the tail light section ready for the blackout kit that I discovered the back end inside of the taillights compartment had not been properly prepped before it had been repainted. In this first picture you can see clearly how the paint did not stick very well to the original paint surface, this was most likely due to a now very thorough job of cleaning the surface and preparing it for paint. My guess is that they probably figured that because this area is hidden under the tail lights assembly that it would never be seen or subjected to any real wear and tear, a little harmless corner cutting in most cases. ;)

 I was going at it with a small wire brush and it was taking a very long time so I figured it was time to speed this tedious process up a little. So I went out and picked up a couple of rotary wire brushes to use with my high speed drill.

Pictured here is the set of wire brushes I picked up to make the job go a lot faster. I loaded up my high speed drill and began buzzing off all of the loose paint. You could sure tell where the paint did not adhere to the original paint very well because as soon as the wire brush hit it, it just flew off, some areas the paint had stuck pretty good, but I gave those areas a good buzzing over anyways. I will sand down and prime the whole area inside of the tail lights compartment and make sure it's done right this time. Even though that area is never going to be seen or subjected to any rear wear and tear it's more for my own piece of mind than anything.

Here is the way it looks now after I have buzzed off all of the loose paint. You can see some areas where the paint stuck really well but they too will still be given a good sanding and priming. Steps closer.... with a little luck I'll be all prepped and ready for when Billy from Knight Designs sends me the nylon spacers for the taillight blackouts that he accidentally forgot to include. ;)