Can someone who has painted the exterior mirror provide some info for me? I would like to have the exterior mirrors painted to match the body color and perform all removal and prep work myself and then hand them off to a body shop to paint them. If you could provide some detail on removing and disassembling the mirrors and how you removed the texture (if at all) on the plastic surface. Thanks for any info you can share

 

Yes, I'm about to paint mine and would love to hear of do's and don't!!
Thanks, Joe

 

I attached a pdf I had on removing the mirrors... not very helpful really but something to start with. Youll have to sand them down pretty good or the paint wont stick. Fazm suggested using a scotchbrite pad to scruff it, then sand it with 2000 grit sand paper or maybe 1100. Primer, paint, wetsand, paint, clear was also suggested.

 

Thanks....I hoped it was easy!! How many coats of paint required?

 

Depending what finish you are looking for textured or smooth. I painted the upper inset and decided that the texture should stay. An alcohol cleaning, taped it off and sprayed with Dupli-Color "Adhevise Promoter", that was all I used for prep. Then body color and clear.

 

There is an alternative to all the labor of smoothing and painting. DG Custom Auto, dba Pacific Motor Sports on ebay, has full painted mirror covers that match the factory paint perfectly and slip over the whole mirror. They look terrific and one can easily remove the covers to return back to original without damage or marks on the mirrors. I can't see why anyone would sand, or not sand, their mirrors and then paint them. The complete price including shipping is $165.00. What a difference in appearance. Ford should have done this originally.

 

The mirrors are fairly simple to remove. The triangle shaped cover on the inside simply pops off with a little pressure. There are three nuts holding the mirror in place. Carefully remove them and don't drop them. Once removed, I screwed them back on the post so I would not loose them. I taped off the posts and the rubber. When you are gonig to mask off the mirror, it is usefull to cut a small piece of paper just slightly smaller then the mirror, and then tape the paper over the mirror. This will minimize the tape glue on the mirror and protect it from scratches.

Sand the textured part of the mirrors, but you don't have to go too crazy. After 3 coats of paint and the clearcoat, my mirrors were very smooth. 4 coats would be better.

After replacing the mirror on the car, carefully pop the triangular covers back on. Be sure to carefully line up all of the pins so the cover goes on even and does not weaken or bend the retaining clips.

Personally, I don't like the mirror covers. You can see that they are just taped over the mirrors. The full mirror covers do not cover the triangular mirror mounts and from the drivers seat you can see the black lip of the mirror. If you shop around, you can get your mirrors painted for about the same price as the covers and the painte mirrors look much more professional.

Good luck, PM me if you have any questions.

 

Looks Nice!

 

FORD CHARGED me $120 (texture can be seen ) Looks great.
can't upload pic for some reason

 

After I get mine painted I'll post some pics.