Due to the high volume of emails, pm's, and requests I get for this DIY modifications instructions I figured it was about time I made it public

Sorry though I don't have any pictures of this "how-to" as I did it over two years ago and have never thought to take pics as I did it numerous times for others, so a big sorry in advance to visual learners.


DIY: Mirror Cap (Skull Cap) Painting

Materials Needed:
Various Hand tools for door panel removal, removal of mirror, and for 06+ model year trucks dis-assembly of the mirror if its a 2-piece. A good complete socket set is really about all you need. If your like me being near a complete tool box is the best bet

Automotive (green) or Painters (blue) tape: 1 roll will suffice @ $4-6 for single roll
-Automotive wet/dry sand paper 120 grit, 220 grit, 300 grit: Price varies by brand, etc; estimated @ $8-10 total for all 3
-Adhesion Promoter (optional In My Opinion): 1 can (if you feel the need) estimated @ $18 for single can
-Automotive Filler Prime: Bulldog brand (brand is up to you); estimated @ $8-10 for single can
-Your Choice of Paint: Price varies by brand/color, etc; estimated @ $6-8 for single can
-Your Choice of clear coat: Price varies by brand, etc; estimated @ $6-8 for a single can

**Note: I did all the prep work up to the painting itself and chose not to use adhesion promoter (2 years and still sticking strong). I chose to pay a professional body shop to match the paint color and spray the paint and clear on my prepped mirrors. Cost was 30 bucks per mirror for paint and clear; Cost without my prep work was 80-90 bucks per mirror (when I finally found a shop who was willing to prep and paint plastic parts such as our mirrors).


The How-To:
1. Removing mirrors the easy way! You can remove the glass by tilting it to access the clips holding it to the motor. and then undo the 4 screws holding in the cap and the backside should come right off. (Thanks to IDNC76 for pointing this out to me! I'm just used to taking door panels on/off, on/off...lol). Some mirrors are 2-piece and some are 1-piece so you will know once you get in there!

2.Removing mirrors the FX4life way!: You will need to first remove the front door panels to get at the bolts that hold the mirror to the door. To remove the door panels there are two bolts on the bottom, one behind the door handle, one under the controls (window up/down, lock unlock buttons; pry up softly and this cover will pop off) then you can remove the connections to the windows, locks, mirrors, etc. Remove all these bolts and lift up gently and the door panel should pull away and you can set it to the side.

Undo the connection to the mirror (if you have power mirrors) then remove the (3) nuts from the mirror bolts and the mirror will just pull away from the door, it may be a good idea to support the mirror just in case it doesn't want to stay put.

**NOTE: Now that the mirrors from certain models in the 04-08 M.Y. (I think all models in this M.Y. really if memory serves me right) has 2-piece mirrors. Meaning you can pop the glass out gently remove the screws and the plastic back of the mirror will pop off allowing you to prep and paint without having to haul around the whole mirror assembly. In my case the mirrors did not come apart and I had to work with the whole assembly. This really is not an issue, it's just easier if you can take the mirrors apart. I had no issues doing my 05's mirrors assembled, but doing my brothers 08' with 2-peice was much easier.

4. With the mirrors off the truck you will now tape off the top portion of the mirror (skull cap). There is a crevice all the way around the cap; you will want to tape along the bottom of it, meaning you will be painting the crevice. Trust me it's easier to just paint it rather than try to tape it off. Put the tape on thick around the cap (This will be protecting the rest of the mirror while your sand). You will redo the tape when it is time to paint.

5. Sanding is pretty self explanatory. Starting with the 120 grit, the object is to remove all the texture. This takes a bit of elbow grease, though I'm sure you could use a power-sander if you felt like it. I didn't use any sanding blocks or anything of that nature since it was such a small area. In my case I cut the sandpaper into strips approximately 4 fingers wide (index-pinky+ a bit so your fingers dont rub all the time) and then cut those into good sized squares i could fold in half and get a good sanding surface with.

6. After you are satisfied with how it looks and the smoothness of the area wash the area with a touch of dawn dish soap and warm water. This will reveal any imperfections you may have missed while sanding. This can/should be repeated after each sanding to make sure you are getting rid of the texture and achieving the smoothness you want.

7. Once you are satisfied with the removal of the texture using the 120 grit, move to the 220 to start removing fine scratches and get a perfect surface for primer.

