Originally Posted by HardcoreFXFour (Post 2012509)

I was thinking just the same thing the other day, for people with an XLT or so. Definitely the next best thing. Looks good. Great idea for those looking to do this mod. Definitely worth doing on an XLT chrome package with the black bezels. I'd definitely do it if I had one. Great write up.

Originally Posted by XtraLargeTall (Post 2012573)

I'm looking at doing this with my XLT chrome package but I'll just do it the hard way since the black bucket behind the handle would be obvious on my silver pickup. Great idea though :thumbsup:

Originally Posted by tko_818

I commend u for doing it, cuz i would still use this method for any color truck! i will never take all the handles off again, it was too much of a PITA ha thanks tho!

Originally Posted by tko_818

On my last F150 i went thrpough the work of removing my door panels and everything to remove all my handles

Originally Posted by LocDown (Post 2012585)

How much work is it to remove the door handles? I have the XLT with the chrome handles, not the buckets. I was thinking of masking off and painting it on the truck.

Originally Posted by Hostility (Post 2012930)

i just taped mine off on monday and painted. not ptm though as i have the black plastic buckets with chrome handles, so i just painted handles a satin black to some what match the buckets. I will tell you this, it was a pain to tape it all off, i kind of wish i seen this before monday LOL

on a side note, i did my front grill surround at the same time, i sanded down a bit, washed, adhesive promoter, primed, then auto body mixed PTM spray can paint, then did some clear, but it came out rough feeling, not glassy like the truck. What went wrong? it seemed baby smooth until the PTM paint.

Originally Posted by LocDown

How much work is it to remove the door handles? I have the XLT with the chrome handles, not the buckets. I was thinking of masking off and painting it on the truck.

Originally Posted by Hostility

i just taped mine off on monday and painted. not ptm though as i have the black plastic buckets with chrome handles, so i just painted handles a satin black to some what match the buckets. I will tell you this, it was a pain to tape it all off, i kind of wish i seen this before monday LOL

on a side note, i did my front grill surround at the same time, i sanded down a bit, washed, adhesive promoter, primed, then auto body mixed PTM spray can paint, then did some clear, but it came out rough feeling, not glassy like the truck. What went wrong? it seemed baby smooth until the PTM paint.

Originally Posted by delmage171 (Post 2013663)

Where do you buy spray max?

Originally Posted by tko_818

@ mbullock, you are correct sir
Spray max is better quality than some regular spray gun clears I've shot in the past.. idk why more people dont use it! You are the first guy I've talked to on any forum thats had experience with it.. i mean look at the shine on those handles! With NO cutting or buffing!

Originally Posted by tko_818

Most local paint and autobody supply stores either carry it or.can get it, or theres plenty of online retailers if u Google spray max 2k clear or spray max 2k primer

Originally Posted by 09xltd (Post 2013683)

Why buy chrome couldn't you just sand yours down to smooth ?

Originally Posted by mbullock (Post 2013732)

Yeah the stuff is awesome!! We use the SEM stuff at my work now...its crap compared to spray max.

Originally Posted by 09xltd (Post 2013902)

So do you advise to stay away from chrome? Only asking because i have tailgate handle with camera in it so im not finding any in stainless with that option if i decide to do this... Thanks

Originally Posted by 09xltd (Post 2013935)

I have an extra plastic handle from when i replaced my tailgate for the camera one, im gonna give this a try on it and see how it comes out before i do anything to the handles on my truck yours looks damn perfect so i cant follow it with crap thanks

Originally Posted by tko_818

Im surprised because SEM makes pretty good products.. but spraymax is definitely at the front of the game for top quality spray can products.. its so good that id rather just buy the can instead of setting up my spray guns and cleaning them after haha

Originally Posted by tko_818 (Post 2013412)

What grit did u sand with before paint? What primer did u use? Upload a pic if u can!

Originally Posted by Hostility

...then SEM high gloss clear. The clear didnt make it glossy at all...

Originally Posted by Hostility (Post 2014694)

I used 600 i believe to sand, then used aero pro acrylic primer, then my paint, then SEM high gloss clear. The clear didnt make it glossy at all. I will snap a pic tomorrow!

Originally Posted by SteveVFX4 (Post 2015135)

nice job. there was a company that actually sold smooth plastic PTM handle covers. I once bought a set a few years back for my old 04 truck but never put them on and since resold them. I think I paid around $100 for all 4 plus the tailgate. I'm pretty sure this was the company, but it appears they do not sell them anymore, only chrome ones: http://britechrome.com/

Originally Posted by tko_818 (Post 2014867)

Seems like you did everything right! We'll see whats going on when u post the pic

Originally Posted by Hostility (Post 2036811)

as you can see it doesnt look to bad, but didnt turn out the way i wanted it to. You can see its a bit textured.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...5/IMG_0470.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...5/IMG_0469.jpg

and my door handles
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...5/IMG_0468.jpg

Originally Posted by tko_818

thats a heavy texture for sure. If u sanded everything with 600 and it came out that way in the end, something shrank. Sometimes primer or clear can shrivel up and cause a texture, thats the only thing i can think of. I actually ordered a 6 bar grill just like that one that i will be doing PTM

Originally Posted by mbullock (Post 2037706)

Dude, you gotta be a painter. That would've been my answer to that! Haha!

Originally Posted by Hostility (Post 2037678)

it was all baby smooth till the paint went on... i figured the clear would smooth it out? Im not much of a painter so i had some high hopes lol. Im going to do the chrome bars the same satin as my door handles till the spring when i buy a grille.

