I guess this is a cautionary tale about borrowing things.
When Camille’s car was destroyed in our recent accident, her friend Erin lent Camille her BMW while Camille was waiting for the insurance payout to replace our Camry.
A couple of weeks ago, Camille went to the Chase bank at Harbour Pointe, went inside for ten minutes, and when she came back out, she immediately noticed that part of the car was missing.
Some scumbag had stolen the rear cover from the passenger side mirror.
In a number of conversations I’ve had with people in the area, this is becoming quite common along with the rise of area “chop shops” and the continued decline of law enforcement.
(Washington State is #48 in law enforcement officers per capita. Still, the deafening shrill, “Waaaah! My taxes are too high!!” A topic for another post.)
I looked for online instructions about installation, and tried to remove the driver’s side cap in order to figure out what was in store for me.
The instructions were wrong.
The driver’s side cover broke off clean, with the 12-year-old plastic clips shearing clean and falling to the floor.
Blue language.
Now I have to replace BOTH mirror covers.
In the meantime, I wrapped both mirrors in ziplock bags and duct tape to keep rain water and road dirt out of the adjuster servos.
New OEM covers are $48 plus shipping each, and if you want them painted to match your car, it’s $172+.
You can get cheapies for $20, but this is not our car, so we go OEM. Obviously, I bought the primed replacements and a can of factory-matched paint, which is a beautiful deep metallic blue.
First, a 1200 grit wet sanding to give the paint some “tooth” to hang onto.
Next, two coats of base color, 15 minutes apart. Also, a wipe with a tack rag in between.
I was REALLY happy that the paint was actually lacquer based, because the rapid dry time eliminates almost all of the dust problems that plague finishes shot in enamels and urethanes.
I’m also happy that I have had such a wide variety of work experiences that enable me to do quite a few things right in my garage.
Like every project I get involved in, this one had its share of improvisation. I used a hand clamp on the mounting clips to hold the cover from the backside while they were shot, and then I hung them from wire coathangers while they dried overnight.
The next day, two coats of clear coat, and another 12 hour dry.
Tomorrow, I install!!!
Voila! No one would ever know, if I had kept quiet! 😀
They install very simply, and come off easily if you know the technique.
There is no question in my mind that some a-hole needed a mirror cover for a car he was working on, and simply stole Erin’s.