door handles

apk2k6 · Post by **apk2k6** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:03 pm

I had the black plastic door handles on my car, and a while ago I picked up some painted ones at a junk yard. Well my dad said he'd paint them for me to save me money. So he did the other day, and I just installed one today to see how it looks.

Looks pretty good, but I have a question, is it supposed to be textured or w/e like in the pic, or is it supposed to be real smooth like the rest of the body of the car. In the pic, the handle is the left part and the body is the right part. Thanks

ACHEAPSHOT · Post by **ACHEAPSHOT** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:15 pm

I recently had a door handle painted by my body shop guy....I'll take a look at it after lunch here at the office and tell you what mine looks like.

teamliviD · Post by **teamliviD** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:36 pm

needs to be wet sanded

apk2k6 · Post by **apk2k6** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 2:52 pm

you mean wetsand over the clear coat and everything? it wont scratch it up? what grit....thx

supertrick_05 · Post by **supertrick_05** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 5:45 pm

you can go with a real high grit, go 1000-1500 wet...just enough for some of the orange peel to go away, then get some rubbing compound and a buffer and go at it! best way to go...and it depends on how much clearcoat he put on it...don't wanna burn through the clear.

dblsg · Post by **dblsg** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:48 pm

i would do 2000 grit...

scneonchic · Post by **scneonchic** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:27 pm

It has orange peel...I agree w/ everyone else, needs to be wetsanded

apk2k6 · Post by **apk2k6** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:14 pm

Would rubbing compound and just a terry cloth work? because I took the handle off, so it'd be hard to use a buffer when it's off of the car.

I think he put 2-3 coats of clear, so just sand it lightly correct? Thanks

Wisher2 · Post by **Wisher2** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:30 pm

It should have been sanded before the clear went on but you can still sand it......sanding before the clear gets rid of orange peel...sanding clear gets rid of small imperfections on the final finish....anyways start with 1000 and then go up to 2000.....after that use 3m rubbing compound and a buffer and if you have no buffer you can use an applicator you will just have to use alot of elbow grease.....then use a finishing/polishing wax and you are done

i would suggest putting it back on the car to do as it would be easiest IMO

sullygully · Post by **sullygully** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:45 am

If you sand the base coat you can't just clear over it, you have to apply another base coat before you clear.

If theres still orange peel wetsand with 1500 or higher grit, then machine polish with Mequires medium and fine cut paint polish.

Don't wax until at least 2 months after the paint cures.

2002blackrt · Post by **2002blackrt** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:32 am

Well i dunno about you guys, my entire car looks like the door handle. Take a close look at yours too. Its just the way the car is painted. Ive noticed while looking at reflections that the paint isnt 100 percent smooth on neons. It looks exactly like the door handle of your car.

joelrgr · Post by **joelrgr** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:37 am

yeah but a good paint job should be like glass lol Wetsanding is easy man, just cant be afraid to do it. Let ur sandpaper soak in room temp water for like 5-10 minutes before u start and keep the surface of the handle wet as well. When ur using this high of grit itll look more foggy than scratched but the buffing fixes the foggy lol

2002blackrt · Post by **2002blackrt** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:55 am

haha ok maybe i just got a shitty paintjob outa the deal. I could get the bodyshop to wetsand. But im kinda freaked about doing crap like that myself, im sure your door handle would turn out ok tho.

ACHEAPSHOT · Post by **ACHEAPSHOT** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:03 pm

Well, I installed mine on the car, and it is smooth as glass.

apk2k6 · Post by **apk2k6** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 3:15 pm

So should I sand the whole thing down and repaint then wetsand before the clear coat? Or should I just wetsand it how it is now?