Exterior mirror cover REMOVAL

[Sierra977]

Anyone remove a exterior mirror cover before and give me suggestions how it's done? Workshop Manual is spectacularly non-helpful.

Wanna vinyl wrap mine some hideous color and need advice on how to get them off.


ETA: I have already donated parts of two fingernails to the job and would like to avoid further public ridicule.

[RBIRD]

Newman, your Bird is trying to tell you something: No Hideousness, please!

RBIRD

[StevenM]

OK, one could say I went a bit overboard when refinishing the side mirror color inserts on my Whisper White but here goes...First I removed the complete mirror assembly from the car. Easy to do by simply removing the triangular trim accessory on the inside of the door. I think remembering three nuts and one electrical connector. Then carefully and gently pop the glass mirror from its attachment to the adjuster assembly. The glass mirror is held in place using a circular pressure fit attachment of the same shape to the mirror adjust motor. With the glass morror removed, you will then see on the inside finger like attachments that secure the color insert. Squeezing and selectively maneuvering these attachment points and the insert will free itself from the mirror housing. While apart, I lightly sanded the surface, removing stone rash, primed and resprayed using color matched paint. Some hour or so later, I reversed the procedure and everything went back together. Job done!

[Sierra977]

Steven, do you think the mirror covers can be removed without first removing the mirror glass? Just by pulling on the mirror cover itself?

[StevenM]

Steven, do you think the mirror covers can be removed without first removing the mirror glass? Just by pulling on the mirror cover itself?

I don’t think the covers can be removed without getting to the attachments on the inside, behind the mirror glass. The method of attachment is such that the “fingers” pressed through the attachment hole of the mirror frame is pretty sound, snapped in place. If I recall, trying to remove the cover without manipulating the finger attachments would certainly result in a very distorted or even broken cover. Removing the mirror is not difficult at all. Before taking the mirror assembly off the car, use the mirror adjust button to move the mirror to its full angled position so that you are able to position your fingers behind the mirror allowing gentle, even pressure causing the mirror to lift off the attachment. Now that my recollection has improved, it is even necessary to remove a couple screws to move the mirror adjust motor to gain even better access to the cover fingers. After doing one side and learning the steps, the other side was very easy. After sanding and using rattle can matched paint, the mirror covers were much better improved in appearance and satisfying to me that I was able to accomplish the task. I suppose using masking tape and paper to isolate the mirror cover while still attached to the car would have been one solution, but I wanted to get the covers off to enable a thorough sanding an proper refinish. Honestly, it was not difficult, a 5 on a scale of 10. I just changed out the coolant degas reservoir that was much more difficult with increased frustration with one hose clamp behind the motor and near the firewall.

[Sierra977]

Thank You Steven!