I've been asked about this a few times, so I thought I would start a thread on it. You might want to have it done professionally, but if you have the time it can be done by you. Remember, attention to detail is everything when it comes to masking.
I didn't remove the handles and mirrors. I did spend almost two hours masking them. I used the blue masking tape and plastic sheets. Garbage bags will work but you can buy a roll of plastic at Menards or Home Depot for fairly cheap.
First I used just the tape and totally surrounded wherever the handle or mirror touched the door. You can actually tuck the tape up underneath the handle. Also the mirror lights I filled with tape and followed the circle with a knife to get it round. I masked the mirror glass as well by starting at the "already black" plastic part of the mirror and covering that whole face with plastic; no paint gets in that cavity at all.
After that, I taped sheets of plastic to the tape I already had down. Tape holding the plastic to the tape. Does that make sense? I basically covered the whole side with draped sheets of plastic so as not to get overspray anywhere.
I then sprayed on an adhesion promoter in an aerosol which can be found in any auto parts store. An alternative would be to sand them rough, but this adhesion promoter really works.
After that, multiple coats of flat black rustoleum. I believe you could use semi gloss as well. The look is up to you.
When it has dried, just peel the tape off.
If you do get any overspray on the car's finish, a soft cloth and wax will take it right off, but better to take the extra time to mask well.
Here are some pics.
I didn't remove the handles and mirrors. I did spend almost two hours masking them. I used the blue masking tape and plastic sheets. Garbage bags will work but you can buy a roll of plastic at Menards or Home Depot for fairly cheap.
First I used just the tape and totally surrounded wherever the handle or mirror touched the door. You can actually tuck the tape up underneath the handle. Also the mirror lights I filled with tape and followed the circle with a knife to get it round. I masked the mirror glass as well by starting at the "already black" plastic part of the mirror and covering that whole face with plastic; no paint gets in that cavity at all.
After that, I taped sheets of plastic to the tape I already had down. Tape holding the plastic to the tape. Does that make sense? I basically covered the whole side with draped sheets of plastic so as not to get overspray anywhere.
I then sprayed on an adhesion promoter in an aerosol which can be found in any auto parts store. An alternative would be to sand them rough, but this adhesion promoter really works.
After that, multiple coats of flat black rustoleum. I believe you could use semi gloss as well. The look is up to you.
When it has dried, just peel the tape off.
If you do get any overspray on the car's finish, a soft cloth and wax will take it right off, but better to take the extra time to mask well.
Here are some pics.
