Here's a quick guide to painting and clear coating your S40/Savage headlight case using lacquer in spray cans.

In this demo, I used the Duplicolor brand purchased from Pep Boys. They have lacquer and acrylic, but the lacquer is really easy to work with and has no re-coat window. It dries really quickly and can be wet-sanded and buffed to a mirror shine, beginning in about 30 minutes after it's sprayed. The Duplicolor cans also have a nicer spray nozzle than typical spray paint that can be rotated to control the spray pattern. There is a full line of filler primer, primer, paint, clear, etc.

If you spend the time to wet sand and buff it, lacquer can look really good. The downside is durability. If you spill fuel on it, it will instantly cloud over and you'll have to buff it out. Not recommended on a fuel tank! Actually, I wouldn't really recommend it on anything except small parts like the headlight.


Step 1: Sand the chrome paint with rough sandpaper. I used 80 grit.


Step 2: Clean it really well and wipe it down with naptha or similar. You can also use the Duplicolor prep wipes. Spray on the primer. I'm using the reddish orange primer, but it also comes in white and gray. Spray a few light coats, followed by a heavier coat.


Step 3: Let the primer dry for at least 30 minutes and then wet sand. I used 400 grit.


Step 4: Dry it off and make sure the orange peel is gone. The surface should be smooth and dull. Before spraying, you can use clothes pins or clips to prop it up on a box so you can get to all sides evenly.


Step 5: Clean the surface really well and make sure any oil or grease is removed. I wiped it down with naptha and then used an air compressor to blow all the dust particles off right before spraying it. Spray the base coat in a few coats, one light and one a little heavier, waiting about 10 minutes between coats. Just watch out for runs or drips.

Step 6: Let the base coat dry fully and clean the surface as you did in previous steps. Spray a few coats of clear, beginning with a few light coats followed by a heavy coat. Lay it on pretty thick, just before it runs or drips. Don't worry too much about surface imperfections and orange peel. You will sand it down.


Step 7: Let the clear dry for at least 30 minutes and then wet sand. Begin with 1000 grit. Be careful when sanding around the edges. It's easy to sand through the clearcoat in those areas.


Step 8: Dry it off and look at the surface. If you have any shiny spots like in the photo below, keep sanding until the surface is smooth and even. Follow with 1500 grit, and finally 2000.


Step 9: Now you can polish it up to a nice shine. I used Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. It's new-paint safe and can be used with a buffing wheel or by hand.


Here's the head light after polishing with Ultimate Compound: