I'm having my mirrors painted, and would like to know what prep is needed beforehand. I read a post a while ago about a guy who's bodyshop bondo'd them to smooth them out before painting. My bodyshop guy says he wants to sand them smooth and it'll take a couple hours. If sanding is the way to go, I would do that myself before taking the car in. Sand? Bondo? Nothing? Any input would be appreciated!

 

It really depends on your painter. Everyone is different. There is no single right way to do it. He is going to have to sand a whole lot to get it smooth enough. But, if that's what he feels comfortable doing, I'd let him go with that.

 

When painting textured plastic parts you want to sand most of the rough finish off the parts....then use the proper plastic adhesion promoter and sandable primer. Prime and sand until all is smooth and ready for painting. This is what I do at my shop.

 

How hard would it be to prep the mirrors yourself? And is it worth it?

 

Good advice. I'm thinking the painter knows what he's doing regarding your mirrors. Personally (and I'm no painter) I don't like the idea of just bondo'ing over the textured mirrors. Especially with all the doors constantly being opened and closed. I would think that a thin layer of bondo would eventually crack. Not to mention if a small rock hit your mirror... it would definitely crack the bondo, and of course the paint. Where, if there was no bondo, the clear may have protected the paint. I think sanding is the way to go. He probably won't be able to get it 100% smooth, but after numerous coats of primer and re-sanding, it should be smooth enough to take the paint.

 

At the least, you can take the mirrors off the car yourself and save some big bucks in labor.

 

wouldn't be that hard....but wouldn't be saving much money or time (easier to let somebody that knows what they are doing do it) Like I say at my shop....it'll be this much if you want me to do it....and if you wanna help just double it!haha

 

I'm sure you can do it, but I'd leave it to the painter. First of all, how much are you really going to save? Twenty bucks? And most painters aren't going to warranty their work if you do the prep work. They can say that you didn't prep it right if later on there is a problem. Then, you are screwed out of more than $20.

 

Great advice everyone, thanks for the input. I think I'll leave it to the pros.

 

I heard, and have seen, several users in this forum get their mirrors painted but they were not sanded because they wanted the textured surface. So will they have problems? I want to get the top sections of my mirrors painted next week. If they definately need to be sanded then I will do that instead of the painters, so I can save some cash.

 

Ford dealer is removing my mirrors tomorrow to paint them. Will reinstall on Sat. He didn't ask about prep and I didn't suggest anything. Paint job is guaranteed for 3 years, so I figure for $135.00 I'll let him decide on the best way to prep.

 

IMHO it would be better to leave all prep work to the painter.
As others have said you wouldn't be saving that much money by doing the work yourself, and the painter might not warrenty the work if you sand them.
Also, make sure the painter will stand behind his work in case of problems...I got a great price from a body shop in my neighborhood, but when I asked about a warrenty he said he wouldn't stand behind his work so I had my neighbor do the work for me.

 

I did not sand mine only because I painted the upper inset area and with that in mind I felt it would look better too keep the texture. So I cleaned and used Adhesion Promoter. Then six light coats and then clear. This is not a daily so I'm not concerned at this time. I was just playing around.

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If someday I would like to paint the complete mirror, then I would sand them smooth as possible and finish with sanding primer.

 

my painter said it is not going to be smooth. i said no problemo. i just wanted it sonic blue. pretty smooth to me. guess the prepaint adhesion stuff filled in the holes pretty well. i'm stoked.

 

Harrier,

Nice bud. That is definitely on the offical "To Do" list for my Torch GT! I think I like having the entire mirror painted, just like yours. The insert only jobs look a bit showy to me. Of course, I did paint my brake calipers a nice, bright red too....