A couple of years ago some cyclist **&% riding on the pavement hit my mirror when my car was parked, and smashed the cover. I replaced it with a same-colour second-hand jobbie from eBay but the colour was faded differently to the original other mirror casing.. which already differed in shade from the roof and the bonnet... (Tomiato red vs Tiziano red).
Since then, the lacquer on the bonnet has peeled and the beast got hit in the rear, leading to a blue bumper and a warped bootlid (which may be replaced later).. so apart from the doors and wings, there's hardly any panel that is the same colour as another.
I'm on a mission to respray the offending orangey-tomato-red and faded items back to Tiziano.. which will mean buying a paint gun, compressor and paint etc. but in the meantime I have some saucy (at the price it blinkin' has to be) aerosol 2K clearcoat, which I want to try out, pending the "proper" (it'll still be DIY) paint-job later in the year.
I'm going to attempt the rattle can paint job on the rear bumper and the mirror cases, since that's as much area as the aerosol clear coat will cover. I'll do the rest of the car (and probably the bumper and mirrrors again, for uniformity) with the spray gun... but for the moment (until I get the weather and/or get round to it) at least the car will be more red than not red.
Anyhow.. short version of my question: Is there a trick to removing the mirror covers? I clipped on the new one without paying attention to the tabs etc. When I tried easing it off by just twisting it a bit I got cold feet (it was -1C outside) and left it, since I didn't want to risk snapping/breaking some cold/old plastic tabs.
Anyone with a photo of the tabs, or who knows how to remove the covers in 2 seconds with their eyes closed, I'd be interested to know how to do it. I vaguely remember that "pressing down on the top" was suggested before, if that triggers anyone's memory..
Ralf S.
Since then, the lacquer on the bonnet has peeled and the beast got hit in the rear, leading to a blue bumper and a warped bootlid (which may be replaced later).. so apart from the doors and wings, there's hardly any panel that is the same colour as another.
I'm on a mission to respray the offending orangey-tomato-red and faded items back to Tiziano.. which will mean buying a paint gun, compressor and paint etc. but in the meantime I have some saucy (at the price it blinkin' has to be) aerosol 2K clearcoat, which I want to try out, pending the "proper" (it'll still be DIY) paint-job later in the year.
I'm going to attempt the rattle can paint job on the rear bumper and the mirror cases, since that's as much area as the aerosol clear coat will cover. I'll do the rest of the car (and probably the bumper and mirrrors again, for uniformity) with the spray gun... but for the moment (until I get the weather and/or get round to it) at least the car will be more red than not red.
Anyhow.. short version of my question: Is there a trick to removing the mirror covers? I clipped on the new one without paying attention to the tabs etc. When I tried easing it off by just twisting it a bit I got cold feet (it was -1C outside) and left it, since I didn't want to risk snapping/breaking some cold/old plastic tabs.
Anyone with a photo of the tabs, or who knows how to remove the covers in 2 seconds with their eyes closed, I'd be interested to know how to do it. I vaguely remember that "pressing down on the top" was suggested before, if that triggers anyone's memory..
Ralf S.
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