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[amba]

I have little to no experience of painting parts on cars so would appreciate some guidance.

Both door mirrors on my car are pretty shabby and would like them restored to former glory.

I have read the guide on removing the plastic covers if damaged,but would appreciate some advise on best way to deal with restoring the mirrors.

1 )..Is it wise to remove the entire mirror from the car and then dismantle to leave just the covers to be painted..or would this run the risk of damaging the new paint when refitting

2 ).. paint fully assembled on the car with adequate masking to avoid any dismantling/replacing once painted.

3 )..dismantle whilst on the car and paint just the covers .

4 )..Just take the car to body shop and have it done by them but pay a hefty price for the pleasure

Any advise appreciated and idea of costs involved if I go route 4 !

[mickyboy123]

hi. i would probly go route 4. i worked in a car bodyshop and you would be looking at 80 to 120 but would be worth the cost if you want them looking nice and to last. other routs you would spend 40 to 50 on materials and probly end up with a job you would never be happy with. hope this helps

[Nick W]

I think mirrors are one of the few bits on a car for DIY refinishing. They are a small area, and don't touch the rest of the car, making the colour match less critical.
As it's just the covers that are body colour, it makes sense to remove them rather than mask the whole mirror. Then you can mount them on a stand to actually paint them. That sounds grander than it is; some scrap bits of wood, masking tape and ingenuity will do the job.
An aerosol should be enough to do both; it certainly was for my mother's Focus.
If the existing finish is OK, then a quick scuff with scotchbrite and degreasing should be enough prep.
Several light coats at 90 degrees to each other until you have a nice even colour. Or run out of paint!

Then I use 2pack clear lacquer from a gun to finish. This is the real key to a decent, lasting job. I did the Focus ones about 4years ago, changing them from blue to red, in about an hour one evening. They're still good.

I'm happy to help

[amba]

Cheers mickyboy123 and in all honesty that was my original thoughts.

Will have a look on my travels over next few days for somebody who wants my money 

[amba]

If  you are offering and fancy doing the job for me NickW ,I am quite happy taking entire mirror units off car and dropping them round to you sometime,naturally with adequete " folding" attached for your time and material.

Will PM you my number .

[terry paget]

If it's black it should be easy to match. Take care removing it from the car. those screws can break off.
Most early Omegas had black mirrors. I have replaced the mirrors on OE03EWW, a white ex-police saloon, with two black mirrors off earlier cars I have scrapped. They look all right, same colour as the door trim. They would look even better on a black car!

[Nick W]

If  you are offering and fancy doing the job for me NickW ,I am quite happy taking entire mirror units off car and dropping them round to you sometime,naturally with adequete " folding" attached for your time and material.

Will PM you my number .

I don't mind doing the paint, and would only want the covers. There's no point in disturbing the rest of the mirror. That keeps the car drivable too. Removing the covers is probably the worst bit of the job.

Let me know the paint code, and I''ll find out how much the base coat is, I have clear in stock and it won't need much more than a squirt.

[amba]

Cheers NickW.

Paint code is ...Z20R...Sapphire Black.

Do you want me to take mirror covers off and drop them round at somepoint or the entire mirror,as looking at RobG,s guide for removal it looks/sounds quite fiddly and breakages look likely  ....Dont mind leaving entire mirrors with you as other transport available at home.

If covers only can these be removed without removing entire mirror unit from the car ? then

[Vega]

Is this an option, like I did.

[amba]

Thats exactly what I needed to see Vega so much appreciate the pictures.

Is it possible to dismantle down to that stage with mirror still fitted to car or not ?

[cem_devecioglu]

I have little to no experience of painting parts on cars so would appreciate some guidance.

Both door mirrors on my car are pretty shabby and would like them restored to former glory.

I have read the guide on removing the plastic covers if damaged,but would appreciate some advise on best way to deal with restoring the mirrors.

1 )..Is it wise to remove the entire mirror from the car and then dismantle to leave just the covers to be painted..or would this run the risk of damaging the new paint when refitting

2 ).. paint fully assembled on the car with adequate masking to avoid any dismantling/replacing once painted.

3 )..dismantle whilst on the car and paint just the covers .

4 )..Just take the car to body shop and have it done by them but pay a hefty price for the pleasure

Any advise appreciated and idea of costs involved if I go route 4 !

2.. whatever you use for painting, the paint particles will go everywhere so I definitely recommend you seperate them from the car ..otherwise you will have to mask whole car and the wheels..

[Vega]

Thats exactly what I needed to see Vega so much appreciate the pictures.

 

Is it possible to dismantle down to that stage with mirror still fitted to car or not ?

Yes is possible, you can take the mirror apart while its on the car.

[Nick W]

I was going by my own car where only the front part is painted body colour(silver in my case) and the other two bits are self-coloured black plastic. Which I suspect is normal. And on a black car probably isn't even noticeable.

[amba]

I will have a closer look at it later and report back.

Its only the larger curved bit that is "messy" and when I bought car needed to get 2 complete mirrors as both were missing.Just found 2 Black which I am sure are not Sapphire Black as compared to wing not as metalic but doudt the difference would ever be spotted.

[Nick W]

If you're going to paint them, it might as well be the right colour!