Originally Posted by tko_818 (Post 2012462)

On my last F150 i went thrpough the work of removing my door panels and everything to remove all my handles, and since the prep wprk takes awhile i was driving around with no door handles on certain doors for a straight week. Heres how i did it the easy way.
*Prep work, about 10 minutes. Spray time for primer, base, and clear, about 2 hours.
Materials needed:
Spray Max 2K primer in a spray can-20$
Spray max 2k Clear in a spray can-20$
Reduced auto body paint in a can.. any paint shop can make it for about 20-25$
Grey scour pad or 600 grit sand paper
Stainless Steel Handle covers from Ebay (dont do chrome,. covers cost me 60$ shipped)
-Scuff down the handles until the shines off with the sandpaper or scuff pad. It will look like brushed stainless when it is ready
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...-53-02_218.jpg
The one on the left is prepped, the one on the right is obviously still shiny
This next part i didnt take pics for because its self explanatory.
-Wipe down handles with reducer, alcohol, prep, whatever.
-spray two even coats of primer, lets it flash dry (meaning wait til it has no shine on it.. people will argue about wait time but u can spray base on wet sealer if you want)
-spray two coats of base.. or more.. wait abpout 30 mins
-Spray your clear coat. I waited about 20 minutes in between coats, and did 3 wet coats. no runs.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...-23-32_323.jpg
Wallah! nice and wet.. out of a SPRAY CAN. Spray max is the ish my friends.
Allow at least 10 hours to cure.. i usually let them dry over night.
at this point u can sand imperfections out of the clear if u have any, this clear can be cut and buffed no problem.
Heres the finished product.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...8-59_938-1.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...-19-16_853.jpg

Pros: Cheap, quick, easy, and very good looking mod for your truck
Cons: The handle cover has a tiny gap in between the cover itself and the body.. literally a few millimeters. Also, the area behind the pull handle is obviously still plastic.
My verdict: Totally worth it. This mod costs right around 120$ and looks great. For the price that a body shop will charge, it wont look much better than this. So why bother? I will never remove handles again!
Hopefully some of yall give this a try. :thumbsup:

Originally Posted by mtf1986 (Post 2147775)

How did you attach them to the doors? Did you use double sided tape or what?

Originally Posted by tko_818 (Post 2147912)

Yeah, the handles come with 3m tape already on the back

Originally Posted by mtf1986 (Post 2147932)

What ebay store did you get them from? I want to do this ASAP!

Originally Posted by kcb142 (Post 2148330)

Can you put these over the stock chrome handles???

Originally Posted by HardcoreFXFour (Post 2148282)

Yup. About the only plausible use for stick-on door handle covers is to paint them and put them on lol.

Originally Posted by Kbexperience (Post 3419613)

Bump of an old thread, but I ordered all the stuff to do this! Can't wait. I actually like the idea of having black plastic behind the handle. The only Issue I have is the Keypad. Hopefully it works ok with it.

Originally Posted by tko_818 (Post 3419744)

I don't see why it wouldn't! Post your results afterwards! :thumbsup:

Originally Posted by Nayriles89 (Post 3453884)

I can't find these anywhere on ebay

Originally Posted by Nayriles89 (Post 3458587)

I just saw in your first post that you said "don't do chrome". I couldn't find an entire set of stainless on eBay so I did order the plastic chrome... Why did you say not to get these??

Originally Posted by sigma pi (Post 3917916)

I did the tail gate handle, it came out OK looking. The back side feels a little funny.

Originally Posted by BIG BLACK PREDATOR (Post 3917764)

Has anyone tried to vinyl wrap the door handles? I bought some PTM vinyl from Moody Blue for my bumper and I want to try to do the door handles and tailgate handle too. There is a local shop that will do it, I just don't want it to look like crap and waste my vinyl.

Originally Posted by tko_818 (Post 3918175)

what kind of handles do you have on there? I don't think I would wrap the black textured ones.. but anyway, if u decide to wrap the handles I would do it the way my truck came out where the whole handle base is done and the handle pull itself, but not the bucket behind the handle pull. it would be hard as hell to get the vinyl tu lay right in there and not bubble up later. and if youre good with a razor blade u should be able to wrap these handles and cut off the excess without problems

Originally Posted by OilFieldCash (Post 3918967)

I've been sanding down the textured buckets.... I can't stand that they don't match the truck. $10k foreign cars have matching door handles... I was going to use primer and touch up paint and try to rattle can one.

Originally Posted by OilFieldCash (Post 3919220)

My '03 gmc handles were the textured plastic too. I bought OEM painted handles off eBay, luckily all the GM full size were the same door handles. I'd rather have white handles and buckets then a white door, black handle buckets, and chrome door handles. If you're going through the trouble of putting chrome pull handles on at least make the bucket white lol. It's fine, it will be fixed soon. If you put vinyl behind the handle, clear or color matched, it should protect from rings and no one will notice. Not to change the thread, but overall how do you like the Flex? We've been considering the Edge and Explorer.

Originally Posted by RES4CUE (Post 3919299)

Ahh very true! Didn't think about that as my truck is sterling and black hardware doesn't look bad at all. We love it, bought it a couple weeks after they hit the lot. Tons of room and very comfortable. My wife loves it so much that she has no plans to replace it any time soon.

Originally Posted by ValK (Post 4309436)

i am attempting it this weekend. will post pics when done.

Originally Posted by Sunset_5.0 (Post 4309451)

I'm excited to see how they come out! I've been wanting to do this for awhile but haven't pulled the trigger yet. Which handle covers did you get?

Originally Posted by Melect (Post 4309680)

Originally Posted by ValK (Post 4309726)

you painted the chrome ones? did you just use an adhesion promoter? I have lots of 3m tape so i am not too worried. I will clean it really well prior to placing them on. so hopefully it will be all good. :thumbup: