OEM Side Mirror Rehab (1 Viewer)

[hygge]

The OEM side mirrors need some love. If possible I would rather work to clean them up then buy NOS or cheap aftermarket knockoffs.

The chrome is slowly fading to yellow plastic. And at the base of the mirror - which is black - it is sun-battered after 30 years outdoors.

Recommendations on best method to rechrome the side mirrors? Just rattle can??

I saw some folks have used rustoleum or krylon.

For the black base - I've been considering Soft Flat Iron Rustoleum, since I used this one the D-Pillar Vents to good affect.

Otherwise maybe a flat black with clear coat.

Opinions and advice please!!

 

[macdaddy59]

Eastwood makes a black plastic paint that bonds permanently to the plastic and looks great. It is a wee bit expensive but i think looks great and hopefully is a permanent fix.

 

[georgebj60]

SEM Trim Black also works well. I did mine and was happy with the result. I think I also used their high-build primer to help fill some of the pitting that remained after sanding all the chrome to a dull finish.

For the rear vent, Rustoleum "flat soft iron" is a great match to the original colour.

EDIT: oops - should have read a bit closer. That's what you used. They look great.

 

[OSS]

Don't put too much money or time into trying to rehab those relics, they're hanging onto life by a thread.
Inside the mirror enclosure, the pivot that allows you to position the mirror inside the enclosure — is made of plastic... now 30 year old super brittle fragile plastic.
The joint is a sort of spring tensioned ball joint (made of plastic) with (plastic) retainer tabs and over the years that plastic turns into chalk - really fragile.

My advice: DONT ADJUST THE MIRRORS. That's what will break them. If you want to paint them black, fine, but I eventually purchased 2 new aftermarket mirrors that looked the same and they were fine ($99). They're no where near as high quality as the originals- but they're fine and look great when new

 

[SteveH]

Or purchase new Toyota FJ62 manual mirrors - same great look, but cheaper due to non-motorized internals. Rock solid at speed - no shaking.

OEM Chrome Manual Mirrors for Land Cruiser FJ62

FJ62 chrome manual mirrors with gaskets. Choice of LH, RH, or full set.

www.cityracerllc.com

 

[Spook50]

I just removed my bases (when you take the gasket retainer off you can get to three screws that secure it to the mirror assembly) and had a friend powder coat them a satin black. I'm still trying to figure out how best to pry the mirror mounts out of the housings without damaging the ball and socket joints (I have replacement glass in case I break the glass), but once I can get those out I'll remove the paint and completely dechrome the plastic housings and then PROPERLY prep and paint with some SEM satin black trim paint that's supposed to be very hard and UV stable.

@SteveH if those could be had in black that's the way I'd go

I'm keeping my eyes open for a Tig welding setup (can get a good deal on an argon cylinder for it), and if I can get one I might work on seeing if I can make an adapter that would allow FJC mirrors to be bolted on in place of the OEM 62 mirrors. Only issue then would be wiring for the motors (which shouldn't be hard to adapt) and adding a circuit for the heater and the light. It'd be a bit of a project, but I suspect the hardest part would be designing a strong enough adapter plate to match the contour of the door.