2004 - 2008 F-150

Painting ext plastics vs buying them painted

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Old 01-23-2010, 08:51 AM
F150Motocrosser's Avatar
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Painting ext plastics vs buying them painted

Sorry guys, I'm sure this isn't a new topic.. but is everyone having a body guy smooth and paint their exterior plastics like door handles, fender flares, etc.. or are you usually better off just buying already painted OEM pieces??

Reeallllyyyy wanting my handles, flares, and mirror tops to match my paint.. (join the club, I know)
 
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Old 01-23-2010, 09:06 AM
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Best results will be achieved with professional paint and clear.

If you don't want to go that route, krylon fusion is pretty popular around here. It's what I used to paint my faded wiper cowl. Just be sure to use a good clear coat to protect the paint.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ca...d-cowling.html

- NCSU
 
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Old 01-23-2010, 09:18 AM
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Definitely not going to the DIY route... I'm all about DIY, but I'm a firm believer in leaving the paint/body work to the professionals. I suppose I'll start getting quotes from local body shops. Thanks
 
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Old 01-23-2010, 09:27 AM
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Since you have an FX4, the LARIAT flares are a direct swap. Just keep checking ebay for a take off set from a LARIAT in your color. Since no lariat came with blue flares from the factory, I just got a set in any color I could get and had them repainted in my color.

The mirrors will have to be sanded smooth and painted (the same guy who shot my flares did my mirrors from the same batch of paint)

They sell the Harley/FX2/FX4 luxury handles that are smooth and unpainted ready for whatever color you want, or you can go with the Mark LT handles that are already painted and come with a chrome pull strap (they come in most F-150 colors). Both above versions of handles come with a new keypad preinstalled and is plug-n-play on FX4's, no programming needed.

If you don't want to go that route, there is the cheap ebay knock-off handles and the stick on covers that need to be painted. Of course you could always sand and paint your original handles, but that is a lot of work.
 
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Old 01-23-2010, 10:02 AM
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05RedFX4 - Thanks for the post.. I wasn't sure how big of a PITA it would be to wet sand/smooth just the tops of the mirrors. Definitely not going the cheap route
 



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