F150online Forums - PTM Mirror Caps 04-08 Walk Through w/ Pictures

Well I saw the how-to on doing this however I was a little upset there were no pictures along with the directions(not saying it was a bad write up or anything). So I decided to do one myself and maybe it will get my name out on the forums a little better, as I am still new here.

Estimated Time of Mod - 3-4 Hours w/ drying

Tools needed:

Long skinny flat head screw driver
T20 torx head screw driver (star head)
Flashlight if needed
Masking tape
Newspaper
A box or something flat and ridged to paint on in a safe area as to not over spray anything else
Dish soap or any degreaser.

Paint from local paint shop(I used Dupli-color but you can use any other brand that has your trucks color code):

1 Can Dupli-color Adhesion Promoter $5-7
1 Can Dupli-color Filler Primer $5-7 (I used primer I had left over from painting a 67 Mustang)
1 Can Dupli-color Perfect Match (color of your choice) $5-7
1 Can Dupli-color Clear Top Coat (What ever brand of paint you use make sure you match the brand of paint with the brand of clear coat) $5-7
1 Package of 600 Grit wet/dry sandpaper $4-6
1 Sanding Stone $8

Total Money Spent - $32-42 (I spent $21)

Ok first thing is first you have to remove the rear plastic of the mirror. In order to do this you have to "pop" off the mirror. You'll want to start in the bottom corner furthest from the vehicle. Take your Long Flat Head Screw Driver wedge it in between the motor plate and the back of the mirror. (See picture below)
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...4-imag0100.jpg
Sorry picture is so close.

You'll have to wiggle the screw driver in between them then slowly twist and pry. You'll hear all sorts of disturbing sounds as you're doing this but as long as you have it in the right place you'll be fine. Make sure to keep a hand in front of the mirror while doing this to assure it wont pop off and land on the ground.

Once the mirror is unsnapped, disconnect the two defrost wires from the back of the mirror and put it in a save location.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...5-imag0101.jpg
Picture of the 4 snaps holding mirror in place.

Next there are 4 T20 torx screws holding the rear plastic in place. Simply take your T20 Torx head screw driver and unscrew them.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...6-imag0102.jpg

Now just wiggle the rear plastic off the back of the mirror and now we're ready to start the prep work.

I first took each cap and scrubbed them clean with dish soap then dried them off. After I dried them off I taped newspaper to the mirrors blocking the bottom half of the mirror.
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...5-imag0104.jpg
After finally being happy with the tape job I moved on.

I taped just under that indented line on the mirrors. I only did this because I couldn't get the tape to tuck in the line very well, so I gave up and settled with this. But I'm happy with the results.

I then took it a step further and I used Prepsol which removes everything including wax (you don't have to use prepsol, I only did cause I had it laying around). After I did that I used a tac cloth (again you don't have to use this) and went over them to remove any lint or dirt from the towels I used to dry them.

After Cleaning and taping them off I first started with 2-3 light coats of the Adhesion Promoter following the directions on the can.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...6-imag0105.jpg
If done correctly it should look like you did nothing at all.

Within the time specified on the can of adhesion promoter spray on a coat of primer. I did 6 coats of primer before moving onto the sanding.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...7-imag0106.jpg

Your next goal will now be to sand to the point where there are no more bumps from the texture of the plastic. This is the most tedious part of the entire job. I used the 600 grit wet/dry sand paper and wet the paper and started sanding away making sure to get every bit of the top half of the mirror cap. Run you're hands over the cap a few times through out this process feeling for any bumps. I also would wash off some of the scrubbed off primer and would see where the wet spots were recessed in the bumps as a reference.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...8-imag0107.jpg
After wet sanding. It's ok if you sand through some of the primer as long as you have a smooth surface afterwords.

Now you're gonna wanna spray another coat of the Adhesion Promoter then wait a few minutes and spray another coat or two of the Filler Primer again. Let dry for around 30 minutes.

After the primer dried it is now time to start painting and actually seeing the results of you're hard work. I sprayed about 4-5 coats of the Perfect Match paint with about 5-10 minutes in between each coat. Once happy with the paint let dry for another 30 minutes.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...9-imag0108.jpg
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...0-imag0109.jpg
After 5 coats

Time to spray on some clear top coat. I sprayed about 3 coats of clear with about 5-10 minutes in between each coat. (I'd recommend doing a few more coats of clean for more shine, I'd do about 5) Once done with them let them dry for as long as you can let them 24 hours would be best but 2 hours should be plenty.

After drying return the caps to your truck but sliding it back on the mirror and screwing the 4 torx head screws back into the cap then simply, yet gently, snap the mirror back in place. Push only on the center of the mirror with the palm of your hand. Then step back and enjoy :rocker:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...1-imag0117.jpg
Back on the truck

Before:
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...070-before.jpg

After:
https://www.f150online.com/forums/me...7071-after.jpg

I know there isn't a real noticeable difference because it is a DSG truck but I think it adds a little more character to the truck. My next write up is going to be on painting door handles to match. Let me know what you guys think of this write up.