8. Once your satisfied with the surface using the 220 grit wash it again with a bit of dawn dish soap and warm water. If you are not satisfied repeat step 7. The surface should be very smooth and have only fine scratches left. No deep scratches or texture as the filler primer can only do so much!

9. Now you will move to 300 grit sand paper and be looking to get a very smooth, pretty much blemish free surface. There will probably be some very fine scratches, and the plastic will likely appear a grey/light grey/light black color.

10. Once satisfied wash with a bit of dawn dish soap and warm water. If after a wash your happy with the results (very smooth, little to no scratches, etc) remove the tape and wash again to remove everything from the crevice. Allow to air dry.

11. You will now retape the cap portion off. It is crucial to do a very good job now because you do not want any primer or paint getting through. SO take your time as you go around the cap making sure to keep it exactly on the bottom line of that crevice and press it firmly down. I applied tape to the entire mirror after that to protect it from overspray. Overlap the tape each pass instead of trying to butt them up edge to edge.

**Note: If you chose to use adhesion promoter you will spray that on before priming. Usually two light coats will do the trick.

12. Now it is time to prime! Make sure the cap are is dust free and dry first off. the primer will be applied in thin coats, allowing it to dry for an hour or so between coats. Total coats of primer I did was 5, wet and dry sanding to remove imperfections and respraying. I gave it a nice wet sanding after my last coat to ensure a smooth blemish free surface, see #13 for more on this.

13. In order to get a good surface during priming you may need to dry or wet sand out imperfections in the primer coat. After the final coat of primer you will want to give it a light wet sanding and check to see if you are happy with that as your final coat. It should be very smooth and have no visible scratches or imperfections to it. At this point I wiped down the crevice and the rest of the cap with a wet cloth, allowed it to dry and then blew/dusted off all the dust and debris that may have settled.

**Note: stop here if you are not comfortable painting these yourself, ask around to local body shops what they charge for the job, I doubt it could be very much especially since you are doing the prep work. In my case I told them I had OEM PTM caps I swapped into the cap portion (this particular shop would not touch plastic parts like the mirrors when I first approached them). Little did they know I had just prepped the same cap they refused to paint earlier and they gladly painted it after they thought it was an OEM paintable part

14. Now it is time for paint. In my case I paid to have a professional shop do mine for 30 dollars apiece. If this is not an option for you there are professional paint shops that will match the paint on your vehicle and mix you a quart/pint for about 50+ dollars. For most DIY-ers Automotive paint from an auto parts store will work just fine as long as it is a close match. Since the painted area is not directly against the paint of the truck a shade or two off really should not stand out too bad. Note though that I am a perfectionist and would never settle for anything less than a perfect match! Total coats of paint can vary between 2-6 or more depending on how thick you want it and how lightly you spray it each time. I suggest applying it in thin coats to avoid runs and other imperfections and letting it dry an hour or more between coats. Also doing this in a clean environment (if available) is your best option when painting! I hate painting outside but for some it is the only option.

15. Allow this to dry in a warm location (garage or inside if possible--Yes there will be a little paint odor) for at least 24 hours.

16. It is now time to spray clear coat. Again do a little dusting and blow out the crevice to remove any dust or impurities that landed on the surface before clear coating. I would lightly spray the clear coat and allow it to dry several hours between coats. 4-5 coats should be plenty (again depending on how lightly/heavily you chose to spray it on).

17. Allow this to dry in a warm location like step 15.

18. Follow the earlier steps in reverse to reassemble the mirror (if you had a two piece mirror), and the earlier steps to reattach the mirror to the door and reinstall the door panel (if you took the mirror off completely).


Some of the steps seem redundant, I know, but believe me I will take nothing less than perfection in work I do and have done. Without a doubt I bet you could do this procedure on other plastic parts (of course the dis-assembly will be different!). However I'm not totally sure I would run out and do my wiper cowl and bed rails; I think this stuff is best left to the krylon fusion treatment.


My mirror caps have held up flawlessly for two years with no chips or loss of adhesion! I did my own two years ago (prep work on a one-piece mirror; Professionally painted), last year I did my brothers (prep work on a two-piece mirror; professionally painted), Have helped what seems like hundreds of folks online get through the process without pictures, and done a few folks mirrors locally (Prepped, painted, cleared) that where very happy with the results and have had no problems with the work.


