Hey guys I really don't know much about painting stuff so i figured it would be a good idea to ask before i did anything. Anyway, my exterior doorhandles are scratched all to hell with chips of paint missing here and there, what would be the best method of repainting them? Sand, Prime, Paint, Clearcoat? If so what products should i be using, I want something that will last and something that is readily available. Thanks for the help.
-stephen

 

carbon fiber it! if you repaint it you should clear coat if the handles get scratched alot.

 

Id like to do the C/F but there are a few problems with that.
1. money
2. dont know where to get the stuff
3. woudlnt know how to do it

i know mkoch? on the forum does it but if i was going to spend around $100 on something for my car it would most likely be something like stainless brake lines, or new brake rotors.
-stephen

 

I never messed with painting mine. Before I got around to it, it broke so I just bought a new one.

I can't imagine it's any different than painting anything else.

Sand
Prime
Sand again
Paint
Clear coat
Let bake in the sun for a day on concrete
Reinstall

The clear coat I have used in painting (not engine or brake parts) has been Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear. It's worked extremely well for me.

 

thats exactly what i needed to know mahjik, what would be a good paint though?
-stephen

 

I don't think the paint will matter too much. In the little bit of painting I've done on my car, it's the clear coat that has made the difference. Just make sure to get some decent primer and any paint will be fine.

I don't think you'll need any high-temp paint for this project.

 

I'm nearly finished doing mine. Here's what I've done:
1) Disassemble, mask off everything
2) Sand using 180g and 320g wet down to metal (I had chips, so this is the only way to get them out)
3) Wipe with tack cloth, Primer, sand 320g wet, repeat
4) Sand 600g wet, tack off
5) Paint with Glossy Black Lacquer. Any auto brand should be fine. 2-3 coats, with 600g light wet sand in between. (I'm here now - waiting overnight for it to cure)
6) Sand lightly with 600g, 1000g, fine cut polish, wax

I had bought some black enamel paint, but you can't polish it. The lacquer can be a few coats to build up thick, so if I scratch it later I have plenty of paint to sand/polish into.

Dave

 

dp

 

thanks fellas i appreciate your help, ill get on it this weekend and maybe post some before and after pics.
-stephen

 

Save yourself the pain and get some brand new ones from JT, I think he said $75 each shipped, but ask him, I could be wrong.

 

Arrgh, I almost got it perfect. Chalk it up to painting noobism. When painting the lacquer, I was more worried about the smoothness of the finish than thickness, and I think my 2-3 coats were a little thin in spots. Since lacquer is so workable, I shouldn't have been so fussy since it all came out easily in the final sanding. However I broke through in a spot. I sanded 600g, 1000g, 1500g, then 3M Fine Cut polish, and it looks pretty good, but there are swirl marks. I think I either pressed too hard sanding the 600g and need to do the finish sanding process again, or need to polish some more.

Lesson - lacquer is easy to work with, as long you have a thick enough buildup of paint.

Dave

 

I did mine with enamal and then clear coated it and it turned out damn good i must say, i wish i had a digi cam to post pics
-stephen

 

The real answer is to have them POWDER COATED - sand them down to BARE SHINEY METAL and take the to an industrial coatings place. They ar small enough that you should be able to get them slipped in w/ a BIG job for $10-$20.

 

Damn skippy. Powder coating is da sheeit. I repainted mine by hand like some of the folks above suggest, and it was a pain in the butt, and the quality was totally substandard (blame me, but it's not easy to do).

If I had it to do over again, and I might just do it over again to do it right, I'll definitely powder coat them. Pimp-style

 

You could try asking ZeroBanger, he's repainted his passenger side door handle himself.

-Dan

 

i thought it was pretty damn easy and i even left the handles on the car.

I loosened the handles I stuck grocery bags behind themto mask the car off. Masked off the key hole, wrapped the part of the handle attached to the mechanism with masking tape so nothing could get inside, sanded, primed, sanded, primed painted, clearcoated.
it was actually really easy and didnt take long at all
-stephen

 

I did my passenger side and doing my new drivers side door handle when I get it. Its not hard at all. If you've repainted your interior, this should be a breeze.