Restoring a Ford F-250 Mirror

The mirrors on the Ford heavy-duty pickup line (F-250 through F-550) have an MSRP of over $1,100, so it seems a waste to replace one just because the exterior finish is scuffed and scratched. In this photo sequence, we'll take you through the process of restoring the textured finish on this expensive plastic mirror assembly.

There is a large scuff mark and several smaller scratches on the exterior of this textured mirror assembly. With a little work, we will have it looking good again in no time!

First clean the surface with either 1000 Super Prep or 1001-4 EcoPrep Plastic Cleaner. Spray a heavy wet coat, then wipe off with a clean paper towel.

Sand the scuffs and scratches down with 180 grit sandpaper. Blow dust free with dry, clean compressed air.

Spray 1050 Plastic Magic Adhesion Promoter on all surfaces to be refinished. Allow the Plastic Magic to flash (i.e. let the solvents evaporate) for about ten minutes.

Spray 3043 All Seasons Black Jack Waterborne Primer Surfacer over the area to be retextured. In order to get the best finished appearance, we need to start with a fairly smooth surface. Apply two medium coats with flash time in between.

Use 1047 Putty Flex polyester filler to fill any scratches that remain after the initial sanding and primer application.

Sand the 1047 Putty Flex with 80 and 180 sandpaper.

Finish sand the Putty Flex and Black Jack primer with 240 then 320 grit sandpaper to remove coarser sandscratches.

Mix 3803 or 3804 Flextex VT according to package directions to match the desired grain pattern. In this case, the original texture is a medium-coarse grain, so we mixed two parts of 3803 Flextex with one part of lacquer thinner and sprayed with a primer gun with a 1.8 mm nozzle. The size of the grain can be adjusted with thinner, air pressure, distance to the work, and speed of the pass. Apply three light "splatter" coats of Flextex with flash time between coats. Do not flow out the paint--rather build successive coats of "splatter" to achieve the original look of the texture. For more complete instructions on how to mix and apply Flextex VT, see this video: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8xRBMhPMZk.

The finished mirror looks nearly good as new with just a little bodywork and paint!

Next time a textured plastic part comes in with cosmetic damage, you don't have to throw it away! You can retexture the part with Polyvance's FlextexVT.