Hey guys, just thinking of trying to get the bare plastic door handles, door strips, and mirror covers to match the body. Was thinking of wrapping it with vinyl but then thought about spraying. 

Advantage of spraying is you can get the perfect matched paint which I can't seem to find with the vinyl. Disadvantage for vinyl is as just stated plus if it's not applied correctly it can start shrinking inwards on a really hot day (like what happened when I applied it on my previous car). 

Have you painted any car parts before?  It's a bit of an art, I've never been able to get a decent finish myself.  Wrap is cheaper and easier, but doesn't usually last long before lifting, especially on door handles which are being touched a lot or mirror caps that take a huge amount of abuse.

If it was mine, I'd keep watching ebay for original Panther Black parts like this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FIESTA-MK6-OUTER-DOOR-HANDLES-5-DOOR-02-TO-08-PANTHER-BLACK/163681452904?hash=item261c2cc368:g:LZYAAOSwBcVc0tkn

 

 

 

On 5/19/2019 at 2:54 PM, TomsFocus said:

Have you painted any car parts before?  It's a bit of an art, I've never been able to get a decent finish myself.  Wrap is cheaper and easier, but doesn't usually last long before lifting, especially on door handles which are being touched a lot or mirror caps that take a huge amount of abuse.

If it was mine, I'd keep watching ebay for original Panther Black parts like this - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FIESTA-MK6-OUTER-DOOR-HANDLES-5-DOOR-02-TO-08-PANTHER-BLACK/163681452904?hash=item261c2cc368:g:LZYAAOSwBcVc0tkn

 

 

 

Those don't look bad. Have to see if how much everything would cost for spraying. Never tried spraying but wont mind giving it a go. The mirror covers are textured so might have to sand it first. I'm thinking of sanding the headlights as they have haze on them and one of the previous owners tried to fix it but left a spot which I hope is not burnt the plastic. 

Wrapping is definitely harder to a someone who's never done it before compared to spraying. Although once you're semi decent, it's a lot faster than spraying, not as many resources required and is less faffing around prepping and carrying out polishing, no need to wait for it to dry between coats etc.

I'd spray them personally. Wouldn't send it to a shop though. Will cost a small fortune for not much difference in looks to anyone but yourself.

If you're doing it DIY you will need plastic primer/filler primer to fill in the bumps in the plastic first. It's at this stage you feel for any imperfections and fill/sand them out. Anything noticable will most definitely be visable in the finished product. Then base coat (in your case gloss black) followed by plenty of laquer. Now laquer out of a spray can looks quite crappy compared to a gun, even if it is done inside with proper ventilation.

Therefore you put loads of layers on then wet sand the heck out of it to flatten it out and remove all the 'orange peel'. Your finish will go from glossy to extremely flat/Matt, but again you're checking for it being absolutely smooth. Follow this with a good compound/polish and theres no reason why you cant achieve a professional finish from a body shop.

Thanks luke 👍. Wrapping isn't too hard but you need practice. I wrapped the mirror covers of my previous car in 3d carbon fibre. Sadly on a very hot day it started shrinking. 

Will look into spraying but I think at the moment I might first wet sand the headlights as they are hazy. Need to get some info about doing it as Ive never tried it. 

Mirror covers are dead easy compared to something with loads of corners. That fog light surround is a different kettle of fish altogether. If done right, it shouldn't shrink in the heat.

You can get kits for the headlights. At the end of the day it contains wet and dry paper with some compound and polish. Dont do them on the car, theres just too much risk of catching the paintwork. Also be careful you dont put too much heat into the plastic as melted plastic isnt a good look.

44 minutes ago, Luke4efc said:

Mirror covers are dead easy compared to something with loads of corners. That fog light surround is a different kettle of fish altogether. If done right, it shouldn't shrink in the heat.

You can get kits for the headlights. At the end of the day it contains wet and dry paper with some compound and polish. Dont do them on the car, theres just too much risk of catching the paintwork. Also be careful you dont put too much heat into the plastic as melted plastic isnt a good look.

One of the guys I speak to in my local detailing shop said to use 3000 grit paper, wet sand then compound and polish. My dad has some UV protectant laquer which I might put on after it's all been done. He did buy a spray gun so might ask if it's possible to use it 

9 hours ago, zain611 said:

One of the guys I speak to in my local detailing shop said to use 3000 grit paper, wet sand then compound and polish. My dad has some UV protectant laquer which I might put on after it's all been done. He did buy a spray gun so might ask if it's possible to use it 

Theres no point laquering after you've polished them, it defeats the point. If you want to laquer them then rub them down with some wet and dry to remove the hazy ness, spray some thick coats of laquer on them and do your wet sanding, compounding/polishing after that.

2 hours ago, Luke4efc said:

Theres no point laquering after you've polished them, it defeats the point. If you want to laquer them then rub them down with some wet and dry to remove the hazy ness, spray some thick coats of laquer on them and do your wet sanding, compounding/polishing after that.

So no point in compound, polishing after sanding down the headlights. I should do that after putting the laquer on. 

Can you talk me through painting the plastics especially the textured door mirror covers. Just want to be absolutely sure what I'd have to do. 

For the headlights I'm thinking I might wet sand, compound and polish it and use this ceramic sealant to seal it in. The guy in my local detailing shop recommended this and said it would be an easier alternative in applying compared to removing the headlights, spraying a clear coat on, wet sanding that and polishing.