Ive heard this a nightmare to get the paint to adhere to the plastic...anyone here have any experience or tips?? Thanks!

 

There has been a few members of this forum paint their plastic mirrors with no problems what-so-ever. I'm not sure who they were but I'm sure with a search you could find the threads. I would search for "painted mirrors". This exact same topic has been asked before and if I recall correctly there was some great info in those threads about prepping, painting, and up keep.

Good luck

 

most new cars are plastic and paint sticks fine. I have never had an issue when painting plastic. Planning on painting my mirrors gloss black this spring. Painted my door handles this past summer! Best mod i ever did!

 

Hello gmanjerseyfx4,

To date I’ve painted the following plastic parts on my truck:

Antenna base
Mud Flaps


To date I’ve paid to have the following painted:

Mirrors


I had the mirrors painted because I didn’t feel like being the one to sand them smooth or paint that big of a noticeable surface area.

The mirrors have held up flawlessly, even through a very rough Minnesota winter with salt, rocks, etc. The antenna base and mud flaps have also not had any problems. The mud flaps were covered in clear bra after being painted to protect them from rock chips since they are in a dangerous area.

Search and you’ll find how I did the entire process with lots of information on it.

Here are a few pointers. Search for the rest of the information to do the entire process correctly.

1. You’ll have to do a lot of sanding. All the bumps must be gone on the plastic must be gone or the paint will chip off over time.
2. Don’t use too aggressive sand paper or you’ll have VERY noticeable gouges in the rubber that will not look good once painted.
3. Use a primer out of a spray can that is made for rubber and has a flex agent
4. Use an adhesive promoter on top of the primer to help the paint stick.
5. Spray roughly 3 to 4 coats
6. You can use clear coat. Personally I didn’t because every time I spray on the clear coat it would “fog” up the paint and it wouldn’t have the same reflective gloss as the OEM paint
7. All of the products (paint etc) can be found in spray cans in your local automotive parts store.

Hope this helps,

Duke

 

I painted my fender flares that I got off of Ebay. Went to the paint store and they mixed the paint and put in spray cans. They recommended a spray called "Bulldog" It helps the paint adhere to plastic. I used it and haven't had a problem!