If anyone needs assistance or just does not understand feel free to contact me via email or pm and I'll do my best to help you out asap! By now it feels like I have told hundreds how to do this (with seemingly less detail) and those that did it had no problems getting it done or have had any problems with it holding up!

Here is proof this simple modification can completely change the look of the vehicle for the better!!

Before:

After:


Comparison: Mine with PTM caps, Brothers before PTM caps


Let me know guys if something seems not right, if I missed something obvious, etc... or if you need more detail. I went through the word file I had this jotted down in and tried to add as much detail as possible to make up for the lack of pictures I'm even still revising it as I read it over and over

 

nice write up

for #1 you do not need to remove the door panels. (04-05)

if you tilt the mirror glass down and in, you can gain access to the clips you need to undone to detach the glass from the motor. you can use a small flat head screwdriver to undo the 3 clips. and takes about 5 min to get both off. then there are 4 torx screws holding on the cap

this process is much easier and quicker obviously

 

Yea, I was unsure who all had a 2-piece and who had a 1-piece mirror. I dis-assembled mine (took glass out) and they ended up being 1-piece. This is just how I had it jotted down from my initial attempt 2years ago. My brothers on the other hand came out a 2-piece. I'll make some more changes though cause easier is better, especially with the lack of pictures!

By now I have taken off door panel so much its like a 5 minute process for me

 

Great write up

 

nice write-up man will be doing this eventually....BOOKMARKED

 

Thanks guys hopefully it serves its purpose when you go to do it! I'm still making small changes (basically adding more detail where I can)

 

Yes sir, Thanks a lot. I will definitely be using this once I can find a decent price on 5 primed smooth door handles.

 

You could use the same process to do your door handles.

I'll ask my brother about how, but he completely dis-assembled his handle into two pieces (strap, bucket) when we did his stuff for the 08 rearview cam handle. It can't be too bad cause I hardly walked away for 15 minutes came back and it was seperated

 

I think I'm finally done with it now I feel confident you guys can use this trouble free!

 

Great write up! Thanks for your contribution to the site! TOTM and a TAC!!

 

when wet sanding what grit of sand paper would you reccomend 2000? or 1500 i plan on doing mine next weekend

 

If you are attempting to wet sand the primer coat i wouldnt wet sand beyond 600 as a matter of fact if everything is smooth to begin with wet sanding past 400 probably wont be necessary. It gives a real smooth surface yet enough bite for the paint to stick to. Sanding the primer to a near slick surface isnt recommended since you want the paint to stick to something.
You can color-sand (which is the same as wet sanding) the color coat, but again you dont want it completely smooth.

The only thing i would wet sand up to 1500 with is the clear. once its cured, depending on imperfections and orange peel, you can start with 600 or 1000 wet and work up to 1500/2000 wet paper. Once finished use a good polish and polish your fine sanding marks out then hand glaze and wax. Should leave a surface like a mirror if done right.

 

great write-up! now for a tutorial on how you did your handles! haha just kidding
im sure they could be done the same way right?

 

On the wet sanding, I did wett sand with 600 during the priming process, and very lightly. Basically only to remove major imperfections. I have not ever sanded the clear or color coats; I make sure to put on very light coats and be in the cleanest environment I can to reduce dust and any other particulates from ever getting the chance to get on it. I didn't really have any problems with terrible orange peel either; mine where done professionally and the others I have done with for others none have ever been as bad as the paint on the trucks. I'm sure if you wanted to get a bit more involved like fabian mentioned you could get glass like-pro results, however this works just fine for me and many others.

I think if I had the mirror paint perfect (no orange peel) I would then need to redo the whole truck

I will have some pics of the handle dissasembly this weekend, and yes the same process will work for handles (assuming you ment the prep/paint stuff) I prepped my brothers handles and mirror caps with this method; we couldn't paint his ourselves because he has that whitesand tri-coat stuff, just figured it was easier to let the body shop hit that one.

 

Good call on the wet sanding FX4, I meant wet sanding in general. I only wetsand clear on taillights and rear third brake lights after blacking them out since i want the light to be as perfectly smooth as possible and on complete custom/airbrushed work.

On your mirrors you are correct, overdoing it wouldnt match the "facotry" orange peel we all have lol.