Paint and Body Painting Side view mirrors

[Rdub6]

I’ve been back and forth on this for a while, but I really think I want my mirrors black instead of body color. Would you guys recommend taking the mirrors off, or scuffing them in place and then spraying with the trim black? I’ll be doing the door handles too.... but may just buy new black ones.

 

[General karthief]

Take them off.

 

[Rdub6]

I was afraid that would be the answer! The easy way is never the right way!!

 

[Rdub6]

Can I just scuff up the red paint and shoot the black, or do I need to strip the whole thing down?
I want to do it right, and not do it again a year from now. @Davedacarpainter what do you suggest?

 

[Steel1]

If the red is in good condition, not peeling etc. then you could sand, prime, paint.
Before starting the process wash mirrors with blue Dawn and water, let dry then use a wax & grease remover.
Allow the W & G remover to flash off (dry) 30min or so before sanding.

 

[Mustang5L5]

I’d find another set and carefully box those up.
I do agree the the side mirrors on the coupe/hatch should be black.

the hockey puck mirrors look good painted body color

 

[91GTstroked]

I do what's mentioned above. LMR sells new reproduction black ones. Store the red ones.

I personally like my painted side mirrors.

 

[Rdub6]

I do what's mentioned above. LMR sells new reproduction black ones. Store the red ones.

I personally like my painted side mirrors.

Yeah, they look pretty good on your coupe, but I’m just not loving it on the red.
And I’m eventually going with black wheels, so the mirrors and door handles need to be black too IMO.

 

[dgollem]

They are not hard to take off. Prep is important, clean, scuff, prime, scuff and clean again before paint. If you want a more satin black finish close to stock I painted mine with SEM bumper paint which has a flex agent in it.

 

[91TwighlightGT]

Yeah, once you have them black you won't want to go back to red. Just take them off and paint them, it's not hard. At all.

 

[Rdub6]

Yeah, once you have them black you won't want to go back to red. Just take them off and paint them, it's not hard. At all.

Yeah, at the prices people want for used manual mirrors, I’m not going that route. All I see is power on LMR. And like you said, I’m pretty sure I won’t want the red again. I’ve looked at enough pictures to know it’s the way to go.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Ah, yours are manual? Then you'll never find a set for cheap as people want an arm and leg for them. Just paint yours

 

[BlakeusMaximus]

I agree with the majority of the guys saying the mirrors and handles should be black. When I did mine, I sanded all the chips out of them with 600 grit (I believe) wet, and refinished them black again. I used a base/semi gloss clear coat on them, but I think SEM trim black would work fine. Same with my door handles. They all come off the car easy.

 

[Rdub6]

Thanks guys! I think I’m going to go the route of taking them off and painting. This should be a cheap project (I hope) with a lot of reward.

 

[Steel1]

I used SEM trim black on my mirrors and handles, no complaints it's all in the prep.

 

[91TwighlightGT]

Door handles are up in the air for me depending on the color, but the mirrors flow better with the black trim. They just blend to the body in a strange way to be color matched.

T-Top and convertible mirrors are a different story, though.