Yes, I have the car for sale, but I can't keep myself from making it better. Deep down I am hoping my savings gets built back up before the car sells

This is my mini project. The Chili Red mirrors looked terrible. The clear coat was peeling and the red was fading. The body shop quoted me nearly $300 to paint the covers and couldn't guarantee they wouldn't break the clips removing the caps. I had a Chili Red Mini and the entire car looked like this - wonder if it is something with that particular color?

Anyway, I couldn't stand it, so I removed the covers and refinished them. I used Ford Cardinal Red - it is an almost perfect match (the Chili Red on the inside of the mirror caps is indistinguishable from the new paint) and I didn't feel it was worth the time, effort and expense of sourcing a spray can of original Mini color.

I used 800 and 2000 grit sandpaper. And lots and lots of elbow grease and McGuire's rubbing compound.

First step is to remove the imperfections. I've done this before and don't strip to the bare plastic.







Next was to begin applying very thin coats of red paint. And I do mean thin. The first few don't even cover fully. If you are like me and like to annoy the wife, you can cure the paint in the oven set to its lowest setting. It makes the house smell delightful and assures you have the house to yourself for several hours.

After each coat I wet sand with 800 grit sandpaper. It removes imperfections and give the next coat something to adhere to. After a number of coats (I think I did 8 before I was satisfied with the coverage) I wet sanded the last coat with 2000 grit.

Wait overnight after the last color coat. Next day I applied a number of coats of clear - unlike the color coat you need to assure reasonable coverage, but not thick and dripping unless you really like sanding. If you get this right, you only need to wet sand using 2000 grit between each coat. I used 4 coats of clear. Because of the sanding I use more coats than are strictly necessary.

Finally, a lot of hand polishing with rubbing compound. Once it gets glossy I reinstall and then use a DA with a light cut pad and polish to get a high shine.

I didn't realize how faded the covers were; they really pop now.