How To Paint To Match Mirror Caps

[gutierrezvho]

This tutorial will demonstrate the method I used to paint my mirror caps. Hopefully this will be helpful to some of you VHO owners or SSS clones or anyone that is viewing this thread that doesnt have painted to match mirrors!

 

So since I own a VHO and not a SSS unfortunately my mirror caps did not come painted to match the truck. So just out of curiosity I decided to go pick up a set of mirrors from the salvage yard and paint them myself to see how well they would turn out. I am not a pro at the whole do it your self painting so please bare with me (not trying to saying this is the best method ever just demonstrating what worked for me).

 

Here are the materials you will need for the job.

 

1. Spray paint, or auto paint of your choice

2. Some sort of paintable primer

3. Clear coat

4. 120, 220, 300, 600 grit sand paper (this can very depending on the condition of the mirrors)

5. Mirror caps (covers whatever you may call them)

 

Here are the sprays I used (obviously not the exact sprays just a picture i found on the internet)

 

Step 1: Okay so the first step (assuming you have the caps popped off of the mirrors) is to begin sanding the mirrors with the 120 grit sand paper to sort of remove all of the texture since I used a pair of chrome mirrors I had to remove the chrome finish. You might find that its hard to sand that off so I used a really sharp knife to just peel it off and it worked just fine for me. The sanding is pretty self explanatory so just use your own judgment!

 

Here is a picture of what the mirror should look like after the first step I compared it to the untouched chrome one just in case that is what you have.

 

Step 2: Once you are happy with the removal of the texture rinse all of the residue off with some warm water and a little dish soap.

 

Step 3: Begin to sand with the 220 grit paper so you can start get a nice smooth surface for the primer. After you feel good about the surface (just a few fine scratches) repeat step 2

 

Step 4: Now its time to move on to the 300 grit now you should be trying to get a very smooth surface with no blemishes maybe just a couple fine scratches but be sure not to get lazy and leave a lot as the primer will not fill all of them. Once you are happy with the results go ahead and repeat Step 2.

 

Step 5: Now that the mirrors are prepped they are ready for some primer. Before you spray the mirrors you are gonna wanna remove any residue or dust that may be sitting on the mirrors I used rubbing alcohol but i hear nail polish remover works as well. When spraying the primer you want to lay on some light even coats (making quick passes over the caps from left to right worked well for me).

This is what mine looked like after one light coat

I sprayed on 3 light coats and one heavy coat you are gonna wanna wait about 10 to 15 minutes between each coat.

 

After all of the primer coats have been sprayed on

 

Now let them dry for a couple of hours before the next step

 

Step 6: Since i was in no hurry i waited over night to let the primer dry before doing this step. In this step you are gonna need to get out the 600 grit sand paper and begin lightly sanding the surface of the primer they should stay very smooth with no blemishes. Once you are done sanding Repeat step 2

 

Step 7: Now you are ready for some Paint! .( If you dont want to paint them yourself im sure that you could take them to a body shop and get them sprayed for cheap. )Before this step you will need to remove the residue and dust again. For this step you are going to use the same method as used in the priming. Nice even light coats make sure not to make the coats too heavy as this could cause runs.

 

After one light coat

I sprayed 3 light coats of paint on the last coat i went a little heavier than the first two waiting about 10-15 minutes in between coats.

Now its time to let them dry... i waited about 2 hours only because i went and had dinner but i recommend waiting at least an hour before next step.

 

Step 8: now time to apply the clear coat. For this step I did 3 light even coats and then a 4th very heavy coat (remember this is where you get all of the shine so dont be afraid to go too heavy on the final coat) I would recommend that you let them dry over night in a safe place so that you know they wont get damaged.

 

Here is my final result

You cant really see how shiny they are because of the low quality camera phone pics but I was very pleased with my results and I hope that you are happy with yours as well!

 

I hope that this tutorial will help those who want to achieve the painted to match look It was my first tutorial so try and bare with me! Feel free to share your results or steps

[misterp]

 

How hard is it to remove the caps from the mirrors themselves?

 

Mr. P.

[gutierrezvho]

 

How hard is it to remove the caps from the mirrors themselves?

 

Mr. P.

 

This can actually be tricky if you arent careful when removing them just be sure to be some what gentle becuase the clips on the back of the caps can be broken with little flexing. It only took me about 3 minutes to pop them both off and i just used two flat heads one very small one to kind of just run around the mirror, and the big one just to pry lol. They are held on by some adhesive pads and this will most like pose the only problem if any! So just remember if you are gentle with them Id say that on a scale from 1-10 its about a 3. NOTHING compared to prying the headlights apart.

 

I can try and upload some pictures of the removing process if you think that would be helpful?

Edited November 16, 2010 by gutierrezvho (see edit history)

[silverado_ss_04]

Nice work, got any pics of them back on the truck?

[gutierrezvho]

Nice work, got any pics of them back on the truck?

Thanks, I actually havent put them back on my truck yet but i will upload some pics when I slap em back on!

[BlueAKSSS]

Good job and How to! One thing I would add is.... Adhesion Promoter for Plastic Parts, it's a good thing to use when painting plastic parts on cars so that the paint adheres to the plastic. It comes in a spray can that you can get at auto parts stores and any auto paint store.

[gutierrezvho]

Good job and How to! One thing I would add is.... Adhesion Promoter for Plastic Parts, it's a good thing to use when painting plastic parts on cars so that the paint adheres to the plastic. It comes in a spray can that you can get at auto parts stores and any auto paint store.

 

Thanks for the tip and compliments! Im actually thinking about painting an extra set of mirrors I have when I get some time to see if I can get them a tad bit more shiny, as it was my first time I was a little hesitant on the coats, and I think I can do a better job. Im thinking that I will try the adhesion promoter this time!