E30 Zone

I have checked ETK and you can only buy the glass and the little plug on the underside as seperate parts, I was wondering though if any one has succesfully taken one to pieces, mine are still yet to be painted and I want them done properley so they need to come apart, one of them has some light corrosion on the ally base too so that needs sorting.

One shot deal, I wanted to do the same.
I was told they couldn't be dismantled.

Marvellous, they'll look shite then.

i managed to paint mine quote well after struggling for huors trying to take them apart, i gave up when i broke one!

just whip the glass out, and prep them well!

All you can do is to remove the glass,motor unit and harness,the shell and mount are effectively one part.

On closer inspection the carcass is aluminium, the mirror case has been melted on to that, so yes effectiveley it's one part, what a shite design, you effectiveley have two different types of material which really require two different approaches to paint prep, not only that but you can't paint the whole assembly properley.

would't drilling the plastic where it's melted to the metal separate them then you could just bond the plastic back on to the metal when you've painted them.

It would be a nightmare, the case is bonded together and the case is then fixed to the mirror fram, this then all fixed permanenlty to the mirror base, I have an idea of how I can get paint on the whole thing but it's a bit of a drama.

So how do the Mirrors get sprayed, properly, when a Car has a total respray

plenty of light sanding..then use plastic primer lightly over plastic sect and normal primer on metal then light sand again bound t get a little overspray..repeat a couple of times then light coat in filler primer .smooth out any blemishes normal primer again and then paint as normal..i know its a long process but it gives an excellent result!

It's tricky, the bits of bare metal will be etch primed, then the whole lot will be given a coat of high build, trouble is I'll have to move the case back and forward to get a coat on everything, this will have to be done in stages though to allow drying time so I can move it, same process for base coat and lacquer, it will take ages, paint a bit, bake it, move it, paint a bit more etc etc.

Powelly...you are dead right my son and I reconditioned two mirrors on his 318is. The only way to do the job properly is to strip the mirrors down as above and then rotate them backwards and forwards on the aluminium base applying paint and allowing them to dry. It does take along time but you can get an excellent all over finish...you just have to be patient.

Hate to disagree, but the mirrors can come apart.
If you take a large drill bit(10-12mm) and drill the top of the melted plastic rivets this will leave a stub of plastic with a 3mm hole down the middle.
You can then take the mirror completly to bits and paint the individual parts.
When you need to put them back together all you have to do is cut/grind/file down some self tappers to the correct length (ie the depth of the hole) and screw them into the holes with a washer under the head of the screw.
I did mine this way and they've stood up to well past motorway speeds.
You could always glue the two plastic parts together as well as the screws for added piece of mind.

mikeywill wrote:Hate to disagree, but the mirrors can come apart.
If you take a large drill bit(10-12mm) and drill the top of the melted plastic rivets this will leave a stub of plastic with a 3mm hole down the middle.
You can then take the mirror completly to bits and paint the individual parts.
When you need to put them back together all you have to do is cut/grind/file down some self tappers to the correct length (ie the depth of the hole) and screw them into the holes with a washer under the head of the screw.
I did mine this way and they've stood up to well past motorway speeds.
You could always glue the two plastic parts together as well as the screws for added piece of mind.

To be honest I had actually considered this, I kind of dismissed it though as too much agro, might give it a go though I can bond it all back together.









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mikeywill wrote:Hate to disagree, but the mirrors can come apart.
If you take a large drill bit(10-12mm) and drill the top of the melted plastic rivets this will leave a stub of plastic with a 3mm hole down the middle.
You can then take the mirror completly to bits and paint the individual parts.
When you need to put them back together all you have to do is cut/grind/file down some self tappers to the correct length (ie the depth of the hole) and screw them into the holes with a washer under the head of the screw.
I did mine this way and they've stood up to well past motorway speeds.
You could always glue the two plastic parts together as well as the screws for added piece of mind.

Are the two plastic half's of the mirror clipped together? Good idea with the screws I hadn't thought of doing that, a lot better than my idea to bond them back on as this way you can remove them again.

mikeywill wrote:Hate to disagree, but the mirrors can come apart.
If you take a large drill bit(10-12mm) and drill the top of the melted plastic rivets this will leave a stub of plastic with a 3mm hole down the middle.
You can then take the mirror completly to bits and paint the individual parts.
When you need to put them back together all you have to do is cut/grind/file down some self tappers to the correct length (ie the depth of the hole) and screw them into the holes with a washer under the head of the screw.
I did mine this way and they've stood up to well past motorway speeds.
You could always glue the two plastic parts together as well as the screws for added piece of mind.

Well I drilled off the plastic rivets today but the two halves of the mirror case will not seperate, how do you split them?

I couldn't remember having any issues taking the two halves apart when I did it but that was about 18 months ago! So I have just popped in the shed and dug out an old mirror I had lying about.

Look for the 4 rivets behind the motor section and the one to the right,



Drill the tops off,



Then using a little force, start pulling the two halves apart. They are stuck together it must have slipped my mind
If you start at the hole where you remove the mirror you should be able to work your way round. They are only attached using little tabs so they will come.

Hey Presto

OK, I just need to be a bit more aggresive.