Has anyone tried this with door handles?
 

It seems that removing door handles (to have them painted to match the car) is a bit of a PITA. So I thought of maybe buying the EVO-R door handle covers and having them painted.

Any thoughts?

Plasti-dip is a good option and alot cheaper ;)

The handles are very easy to remove.:icon14:

Does it come in factory Pearl White?

So what do I do? Drive without door handles while they are getting painted?

You dont... Or you can paint them your self...
Automotivetouchup.com Touch Up Paint, Aerosol Spray Paint and Touchup Paint Accessories | AutomotiveTouchup | 888-710-5192

I used them when I color matched my headlights... Color was spot on...:tup:

You can if you park your car in a area that you are comfortable with. :hello:

That's a good option. Thank you.

But would it not save me a step, if I just paint the covers?

I appreciate your sense of humor.

You could pick some used pair from another member cheap, And once those are painted? switch them out and sell yours.

Just an option But painting by a shop is the right way to go.

I plastidipped mine. It's held up really well but I'm thinking of going the color match route. I found a place locally that'll do the whole job for $180... including removal and reassembly.

I did this back in January and it's still holding strong.

http://i899.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps4960922e.jpg

So why not just paint the covers. Are they crap? Do the fall of easy?

I realize all the other options I have, I just had this thought and wanted to see if anyone had the same thought.

The covers are just somewhat expensive; you'd probably be better off putting that money towards getting them painted. Much more likely to stand the test of time (unless you're leasing and don't plan on keeping the car. Then the covers are a good idea)

I'd like to paint mine too, I just haven't decided on what to do with the color. Mine is Gunmetal I was thinking of white or just shaving off the handles

If they're not that expensive, that's a great idea, if nothing else because its easy to undo if you decide you don't like it or want to sell the car.

Give it a shot.

I have a set of extra handles here with the CF covers on them that you could use to get painted. Shoot me a PM if you are interested.

Mitch

I'll keep it in mind. Thank you.

Can you see any of the door handle around the edges, or do they cover it completely??

I'm going to try this- MST-Design - watertransferprinting

I've ordered the starter kit with a carbon fiber design. I also have some old car parts to practice on first...

Let us know how they come out.

Let me lend you my advice... Take them off, take them to your local shop. Be nice to the people running the place and they will probably work out a deal with you. Paid $65 to have mine done....... I drove with no door handles for a week, just put blue painters tape over the holes...
I promise you wont be dissappointed...
Dont plasti dip them, you have a $25k car, plasti dip does automaticlly solve every problem.

My car -------->

Plasti dip is out of the question.

$65? Damn I just payed $425 to have mine done.

My bad meant to say *Doesnt*

Yes $65. Always good to know people thoughout the auto indusry. $425 is obsured.

I painted mine myself as well using paint from automotive touchup. If you start in the morning remove the handles, prep, and start painting, you can get them put back on the next day after a bit of wet sanding the clearcoat. Here is mine, done in about a 1.5 days.

http://www.the370z.com/members/pbhak...or-matched.jpg

That looks nice

Did he use lube?

Rent a car
 

Rent a car for two days and have them painted that's what I did...

GJ! Looks good.

Yeah $425 is asinine. Nissan dealer body shop quoted $150. Took them in at 7a, back on the car that night by 6p. They ended up not letting me pay (no matter how hard I tried) because the painter was afraid it wouldn't stick. I told him it had been done before, but he insisted he was too weary about it to charge. 6k miles later, still look brand new.

On a side note, I was thinking about doing water transfer on the ring around the shift boot, the cup holder, and the gauge rings. Let us know how that works out.

Thanks!

Very nice! This is exactly what I want to do - same color and everything. I've just been hesitant to actually do the work. Do you have any pointers? A couple of questions that come to mind are: how did you hold the handle open when painting (I would assume you have to wait an hour or so for it to dry before handling it)? how many layers of paint and clear did you use? What grit did you wetsand the clear with and how detailed were you about it (there are lots of crevices)? :tiphat:

There's still some silver visible with the Evo R covers. It's not that noticable, but you can still see the silver inside the handles a little bit.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps535687d1.jpg

I went gloss back on mine.

I started by roughing up the surface with a 800 grit sandpaper, cleaned and let dry. I sprayed the handles with a plastic adhesion promoter and put on 3-4 coats of a light grey primer. The way you keep the handle propped open is just by using a small pin or screw and wedge it in under the handle to keep it open. Once that dries i sprayed about 7-8 light coats of the Gun Metallic from all different angles. Dont worry if you dont get full coverage on the first few coats. With this color you have to be careful not to spray too thick of a coat each pass because you can easily get to dark if you dont use very light coats. Just pay special attention to the edges as the paint will always be thinnest there and will easily come off if you dont do extra coats just on the edges to build up the same thickness as the flat parts. Once this dries, i sprayed on the clear about 4-5 light coats. The next day, I wet sanded with a 1200 or 1500 grit sandpaper since there was only a little bit of orange peel i needed to get rid of. Polished it out and it was done. Alot of the DIY paint door handle threads helped me out if you go take a look.

Shows a pic of how to prop open the handle:
http://www.the370z.com/exterior-inte...r-handles.html

Useful tips:
http://www.the370z.com/exterior-inte...-any-tips.html