Wanting to colormatch my door handles....

[Old77]

My question is when I go to colormatch my door handles is there anything special I need to do as far as prep work or is the process the same as painting anything else? The reason I ask is I couldn't quite tell what the handles are made out of and that can make a difference on how your prep.

 

[lester622]

Their cast aluminum I believe (magnet doesn't stick to them), you have the textured ones most likely, id sand them with 80 and get rid of the texture etch primer then filler primer. Finish sanding with 320 then just paint like you would anything else. I painted the set on my black truck and just prepped it like a regular metal part.

Easier way to do it but cost more is to buy a set of smooth handles off ebay, there about 40 bucks, get them painted then install them when they are done. That way you don't have the truck sitting up waiting on handles to be painted.

 

[Blue95]

I will agree exactly to the above! Sand them and use etching primer if you are going to paint yourself or sand first and get nice and smooth so that is less prep work for the painter.

 

[Old77]

Their cast aluminum I believe (magnet doesn't stick to them), you have the textured ones most likely, id sand them with 80 and get rid of the texture etch primer then filler primer. Finish sanding with 320 then just paint like you would anything else. I painted the set on my black truck and just prepped it like a regular metal part.

Easier way to do it but cost more is to buy a set of smooth handles off ebay, there about 40 bucks, get them painted then install them when they are done. That way you don't have the truck sitting up waiting on handles to be painted.

Thanks, man!! I'm going to give the doing it myself a go of it first and see how they turn out. I do already have a set of the smooth handles saved in my Watch List on eBay so if doing it myself doesn't workout quite right I'll just order a smooth set and have them painted LOL Of course, all this will have to wait til it warms up again now that it's 20* outside haha

 

[Old77]

Welp...looks like my hand was forced. My driver's handle broke somewhere inside the door so I went ahead and ordered new handles. I got Denali handles so that they were already smooth so they'll be easier to prep for painting. Got them for $30 shipped from Rock Auto.

 

[TerryH]

I just scuffed and painted mine. Might want to check the material on the aftermarket handles. I ordered an aftermarket one to replace my broken driver's handle and it had a plastic base. Got an OE from Chevy and it is all metal. Maybe the plastic ones are just as good but I'd rather have the all metal.