Styling Painting the door handles...

[Ralf S.]

Gerrard's exterior door handles (unpainted black) have turned generally a bit shabby with old age, so I've been eyeing up some Tiziano red-painted door handles from a Stilo Estate on fleabay...

But the geezer wants £15 plus postage for each one... (then I'd have to fit them) so I'm weighing up whether it's better/more cost-effective and/or less skin-scraping involved if I just paint my old ones.

Has anyone painted the regular black plastic handles before... and is it straightforward? I'd be using plastic primer, red primer, a regular Tiziano red aerosol and finally an aerosol clear coat.

I presume the factory painted door handles are the same as the unpainted ones, rather than being a different material?

I'd clean/mask the rest of the door off and then try to paint the handles (including the rear) with the handles in situ'.

Or would it be a better bet to haggle like a basteweard and buy the pre-painted ones?


Ralf S.

 

[dtimmins1985]

Gerrard's exterior door handles (unpainted black) have turned generally a bit shabby with old age, so I've been eyeing up some Tiziano red-painted door handles from a Stilo Estate on fleabay...

But the geezer wants £15 plus postage for each one... (then I'd have to fit them) so I'm weighing up whether it's better/more cost-effective and/or less skin-scraping involved if I just paint my old ones.

Has anyone painted the regular black plastic handles before... and is it straightforward? I'd be using plastic primer, red primer, a regular Tiziano red aerosol and finally an aerosol clear coat.

I presume the factory painted door handles are the same as the unpainted ones, rather than being a different material?

I'd clean/mask the rest of the door off and then try to paint the handles (including the rear) with the handles in situ'.

Or would it be a better bet to haggle like a basteweard and buy the pre-painted ones?


Ralf S.

The material its made from will most likely be the same.

In your situation - its 4 handles (not two like my stilo) so I would probably by them off the chap if I was a little flush.

Saying that - er... there's 4 of them - £60.

If you can justify spending that plus the postage (another £15 tops) then i would buy off the guy.

If you can live without the handles for a day on your car then of course, remove and do them in the shed or workshop, leaving them on the car and doing them is no go in this weather mate, it may never dry properly in a way that the paint will hold for long.

In my opinion, if it can wait - do it in summer and DIY.
if not, go for it and haggle that barsteward!!!!

 

[Artermis]

I'd buy the handles off eBay and demand the chap gives you a combined postage price on the four.

You'll not achieve as good a finish out of a rattle tin / paint can as you will on a factory painted product.

Plus by the time you've bought the materials, sandpaper, primer, some more sandpaper, the colour coat paint, some more sandpaper and the lacquer, plus some more sandpaper and polish, you'll be at least half way there. Then you've got to think about the labour and hassle of stripping each one down and painting them up.

Lets face it you're in for 3 tins of paint which are going to be a tenner each, so that's half way there on paint, before any cleaners and prep materials, which will run you at least another tenner.

 

[Ralf S.]

Yes... I'm tempted to go with the factory painted jobs.. not least because my paint spraying/aerosols might look gash..

The effort to fit sounds more than the effort to paint... but in reality is probably not much different.

On the other hand, the handles on fleabay are from a SW and these look like different part numbers to the hatchback. There are painted (i.e. primer'd) and unpainted handles available in ePer, but the SW primer'd handles looks like a different part number to the hatch primer'd handles. What's going on, or have I just got confused?

Does the SW handles fit on the hatch, even if they might be a marginally different shape? I'm guessing the front ones is a no-brainer... but the rear doors are different so the rear handles are more of an unknown.


Ralf S.