Hi,
I've decided to post my first DIY to this forum.
Recently I looked at my door grab handles and I've notice that people is careless when they are inside a car, I don’t know how they do it but they do… girls with rings, people with large nails or other sharp things that can easily leave a mark in your door handles.
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1.Things you’ll need:
a.You’ll need to buy some sand paper, very fine! I bought 600 and 1200 wet or dry sandpaper.
b. A primer paint
c. Matching color paint
d. Polyurethane. I bought a Satin finish to add a clear look to the plastic. Don’t buy a glossy one, you’ll end up doing everything again.
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2.Prepare the pieces
a.Depending on where you’re going to work you’ll need to prepare the surface, if you want to remove the door panel is up to you. I’ve decided to just remove the plastic parts and cover the rest with newspaper.
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3.Sanding:
This is the most important part in the job, if you feel that something is texturized sand again and again until your finger feels a smooth surface. You can add some water to the sand paper, it will help you do a better job.
![]()
4.Primer: Add a very thin layer of primer first then wait. The primer that I bought was fast drying so I waited like 10 minutes between layers. Just continue this process until you see that everything is covered.
![]()
5.Paint: When you’re done with premier it’s time to paint. Wait like 20 min before painting just to be sure that everything is dry.
I've decided to change the interior color to black, in my opinion it looks better than the original.
The same procedure here, do it in layers and wait like 15 min between them. Be patient and don’t rush.
Do this until you get a uniform color in the plastic.
![]()
6.Polyurethane: This part is tricky and I decided to include this because Polyurethane will protect your plastic handles from scratches and they are easier to clean.
Begin adding a very thin layer of polyurethane you’ll notice that the paint will get like a glossy kind of finish but eventually it will dry.
I painted like 5 thin layers of polyurethane to every section and waited like 2 hours between them so be very patient. Do not put the second layer if the polyurethane is not dry, feel the surface to see if you need to wait more and follow the product instructions, polyurethane can be very toxic so don’t smell it very much.
When you finish just put everything together again and you’re done.
![]()
![]()
I've decided to post my first DIY to this forum.
Recently I looked at my door grab handles and I've notice that people is careless when they are inside a car, I don’t know how they do it but they do… girls with rings, people with large nails or other sharp things that can easily leave a mark in your door handles.
1.Things you’ll need:
a.You’ll need to buy some sand paper, very fine! I bought 600 and 1200 wet or dry sandpaper.
b. A primer paint
c. Matching color paint
d. Polyurethane. I bought a Satin finish to add a clear look to the plastic. Don’t buy a glossy one, you’ll end up doing everything again.
2.Prepare the pieces
a.Depending on where you’re going to work you’ll need to prepare the surface, if you want to remove the door panel is up to you. I’ve decided to just remove the plastic parts and cover the rest with newspaper.
3.Sanding:
This is the most important part in the job, if you feel that something is texturized sand again and again until your finger feels a smooth surface. You can add some water to the sand paper, it will help you do a better job.
4.Primer: Add a very thin layer of primer first then wait. The primer that I bought was fast drying so I waited like 10 minutes between layers. Just continue this process until you see that everything is covered.
5.Paint: When you’re done with premier it’s time to paint. Wait like 20 min before painting just to be sure that everything is dry.
I've decided to change the interior color to black, in my opinion it looks better than the original.
The same procedure here, do it in layers and wait like 15 min between them. Be patient and don’t rush.
Do this until you get a uniform color in the plastic.
6.Polyurethane: This part is tricky and I decided to include this because Polyurethane will protect your plastic handles from scratches and they are easier to clean.
Begin adding a very thin layer of polyurethane you’ll notice that the paint will get like a glossy kind of finish but eventually it will dry.
I painted like 5 thin layers of polyurethane to every section and waited like 2 hours between them so be very patient. Do not put the second layer if the polyurethane is not dry, feel the surface to see if you need to wait more and follow the product instructions, polyurethane can be very toxic so don’t smell it very much.
When you finish just put everything together again and you’re done.
