Painting Plastic Mirrors??

[Eatoniashoprat]

Hi, I've got a set of California Vitalonis and my bodyguy says he can't paint them. I've seen a bunch of cars with them and they're painted (turboharaune?). What sort of prep work/product do you have to use to get the paint to stick and not chip off? I would really like them to be the color of my car rather than black. Thanks,

Mike

[gonebuggy]

Go to your local hardware store and get a plastic primer, or a plastic paint to use as a primer for your bodyman.

[vujade]

Has your body guy ever painted a newer car?
Or does he only paint vintage cars?

All newer cars have placstic parts (polyurethane, etc)

My brother used to paint cars and they had special plastic
primer he used on plastic parts like bumpers and mirrors.
Then after spraying that, then the regular primer would be
applied on top of that. Plastic primer is usually clear and it
has some sort of adhesive in it.

[Eatoniashoprat]

Thanks guys, I'll look and see what's available. It actually wasn't my current autobody guy, he hasn't seen my car yet. The previous guy was getting swamped and hasn't looked at the car yet and its been in his shop for 2.5 months, I'm yanking it from there and taking it somewhere else. I just figured I'd figure out what was needed in case the new guy isn't familiar with painting this type of plastic. Previous autobodyman: 1 hour drive away, car dealship, swamped with insurance claims. New autobodyman: restores VW's and sells VW parts for a living, needs a project in a few weeks, local.

Mike

[wrenchnride247]

Here's what i've used for a few years, on plastic motorcycle parts:

SEM p/n 38353 plastic/leather prep in a rattle can (please read back of can)
SEM p/n 39133 flexible primer surfacer in a rattle can (read back of can)

Then you spray a sealer on from paint company you choose for top coats.

[Eatoniashoprat]

Originally Posted by wrenchnride247

Here's what i've used for a few years, on plastic motorcycle parts:

SEM p/n 38353 plastic/leather prep in a rattle can (please read back of can)
SEM p/n 39133 flexible primer surfacer in a rattle can (read back of can)

Then you spray a sealer on from paint company you choose for top coats.

That sounds sweet, except there are no dealers near me... . Anybody in Calgary or Edmonton wanna buy some and send it to me?

[wrenchnride247]

some auto parts stores carry it. (got mine from O'reilly's)