Wish I could have thought of a catchier title

I replaced my mirror caps with new ones. The old ones looked like they had seen a major battle; lots of scars, missing clear coat and primer showing through the black.

Once the new caps were in place, I was trying to decide what to do with the old ones. I decided to see if they could be refinished.

Here is what they looked like after I spent a few hours wet sanding them with 400 and then 2000 grit sand paper. I always wet sand, it keeps the sand paper soft so that creases don't put grooves in my work and it keeps the paper from loading up. I didn't take before pictures but just seeing the scuff throughs should give some idea of what they were like:

 

After getting the caps smooth - it was impossible to remove all of the imperfections, but they look really good at this point - They got 4 coats of gloss black paint.

Be sure to allow the coats to dry between each coat!

Also, be sure that the neighbors aren't going to mow! I was outside because I used the sun to bake the paint to help it cure. My neighbor decided to mow and I had to re-sand the caps down to the bare plastic again and start over!

Once the final coat cured back to the sand paper. I only used 2000 grit at this point. The goal is to get a smooth surface and remove any imperfections, and unless you have a proper downdraft paint booth there will be imperfections.

Prior to wet sanding the caps, the paint will be glossy but "bumpy" with one or two bubbles. Wet sanding the paint smooth gets rid of these. I actually went back and added another coat of black and re-sanded because I felt it was too thin after the first pass, but it was probably unnecessary. I just have sort of OCD about doing a job like this

You don't want to polish the paint at this point; leave it sanded. It will give the clear coat a better surface to adhere to.

Here is what they looked like once this step was done.

 

I let the caps cure for a couple hours after the last wet sanding. One thing that causes me issues is not letting the paint cure enough and putting another coat on top - the volatiles "leak" through the top coats and the final product never seems to dry correctly.

I actually took 3 days to do the project - but most of that time involved watching golf stuff on TV while the caps cured in the hot Florida sun. However, I think it is best if you bring the caps in after they have cured in the sun and let them cool to room temp before working on them or adding more paint.

At this point it was back to the paint and I added three coats of clear. I managed to get a drip and that required an hour of wet sanding to remove later. Whatever you do, if you get a drip don't try and wipe it off or remove it while wet. Suck it up and take your medicine - you're going to be sanding that away later.

Same process as the black coats. Let it cure and then wet sand it with 2000 grit sandpaper. Lots of elbow grease.

Once I had the imperfections sanded out and the cover feels nice and smooth (you will have to dry the cover and look it over and then go back and continue wet sanding to remove all the imperfections - you can't really see them when the caps are wet) I used compound to polish the clear coat. It takes time - don't press too hard. Be patient.

Here are some pictures of a wet sanded cap and a polished cap:

 

So, I'm going to post pictures of what I thought were the finished product, but I notice that I didn't remove the entire drip (they are a PITA which is why you want to avoid thick, drippy coats) so I'll have to go back and wet sand and polish again.

I will also put a final thin clear coat on them and sand and polish it just to add extra depth.

I use Mequire's Ultimate Compound and Mother's California Gold Carnuba wax. Be sure to remove all of the wax etc. if you are going to add any more coats of paint - rubbing alcohol works well. I used lacquer thinner but it mars any unpainted plastic, in this case the inside. It doesn't matter since nobody sees the inside but it annoys my sensibilities

 

I'll post a picture or two of the caps after I re-sand and re-polish them.

At this point I am actually sad I didn't go with Chili red so I could switch the caps back and forth. Not sure how red caps would look, but hey, it is an opportunity to post a gratuitous picture of Tater.

 

That is very fine work. What brand rattle cans are you using?

 

I am using Krylon ColorMaster. It covers well and looks very good. I may re-do them however, the ColorMaster doesn't feel "hard" enough. It doesn't scratch etc. but it feels soft - can't really explain it any better than that.

 

I would recommend Montana brand.

 

Nice job! Looks very professional

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.