Anyone considered painting their own tow mirrors? If you have any suggestions I would appreciate it. Figured you would have to sand the hell out of them for starters....
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Painting Tow Mirrors
- Thread starter jonathancasey19
- Start date
i found this and hope it helps------>
very gently pry the mirror glass out from the bottom. If you look "behind" the glass, you'll see the clips that hold it to the base/motor mechanism. Stick a long flathead screwdriver in there and pry the clips off the base.
Then you'll need some Torx drivers to dissassemble the rest. Once the mirror glass is out its pretty self explanitory how to dissassemble them, but if you get stuck post another question.
Definetly completely take them apart and paint the pieces individually. Takes longer, but its the right way to do it.
1. Sand the plastic texture down with 120grit. I used a random orbital electric sander. Much easier than hand sanding. Hand sanding would probably take a long time. Even if you dont have an electric sander, its worth the 20 bucks a cheap generic hardware store sander costs... Sand the texture down completely so you cant see the bumps anymore, you dont have to be super anal about it tho.
2. Then after you are satisfied with it, hand sand the whole thing with 400 grit until the entire mirror feels "smooth".
3. Wipe the whole mirror down with a tack cloth. I used a special DuPont "Sontra" low-VOC wipe designed for cleaning/prepping stuff.
4. Then spray paint it with SEM high build flexable plastic primer. It comes in a spray paint can. Spray paint one "through" coat, but dont worry about making it a thick coat. Several thin coats are much better. Let the first coat dry for 5-10 minutes, then spray it again. I did 2 coats on my mirrors and it worked fine. Let it dry for an hour or so.
5. carefully hand sand the primer with 400-800 grit. Dont sand thru the primer! After you hand sand it the mirror should feel really smooth. Blow it off with compressed air and wipe it with a dry clean rag to get the sanding dust off.
6. mix up your base coat. I used Spies-Hecker auto paint because it was what the local auto paint store sold. PPG or any other reputable auto paint will work fine as well. Shake the paint well, then pour it into a marked mixing cup. You'll also need "reducer" too. Basically thins the paint to the proper consistancy. The paint shop will have hte proper reducer. For Spies paint, the paint is mixed with a 2:1 ratio. 2 parts paint to 1 part reducer. Pour the proper amounts into your mixing cup, and stir it really well.
7. adjust your air compressor to the proper pressure. I used about 45 psi static pressure/30psi working pressure and it worked well. If you have an HVLP gun the pressure will obviously be much lower. Paint the stuff in a very dry fairly cool place!!! Painting outside on a hot humid day does NOT work!
8. stick a strainer/filter into the paint gun's cup, and then pour the paint thru the strainer into the paint gun. This basically just filters any little things out that could clog the gun.
9. set up the mirror parts, hang them by string, whatever
10. if you have never painted before, play around with the gun on some cardboard or something. Practice technique so the paint doesnt run and the spray isnt too heavy. You dont need a lot of paint coming out of the gun. Its better to go over areas a second time than have a crap load come out and drip on the mirror.
11. carefully spray the mirror, use back and forth strokes, squeezeing the trigger fully as you go back and fourth. Dont hold the trigger down and go back and forth!! Wastes paint and makes a mess. Hold the gun about 10-12" away and just take your time and go carefully. Once you fully cover the mirror parts, let them flash (dry) for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes is up, spray a second light coat on. 2 coats should be enough
12. let the two base coats dry for at least an hour. Dont worry that its not shiny...thats what the clear coat is for.
13. mix up the clear coat. I used DuPont clear coat. The clear coat needs to be mixed with "activator", again it will say on the can what ratio, etc...the DuPont stuff I used was 1:3 ratio, activator to clear coat. Mix it up throughly in a cup.
14. clean out the gun very well!!! I use laquer thinner. Take the gun all apart and clean it. I used Q-tips and rags.
15. pour the clear coat in the gun, again using a strainer as before.
16. spray the first coat of clear coat on. Make the coats light!!! dont worry if it looks orange peel-y. As the clear dries it will smooth out. Let the clear coat dry for 20 minutes or so.
17. spray a second coat of clear, make sure you covered the whole mirror. Let it dry again for 20 minutes or so.
18. If you get any drips/runs in the clear coat, LEAVE IT ALONE!!!! DO NOT TRY TO FIX IT OR TOUCH IT!!! You will only end up making it worse!! if the drips are bad you can always wet sand it later AFTER the clear coat dries.
19. 2-3 coats of clear should be fine, dont do anymore than 3 coats.
20. let it dry at least overnight, and check it in the morning. It should look all pretty. The clear will still be hardening for a few days so still be careful putting the mirror all back together. Also dont wash or wax the truck or anything for a week or so. Dont worry about bugs or stuff on the mirrors. You can always wash them off and clean/polish the mirrors after the clear has FULLY set up.
I think thats it.....anyone tell me if I missed anything....doesnt matter if youvve never painted anything...id never even touched a spray gun before I painted these. If you follow the instructions, prep the mirrors well, and TAKE YOUR TIME, the mirrors will come out very nicely and last as long as the truck and not chip or anything..........
very gently pry the mirror glass out from the bottom. If you look "behind" the glass, you'll see the clips that hold it to the base/motor mechanism. Stick a long flathead screwdriver in there and pry the clips off the base.
