Am I the only one who painted my handles myself?

 

i guess so. post up a DIY thread for door handles

 

 

It was just like painting any other body piece...sand, sand again, prime, paint, paint, paint, clear, clear, clear. The only thing you need to know is how to remove them and I don't remember off the top of my head. I know you don't need to remove the door panels. Just remove two screws on each side and pull the rod off the track. Driver side, I used a ratcheting, L-shaped philips head to remove the two bolts holding the door lock to the handle.

 

Here is mine.

 

Nice Loving the black hi-lights

 

your car looks awesome but i would get the side z badge shaved, it kinda of offsets everything, but its your car

 

on the pic above, are the mirrors something different? i.e. the color? they seem really glossy in comparison to the rest of the black on the upper half of the car. just curious, sick ride though!

 

A-Pillars/Hood/Hatch are CF. The mirrors/handles/Roof are painted black.

 

I considered that - but I'm powder coating the wheels battleship gray so that won't work!

 

nice bro. very nice looking ride!

 

I only skimmed through the thread, so I may end up saying what others have already said.

1- You can remove the handles without taking off the panels. The bolts are located behind grommets that come out with a flathead IIRC.

2- Wash handles with a de-greaser to get rid of wax/grime/oil.

3- Sand with 320 grit until the handles are uniformly dull.

4- Wash again.

5- Spray Duplicolor adhesion promoter(2-3 coats).

6- Spray Duplicolor auto spray paint after the manufacturers specified drying time for the previous step(3 coats; 2 light coats, 1 "wet").

7- **optional step** Allow 48hrs for paint to cure. Sand with 600grit lightly to remove orange peel texture, but be certain to wipe the painted surface clean frequently to check your progress. It's very easy to remove too much paint.

8- Spray Duplicolor clear coat after the manufacturers specified drying time(if you skipped step 7) for step 6(3 coats; 2 light coats, 1 "wet").

**Steps 9-14 are optional, but recommended**

9- Wetsand with 1500 grit followed by 2000 grit to remove all the "orange
peel" out of the clear coat after 48hrs.

10- Apply rubbing compound until the handles are shiny.

11- Wash the handles.

12- Apply a hand glaze to make them even shinier.

13- Wash the handles.

14- Wax the handles.

**End of optional steps**

15- Carefully re-install the door handles after the clear coat has cured. 48hrs after the last coat will be sufficient.

16- Bask in the lustrous glory of your profoundly fulfilling accomplishment!

Notes:

- I suggest that painting be done indoors, away from dust.
- Paint when the temperature is between 60-90 degrees F, and humidity is less than 60%.
- The Duplicolor paint/clearcoat I recommended are lacquer. You can use enamel if that is what you prefer. Just remember not to apply lacquer over enamel, it may lift the paint. I could go over the benefits of lacquer vs. enamel, but I don't want to saturate this post.
- I used a toothpick broken in half to prop each handle in the "open" position so that I could spray on the inside.

Any questions, feel free to ask in this thread, or through PM if you need answers quick.
Good luck if you try to DIY!

 

Oh, the adhesion promoter should be sprayed on lightly if you did not sand completely through the factory paint(which will probably be the case since the factory paint is very durable). The adhesion promoter is like a primer that is made for plastic, which the handles are made of. Over saturation with the adhesion promoter will eat through and wrinkle up/crack factory paint and cause you to spend a few hours resurfacing the handles.

 

 

Hey Jonny, if you don't mind me asking, what are you lowered on and what size are your wheels? I'm trying to decide how I want to lower my Z and I like the way yours sit. Also how is the ride? Thanks!

 

you get those door handles yet, brother?