Finally finished the rest of my handles after having the tailgate one done for a long time. I love the look and think it's much better than the black. It took about 2-3 hours of sanding per handle because every power tool I had was too aggressive with removing the bumps/texture. It gives it a higher-trim-level look. I did damage/alter the lock cylinder and mech in my driver door just enough that I can't unlock my truck with the key (but it will lock it), but I should be able to mess around with it and get it working when I'm not pressed to catch a plane

I also messed the driver handle up while trying to get the lock to work because this type of paint needs a few days to fully harden and cure. But I can re-do the pull handle later.

Sanded completely smooth with 80/100, 220, and 600 grit
Valspar transparent plastic primer - 5 coats
automotivetouchup.com Ford YZ code paint - 4 coats
automotivetouchup.com clear - 4+ coats

1 can of each is enough to complete the handles, but I have 3 cans of each for various other things I have and will PTM

Before


Primered


After - painted

 

looks good.

 

Thanks Jim!

 

Looks good nice job

 

Thanks!

 

Looks like crap.

Kidding Looks great, makes quite a difference. Makes me really want to do mine, and the mirror caps.

 

I was aboutta say, buddy! But yeah, I'm trying to remove its XLT-ed-ness I think it would look good on your mirrors and handles. Only cost ya about 40 (70 to be safe and get extra paint) bucks and a bunch of your time . . .

 

Yeah, it's definitely on my list. Hopefully my paint hasn't faded too much in the Florida sun; I'd hate to have the door handles be brighter than the truck, haha. I really want some PTM fender flares, but they are SO expensive.

Anyway, yours looks great. I'm beginning to think you just can't go wrong with white.

 

I think you'll be more than fine. I used to be really concerned with clear baking and changing color, but my truck is much older than yours and been out in the Texas sun for all of its 8 years, and the fading is next to non-existant. When I swapped my fender badges out, it was literally impossible to see any difference in paint color. And I'm pretty particular about paint. I can deal with scratches, but I HATE repainted body panels and can spot them pretty easily. Non-matching orange peel drives me nuts haha.

My handles aren't a 100% match, but it's so close that I've decided that it's hardly noticeable unless you're looking at the door handles and trying to see if they're a different color, which I do . . . haha

Fender flares look so massive on non-lifted trucks though, so it isn't too bad that they're almost a grand by the time you're done.

Thanks though! I'm a black vehicle guy, but white has certainly grown on me and I love it. Your copper has really grown on me too.

 

That's good to know, hopefully I'll find the time to paint them! It definitely makes a huge difference.

As for the fender flares, I just meant the OEM ones (the ones you find on Lariats and above). I don't plan to throw any bushwacker flares on this thing

Ford makes a really good copper/bronze color. My favorite one of all was the copper on the '07-'08 King ranches. I've always drooled over those (especially since those are the years they came with PTM handles and mirror caps). This new bronze is close enough for me to still drool, especially when I see the ones with the two-tone tan lower accent and fender flares. Mmm...

 

Ahh good man! You're not crazy then How much are those? Cause I've thrown around the idea of getting some OEM flares to complete my 2WD FX4 look haha.

Mmm yeah, me likey that 07-08 KR color too. I like that my white truck is all one color, but for stock trucks, the two-tone looks much better. It's only when modding that two-tone can get in the way.

 

That looks Really good Kent. Job well done!

 

Thanks John! I'm just not gonna show the pics I have of the driver handle I messed up fartin around with the dang lock