Painting plastic

[HangFire]

So I'm really enjoying driving it, but one thing that's bothering me about the new-to-me 2010 Camry... one door mirror is white (car color), one is black (not). I knew this going in, hard not to notice, but now it's bothering me more than I thought it would.

Should I try to paint it, and if so what is recommended. It's a glossy black, would I need to scuff it up a bit first? Any primer needed, and if so, what? Use something other than the usual Duplicolor spray can?

The other option would be to call around the junk yards and try to find a white one to replace it. Come Monday I'll at least call and see if any are available. It's a non-folding electric mirror on the passenger door. Funny thing my base model Corolla LE has folding electric mirrors, but the Camry LE V6 is a nicer car in every other respect.

 

[JamesBond]

How would it look with 2 black mirrors? $40 on Amazon is probably cheaper than a matched can af paint.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by JamesBond
How would it look with 2 black mirrors? $40 on Amazon is probably cheaper than a matched can af paint.

OK, thanks! That's an option, but I would prefer white all around.

I bet that's what is on the passenger door right now, a cheap replacement mirror.

 

[Nick1994]

Either a white used one to replace it, or have it painted at a body shop, I can't imagine it costing all that much

 

[JC1]

www.car-part.com you can see the color of a used mirror listed on the parts.

Other option is getting matching paint. www.autonotivetouchup.com makes matching paint. Otherwise call around for someone local that makes custom paint in a spray can.

 

[HangFire]

Googling around various how-to's, it seems I need to:
0. Mask
1. Scuff with wet/dry
2. Spray with Adhesion Promoter
3. Spray with Primer
4. Spray with color paint
5. Let it cure, buff to a high shine
6. Spray with Clear Coat.

Sound about right?

 

[Dave9]

If you paint them both black then you don't need to try to color match the car.

If you want them white, sure go ahead and get your best guess as to color matching white. Duplicolor or some other brand will make a spray white for your make and model year.

Yes you want to scuff up the glossy paint first. Yes the answer to the question you didn't ask was, you will need a couple extra coats of paint to cover the black with white and end up with white. Do not try to use too thick a coat, use more coats instead.

You do not need primer over wet sanded existing paint, but if the paint is peeling off and you need to strip it down to bare plastic then I would use a gray primer.

The main thing is, many light coats. If you have clearcoat on the rest too, it may not match perfectly. You can wait and decide later if you want to put some of that on too.

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted by Dave9

You do not need primer over wet sanded existing paint, but if the paint is peeling off and you need to strip it down to bare plastic then I would use a gray primer..


Automotive primer doesn't work like that, he needs to use a "sealer" - it looks like primer, but it isn't

 

[Traction]

I had to replace a white mirror on my Camry with a black one, so I sprayed the other white one with black Pasti-dip which gave it a black plastic look. Looks fine with 2 black mirrors, and the coating has held up fine for 3 years.

 

[Sayjac]

If you paint them or get it done, like to see before and after pics on the car. Certainly can understand not wanting two different color mirrors.

 

[skyactiv]

White is easy to match, although I'd paint both mirrors. It's a plastic mirror, he's not painting a fender or the hood. I'd use a can of Krylon fusion for plastic spray paint in white.
EDIT: It appears that paint was discontinued. I'd find a paint stating for use on plastic such as this in white, not the pink as shown.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rust-Ole...ay-Paint-and-Primer-in-1-12-oz/772041352

 

[DuckRyder]

If you pull it off and clean it up / disassemble as much as possible you might get a shop to spray it for you reasonably...

What is required depends on if the glossy black is in fact the bare mirror or if it was already painted. If it was already painted then primer and adhesion promoter shouldn't be needed and provided the existing paint is in good shape you'll probably be able to get away with wax and grease remover, scuff, spray. If it is bare plastic it is the whole shooting match.

Contrary to popular belief, white is not that easy to match, there are a surprising number of variations, nowadays even "black" isn't necessarily "black".

There are a number of places (including possibly your local automotive paint supplier) who will mix automotive paint and put it in a spray can for you, one such place is PaintScratch.com

 

[Trav]

If its a cheap aftermarket I wouldn't bother, look on ebay for an original in the correct body color.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by Trav
If its a cheap aftermarket I wouldn't bother, look on ebay for an original in the correct body color.

We have a winner. If the local junkyards don't have it, I'll get one on the bay.

The current black one is a cheap aftermarket. Fit onto the door is not perfect, and travel to the right is limited. Kind of annoying, for maximum safety, I use my door mirrors to look out into the blind spots, I never see my car body in the door mirrors. But on this one I'm forced to view my car's right edge (which is a useless waste of mirror space), and it won't go right enough to fully look into my blind spot.

I'll wait until I get a good used OEM.

 

[HangFire]

Local boneyard came through for me, matching '09 mirror for $75. Not perfect, but aged alike to the rest of my car.

Mounting it, I found the door metal underneath was slightly bent. No surprise, as the force that's enough to break a mirror has a lot of leverage through said mirror. A ballpeen hammer fixed that, and the mount gasket covered it all up nicely.

A few words about the black repro mirror it replaced, it has a lot less range of motion than the OEM. It would have been OK if the mount metal was not bent, but it was, limiting the horizontal traverse so I was forced to view the edge of the car and look behind, not beside me as I prefer. OEM mirror had no such problem, before or after ball peen correction. Also, it has a sticker on the inside saying "paint to match" (that never happened).

Project difficulty, 1 out of 10 (easiest).