Colormatched Handles and Mirrors

[WishinforanSS]

Hey guys. I had my handles and mirror caps painted the other day. I washed her up and took a few cellphone pics. The shoot turned out kinda cool, I wish I would've had my camera.
This is the day I brought it home, back in May.

and now

Let me know what yall think. Im trying to decide whether to apply my income tax money towards a lift and tires or get some odd and end things for the interior.

 

[Boricua SS]

nice little changes that make the most difference...

looks good... great scenary too

 

[mrphoenix80]

Picture calander worthy!! Nice work looks awsome ! As for the scenery I am SO envious. It's 12F here and Snowing.

 

[TexazReece]

I agree kudos on the colormatching

 

[willn513]

Looks 1000000 times better and cleaner. Good job!

 

[WishinforanSS]

thanks guys! i think it look 100x better too!

and i cant stop looking at that one really good pic either lol

 

[Denali n DOO]

Yep, that sure looks awesome

It makes it look soooooo much better, nice job!

 

[Canary2323]

Need to white out the front grill too imo

 

[Denali n DOO]

Need to white out the front grill too imo

Yep, and maybe add some fogs too...

 

[STLtrailbSS]

very nice

 

[WishinforanSS]

Yep, and maybe add some fogs too...

fogs are definitely in the future!
i go back on forth on wanting to paint the grille... it depends on what i decide to do as far as wheels go.

 

[sawicksted]

Yep, and maybe add some fogs too...

Agree, fogs really add to the overall look. Handles look great. Did you loose the rear window lift handle too?-easy mod very in expensive and nice look.

 

[Canary2323]

You can always plasti dip the grill white to see of you like it first, I had fogs and hids put on for under 200 $. Looks so much better.

 

[WishinforanSS]

Agree, fogs really add to the overall look. Handles look great. Did you loose the rear window lift handle too?-easy mod very in expensive and nice look.

what is this handle mod you speak of? i never open the glass, i always do the whole gate. removing it would be fine with me

 

[jrSS]

This..

 

[WishinforanSS]

hmm. im not sure how i feel about that. i may have to try it out and see how i like it in person. what all is involved?

 

[jrSS]

2 lag bolts and 2 nuts. Oh and paint.

 

[sawicksted]

what is this handle mod you speak of? i never open the glass, i always do the whole gate. removing it would be fine with me

JrSS said it all. Very easy / cheap, can be accomplished in a short amount of time.

 

[WishinforanSS]

yea i just googled and found a thread. i work at lowes so ill pick up the bolts next time i go in and give it a shot. thanks guys

 

[shrek77]

yea i just googled and found a thread. i work at lowes so ill pick up the bolts next time i go in and give it a shot. thanks guys

what position do you have at Lowes? I'm a Head Cashier at Altoona PA Lowes. Its cool to have a co-worker of sorts in the Nation.

 

[WishinforanSS]

what position do you have at Lowes? I'm a Head Cashier at Altoona PA Lowes. Its cool to have a co-worker of sorts in the Nation.

I'm on the We (weekend) Team. It's only part time but it works out great being that I am a college student. I work at the Union City, TN store.

 

[shrek77]

I'm on the We (weekend) Team. It's only part time but it works out great being that I am a college student. I work at the Union City, TN store.

That's cool. GMTNATION TEAM MYLOWES lol.....

 

[amweaver47]

Looks good. Much cleaner look. I vote for the lift and tires.

 

[silverunicorn]

The caps and handles look great. IMO, makes the truck look more upscale. Classier if you will.

Noce work!

Chris (who does not work at Lowes)

 

[Mesoholics]

The caps and handles look great. IMO, makes the truck look more upscale. Classier if you will.

Agree that is a huge difference, looks really nice , I lucked out that our truck is black so everything "matches" already but I would love to get rid of the 2 tone bottom half on ours.

 

[Envoy_04]

What's involved in the removal and prep of the mirror caps? They have to be smoothed out somehow I would think? I'd like to do mine, and I like doing as much of the prep work myself as possible, but I just don't know how to remove or prep the caps.

 

[dmanns67]

What's involved in the removal and prep of the mirror caps? They have to be smoothed out somehow I would think? I'd like to do mine, and I like doing as much of the prep work myself as possible, but I just don't know how to remove or prep the caps.

You definitely want the mirror covers as smooth as possible prior to applying primer and paint. The prep work takes the majority of the time.

I started wet sanding (Hot water and soap) with 400 grit sand paper moving to 800, 1000, then 1500 grit.

After you get the covers smooth, I used three coats of adhesion promoter (Helps primer/paint adhere to plastics) and four coats of primer. After the primer dried I wet sanded it with 1500 and 2000 grit sandpaper.

After the primer dried, I layed down five coats of color and five coats of clear coat (10 minutes between each coat). Since the mirror covers are exposed to road hazards, I wanted enough protection from rock, bugs, etc.

Once the clear coat dried, I wet sanded the covers with 1500, 2000, then 2500 grit sandpaper. About a week later I hit them with a coat of liquid wax.

Here is a write up article I used from the OS showing how to remove the mirror covers. http://forums.trailvoy.com/articles.php?do=viewarticle&artid=103

 

[Envoy_04]

Thanks, that's really good information! I'm in a modding mood right now, which can be dangerous sometimes. The suspension work will have to come first on my mod list, but this is a close second. I still get Christmas money from a couple of my older relatives, so I know what that'll be used for!

 

[dmanns67]

Yeah modding can get expensive, but when I find a mod I want I will start saving. At least the painting of parts and removal of parts are relatively cheap if you do the work yourself.

I meant to tell you to be careful with the locking tabs on the mirror cover. They are very easy to break when trying to remove the cover. I was able to use a very small flat head screw driver to get the tabs to release without breaking them. You will have move your mirror up/down and side to side to be able to reach all the tabs.

Also, when paintinf the covers make sure you paint the front lip of the cover as it can be seen when they are installed. I used a 24" long, 3" diameter tube to sit the cover on when I was painting so I could paint from all angles.