Ok guys and gals, I'm trying to get rid of most of the black plastic parts on my truck by painting. I'm on coat number 3 of clear coats on my last set of door handles. I think they are going to come out great. I will post pictures when done. I figured I would do them my self the first and if they don't hold up I will send them to the body shop. I could not talk my self into paying $$$ for the LT ones anyway, didn't like the chrome handle. Anyway, the rear bumper pad on my truck is graying out, has anyone ever painted theirs, can it be done. I might take it to a body shop. Looks like it would be hard to sand, any ideas. My next step is to paint the bed caps.

 

I've seen many of them done. Only problem is half of the ones I seen had the paint chipped b/c of someone stepping on it. So if you have it painted do not let anyone step on it to get in the bed of your truck.

 

anyone paint there door handles or have it done professionally?

 

I painted my own, I sanded down the rough part of the handle and buckets till they were smooth. I used a a spray to help the paint stick, then used duplicolor to match my paint, 4 coats of paint then 4 coats of clear. I think they turned out great, I will try to post some pictures of the finished product later. I have about 50.00 in it now. If they don't last I will take them to a body shop to have it done.

 

I painted my rear bumper pad, mirrors, bed rail caps, wiper cowl and front grill all with krylon fusion semi gloss spray paint. They came out great and have held up just as good. Did the bed rails and wiper cowl last summer and they held up great through a northern michigan winter, didnt have to touch them up at all this summer. Krylon fusion is made for plastic and holds up great.

Only prepping I did was wash with dish soap to remove dirt and grease, once dry do a light coat then let flash for 5 mins then add another medium coat and then another and let dry. No clear.

 

Yeah pics would be cool. What grit paper did you use to smooth out the handles? Does the duplicolor match your factory paint well?

 

I used 320 wet/dry, then I used 1200 wet/dry. I think the duplicolor oxford white matches good. Just make sure you put the little rubber gasket back on that goes around the handle. I left one off and it has rubbed the paint a little. When I get time I'm taking it off and fixing it.

 

Looks great!!!

I did my fender flares, wiper cowl & bed rails with Krylon Satin Black.

Very happy with how those came out. Was going to do the bed steps but didn't as I do use them to step on allot and didn't want to ruin it...


Have been wanting to do my handles to match my truck it's silver.

How hard is it to get the handles off? Pointers please.....

 

Painted my flares. Just recently noticed that one of them had a few flakes/chips . All the others were still perfect. I didnt sand them at all and only used an adhesion promoter, but not a primer. Getting them painted professionally though for free right now

 

I washed twice with Acetone, Dish soap with degreaser & rinse, acetone, soap & rinse. Lightly scuffed with a scuff pad with another wash and rinse then shot with krylon fusion. My dad and brother are pro painters/body men and they said it should stick if prepped right.

 

Not very hard at all to get the handles off the truck, I went to bodyshopzone.com and they had a write up of how to remove the door panels. I think 5 bolts in rear and 5 bolts on the front, you also have to remove the speakers and the 2 bottom plastic holders that the speakers screw into. Then there are only 2 bolts to remove for the door handles. Follow the bar coming down from the handle inside to a plastic clip. They little clip is hard to get undone but I did it. Once you have the handles out of the truck you have to get the handle mechinsm off the back, I used a very small flat head screw drive to pry it out, but be careful not to break the tab off, if you do you have to buy another handle. I hope this helps.

I have been think about taking my bed rails off and doing those in white. I wonder how it will look? Has anyone painted their plastic chrome grille surround? I can't find a used OEM white grille surround.

 

Thanks...

I painted my front grille but not the surround. It's held up pretty well.
I alos had billet grilles on it and in the bumper opening. Those are starting to chip from rocks etc... For your surround it might be best to let a body shop do that for you. Probably hold up better. Fo ryour bed rails that would looks sharp. As long as your not throwing stuff over the rails into your bed or steping on them.

The nice thing with them being black is scratches from stuff don't stand out. Now put white over black get a scratch and outch....


How long did painting your handles take you?

 

[QUOTE=Mr. eXtreme;4332456]Thanks...

I painted my front grille but not the surround. It's held up pretty well.
I alos had billet grilles on it and in the bumper opening. Those are starting to chip from rocks etc... For your surround it might be best to let a body shop do that for you. Probably hold up better. Fo ryour bed rails that would looks sharp. As long as your not throwing stuff over the rails into your bed or steping on them.

The nice thing with them being black is scratches from stuff don't stand out. Now put white over black get a scratch and outch....


How long did painting your handles take you?[/QUOTE

Well I did it over a couple of days, but I was doing it between work, baseball and football practice etc, and I only did two doors at a time. If you had them all off, I would say you could do it on a Saturday and let them dry over night into a Sunday.