Wing mirror removal and painting. lc teardrops

olliep

Wants a mk2 GTI
Oct 3, 2005
709
1
Winchester
i need some advice on two things,

one: how to remove the painted bit of the tear drop mirrors. (as in my sig picture below) i.e. do i need the glass out and how do i do that...?

two: painting... painting is my absolute nemisis and up until now i've avoided it like the plague. i want to paint my wing mirrors black and i'm afraid its going to be a halford spray can job because of finances (and if a cack it up i'll just have to wait until i can go bodyshop but in the mean time i thought i'd have a go.)
so what do i need? how do i do it?

All advice is very much appreciated and in advance... no i dont care if you think its a rubbish idea... i'm not painting YOUR car!! :D.
 

lc_allan

Northern Monkey
Sep 15, 2006
3,389
4
I'm fairly certain the painted part of the covers just pops off. Small bit of cloth over a thin flat bladed screw driver should be enough to ease them off.
Search the forum though or wait for a definative answer.

As for the caps themselves I wouldn't paint your existing ones. Why not buy new covers from the dealers. They'll be cheap and ready primed. In my limited painting experience you can still get decent results from a rattle can. Just do a few passes in a single direction 6-8 inches away. Build up the layers slowly with drying time to reduce runs. Once finished I'd leave for a day or so covered to stop dust settling. Then lacquer with the same techniques and leave for a few days to fully dry and harden. You can lightly sand the paint between coats with a very fine grit sandpaper but I've never done this and still have good results. Someone may come along and disagree with what I've said so go with the majority :D
 

lc_allan

Northern Monkey
Sep 15, 2006
3,389
4
I used Halfords paint match service for my Luna and the match was ****. I couldn't even get a refund on the mixed can. I got a local paint place to do it and it was a perfect match. There is also a few specialist places online that will mix to code. I would trust these more over Halfords again :)
 

LEE69

Stage 2 Revo'd
Dec 10, 2004
21,262
74
C\UK\Devon\Torquay
Yeah Halfords don't give refunds but thankfully it was mate who served me ;) he did try a second tin and adjusted the mix, but was still wrong.
 
Nimbus hosting - Based solely in the UK.