Then you'll need some Torx drivers to dissassemble the rest. Once the mirror glass is out its pretty self explanitory how to dissassemble them, but if you get stuck post another question.
Definetly completely take them apart and paint the pieces individually. Takes longer, but its the right way to do it.
1. Sand the plastic texture down with 120grit. I used a random orbital electric sander. Much easier than hand sanding. Hand sanding would probably take a long time. Even if you dont have an electric sander, its worth the 20 bucks a cheap generic hardware store sander costs... Sand the texture down completely so you cant see the bumps anymore, you dont have to be super anal about it tho.
2. Then after you are satisfied with it, hand sand the whole thing with 400 grit until the entire mirror feels "smooth".
3. Wipe the whole mirror down with a tack cloth. I used a special DuPont "Sontra" low-VOC wipe designed for cleaning/prepping stuff.
4. Then spray paint it with SEM high build flexable plastic primer. It comes in a spray paint can. Spray paint one "through" coat, but dont worry about making it a thick coat. Several thin coats are much better. Let the first coat dry for 5-10 minutes, then spray it again. I did 2 coats on my mirrors and it worked fine. Let it dry for an hour or so.
5. carefully hand sand the primer with 400-800 grit. Dont sand thru the primer! After you hand sand it the mirror should feel really smooth. Blow it off with compressed air and wipe it with a dry clean rag to get the sanding dust off.
6. mix up your base coat. I used Spies-Hecker auto paint because it was what the local auto paint store sold. PPG or any other reputable auto paint will work fine as well. Shake the paint well, then pour it into a marked mixing cup. You'll also need "reducer" too. Basically thins the paint to the proper consistancy. The paint shop will have hte proper reducer. For Spies paint, the paint is mixed with a 2:1 ratio. 2 parts paint to 1 part reducer. Pour the proper amounts into your mixing cup, and stir it really well.
7. adjust your air compressor to the proper pressure. I used about 45 psi static pressure/30psi working pressure and it worked well. If you have an HVLP gun the pressure will obviously be much lower. Paint the stuff in a very dry fairly cool place!!! Painting outside on a hot humid day does NOT work!
8. stick a strainer/filter into the paint gun's cup, and then pour the paint thru the strainer into the paint gun. This basically just filters any little things out that could clog the gun.
9. set up the mirror parts, hang them by string, whatever
10. if you have never painted before, play around with the gun on some cardboard or something. Practice technique so the paint doesnt run and the spray isnt too heavy. You dont need a lot of paint coming out of the gun. Its better to go over areas a second time than have a crap load come out and drip on the mirror.
11. carefully spray the mirror, use back and forth strokes, squeezeing the trigger fully as you go back and fourth. Dont hold the trigger down and go back and forth!! Wastes paint and makes a mess. Hold the gun about 10-12" away and just take your time and go carefully. Once you fully cover the mirror parts, let them flash (dry) for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes is up, spray a second light coat on. 2 coats should be enough
12. let the two base coats dry for at least an hour. Dont worry that its not shiny...thats what the clear coat is for.
13. mix up the clear coat. I used DuPont clear coat. The clear coat needs to be mixed with "activator", again it will say on the can what ratio, etc...the DuPont stuff I used was 1:3 ratio, activator to clear coat. Mix it up throughly in a cup.
14. clean out the gun very well!!! I use laquer thinner. Take the gun all apart and clean it. I used Q-tips and rags.
15. pour the clear coat in the gun, again using a strainer as before.
16. spray the first coat of clear coat on. Make the coats light!!! dont worry if it looks orange peel-y. As the clear dries it will smooth out. Let the clear coat dry for 20 minutes or so.
17. spray a second coat of clear, make sure you covered the whole mirror. Let it dry again for 20 minutes or so.
18. If you get any drips/runs in the clear coat, LEAVE IT ALONE!!!! DO NOT TRY TO FIX IT OR TOUCH IT!!! You will only end up making it worse!! if the drips are bad you can always wet sand it later AFTER the clear coat dries.
19. 2-3 coats of clear should be fine, dont do anymore than 3 coats.
20. let it dry at least overnight, and check it in the morning. It should look all pretty. The clear will still be hardening for a few days so still be careful putting the mirror all back together. Also dont wash or wax the truck or anything for a week or so. Dont worry about bugs or stuff on the mirrors. You can always wash them off and clean/polish the mirrors after the clear has FULLY set up.
I think thats it.....anyone tell me if I missed anything....doesnt matter if youvve never painted anything...id never even touched a spray gun before I painted these. If you follow the instructions, prep the mirrors well, and TAKE YOUR TIME, the mirrors will come out very nicely and last as long as the truck and not chip or anything..........
Im doing this right now also. Mine are all in pieces and sanded, hopefully painted by the weekend. Here is the disassembly i used for the tow mirrors.
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142318&highlight=mirror
As far as the sanding, it was a lil different for me due to no sander. I started with 80 then 180 then 400 and now there smooth. Take your time with the 80 as it takes a while and needs to be done right.
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142318&highlight=mirror
As far as the sanding, it was a lil different for me due to no sander. I started with 80 then 180 then 400 and now there smooth. Take your time with the 80 as it takes a while and needs to be done right.
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Those look amazing matt!! WOW! My buddy did his own fender flares, you can clearly see they don't match the actual sheet metal. Yours came out very clean