I was thinking of getting my door handles and side mirrors painted to match my car. Has any one here done this? Did it turn out ok? I wonder if the constant opening of the doors would cause the paint to rub off the moving part of the handle.
Do a search, i know lots of ppl have done it, I did paint my Mirrors long time ago. It still look OK, i have couple of paint chips but nothing major. As for the door handles, I never did it.
Do you think a couple extra coats of clear would keep the paint from chipping off the mirrors? I rarely see paint chipping off on factory painted mirrors.
Well I'd say the only real part that would start to rub off would be the inside part of the door handles.. and well no one really looks in there, and if they do... they shouldn't.
A i 'd think if u put a good 5-8 coats(not jokeing) it would last pretty good.
also keep in mind the handles have a little ruff texture on em so u might want to do a light sand on the plastice to get that high gloss look. and the paint would stick alot better.
well that's my 2 cents,
yet it's a penny for ur thought :P
Firsr use a good plastic primer and good quality paint 2 coats will do and just use a good clear to finish it off and it will last .
why not just buy the colour matched Mazda handles? From the Tribute i believe
Wouldn't that mess up my locks? Or is the lock not included.
i think others have done it :huh:
I read through the whole Tribute door handle thread on Focus fanatics and it seems like it's only worthwhile if your car is a non-SVT color that is also a color used on the Tribute.
The handles dont have the locking mechanisms attached to them, the keyhole cover is basically just a cover, and the handle part doesnt mess with the lock at all. It looks semi-complicated to install but you shouldnt have to mess with anything to do with the lock cylinders.
If you decide to paint your stock ones (or have them painted professionally), make sure the prep work is done properly. Sand them down as smooth as possible, use adhesion promoter, plastic primer, high quality paint/clear, etc. They are areas with a lot of contact so they have to be really durable.
yeah, if you want more info talk to the brits on our sister site the FFOC.co.uk as this is the most common mod they do over there...... so I'm sure they could give you more info on this topic.
I did this, looks great. I had a local body shop do my mirror covers and handles, Turned out amazing. perfect color match.