painting car door handles

T

tensors22288

New member
Hey guys,



I know this may not be considered 'detailing' but in my opinion it is relevant because it uses many detailing techniques. (I searched multiple times for similar topics) My mission is to paint plastic door handles to match the factory paint. (handle pictures attached) I have ordered a matching base coat spray can, a clear coat spray can, a primer for plastic and to be safe, a product that helps the primer adhere to the plastic.



For the most part I understand how to paint them... Please correct me anywhere. First I apply the 'adhering' product and let it dry. Spray the primer and let it dry... Spray about 2 coats of base coat with 20min in between. Wait a few hours and spray about 2 coats of clear coat. The one thing that confused me was whether or not I needed to sand the door handles before ANYTHING is applied. The directions on the website said that but they were referring to painting metal I believe.. Any tips or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated
 

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Since it is plastic and the solvents in the paint will "attack" it you only need to scuff it. Think scotch bite pads. You don't want to create any groves or lines that you'll need to fill later. Be sure to take extra care when masking- this makes all the difference.



Just knock off the gloss and get to paintin'.



Good luck,

Barrett
 
It really depends on what you want it to look like. If you want a completely smooth surface you can sand with some 400 grit paper if handles aren't already smooth. After that get you a plastic cleaner. Dupont makes a good one in a spray can. After that you apply your adhesion promoter and wait for about 15 minutes or whatever it tells you to do on the can. After that spray about 2-3 coats of primer on it. Wait for that to dry and then sand with 400 wet paper to knock down all the texture that the primer made. After that wipe down with a clean rag (I recommend final clean but buying a gallon in your situation doesn't make much sense) After that you are ready to paint. As mentioned above mask the areas you don't want pait if you plan on leaving the hanldes on. THey shouldn't be that hard to take off and you will get better results that way. Then just spray about 3 coats of paint, wait for that to get pretty clost to dry and then put your clear on. Dupont makes a really good clearcoat in a spray can as well.
 
Thanks guys, that really helps a lot!!



I didn't even think of taking the handles off, that would be a lot easier. Only problem is part of the handle I want to paint on the back door doesn't move, its part of the car.. I wouldn't even know how to take the handles off though to be honest. But I'll try any hardware store for a 400 grit wetsanding paper and I'll buy some kind of masking tape that is safe on cars. Hopefully they have all of that at the hardware store, thank you guys! I'll post pics in 2 weeks when everything I need arrives and I finish.
 
Consider going a local shop that sells paint to the autobodies. Then can provide you with the 400 wet paper as well as masking tape etc. Good people to be friends with ;-)
 
Green 3M tape is the way to go :) You should only need 1 piece of wet paper to do the entire job I would think and 2 at the most. Water will keep the paper cleaned out as you work with it. And yes....get to get good friends with the body shops. You can get the tape and paper at Carquest if you have one locally. I've personally never taken those handles off so I can't help you there.
 
I must say, i can understand why you would want to. Yesterday on the freeway, i noticed a beautiful silver Mercedes convertible and the handles were black. Couldn't believe how horrible it looks and how the hell their design team ever allowed that on such an expensive vehicle. Our new Acura CSX has beautiful crome handles with silver in-lay and that's in a vehicle about 50% the cost.
 
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