I recently bought an 87 gxl and it had apparently stood in the sun for quite a while. the black area around the taillights had become faded and crackled as i figure many of yours have.

instead of replacing the stock taillights with new stock taillights which i did not want to (because i dont like the stock ones and i dont want to make my car look fast until it is fast (Honduh guys tend to do that a lot)) i could just spraypaint the old ones

Yes, i just said SPRAYPAINT. i.e. Honduh custom paintjob.

it worked out really well though. and it doesnt scratch off. all i did was get black vinyl spraypaint from advance auto and taped off the lights with masking tape. spray it a couple of times.( you can do this in about half a day since this paint dries quick).

for taillight removal there are four bolts on the top and bottom of each light (inside) and they are usually handtight.

oh while you are at it i recomend taking of the license plate holder and remove the two metal plates from the top and bottom since they are completely useless and will innevitably rust and get into you cars body.

dont forget to tape off the license plate lense on the inside

good luck
Justin