Do painted door handles hold up?

I was going to get some painted door handles and start blacking stuff out on my tundra. Then I looked at my wife's 4runner and her handles are scratched to hell from rings and such. Should I just get the SR5 or whatever black ones? I don't know that its any cheaper, but between my wife and my 3 year old, things don't seem to stay nice long.

 

sounds like your wife gon learn today. Lol

 

Im also interested in this. I have the plastic black handles(not painted) and the plastic is faded from the sun

 

As a fellow Tundra owner with a wife and a 3 year old, my advice is to accept that nothing will stay nice long, ever again. Ever.

 

100% this. And mine are older now. It doesn’t change with age.

 

I know...I have a 70 lb Chocolate lab that rides in the back seat area (seats folded up). The whole truck smells like dog ass and there is an avalanche of dog hair everywhere.

 

So.... anyone?

 

Are you set up to shoot automotive paint?
I doubt anything your going to get out of a retail can is going to last.
Find a local paint jobber/paint supply that can custom mix a spraybomb of actual urethane automotive paint, and they will sell you a compatible primer and you can ask them for pointers and describe your application.

I restored and painted a very old steering wheel just as described above, and except for where my wedding ring rakes it, it looks like it did 7 years ago when I started driving the car.

I don’t know what color your rig is. Metallics can make the job tricky. Just black should be ok.

 

I bought prepainted from sparksparts 2 years ago, still holding up strong. No fading or chips

 

Yeah the factory painted ones are holding up great for me. No issues

 

Agreed. I washed my tundy over the weekend and pulled out the polish compound to get door scratches out. About 2 hours later my 4 year old opened my wife's car door into mine.

 

X2

 

So, I did an “experimental” door handle painting and its only been 8 months, but looks like I did it yesterday. I get compliments on them all the time.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/can’t-believe-this-actually-worked.45234/

Also, I have two kids and a dog.

 

What this guy said. I guarantee your wife opens the doors with her whole wad of keys and other crap that normal people don’t do. My wifes 4 runner handles are all scratched to hell. Every truck I’ve owned for 15 years combined hasn’t had a single scratch on them. Just the way it is. I finally learned this year that I need to quite obsessing over my wife’s ride. It’s hers not mine. I’m nothing more than a co-signer

 

You did a great job on those. Also good to see DupliColor holds up well to real use!!

 

it doesn’t get any better the older they get either hahaha

 

My painted ones still look great.

 

Chrome lasts forever

 

Falling on ground.... crying...

 

Get em. And painted mirror covers. Mine are great in silver sky

 

I bought painted front door handles for my 2014 Dc from @Roman
They look fine 4 years later.
The OEM black plastic looked crappy after a year and getting wax on them didn't help.

I highly suggest OEM painted handles..
Dirty truck pics....

Out with the old..





In with the new...







And they now match my rear DC door handle..



Ef' the chrome, IMHO.

 

+1 on Roman.

 

I feel like you've answered your question already. Anything painted will eventually get scratched up by keys, doors, nails, rings etc. Just the nature of paint. Unpainted black will hide scratches more. Some will think it's not the best looking (including myself) but it will hide the scratches.

 

Agree on the OEM painted handles if you want best endurance. To duplicate OEM appearance and durability, you'll need professional materials ($$$), and to really know what you're doing. Not worth the trouble to me.

The area subject to the harshest treatment is not the handles themselves (excepts wearers of large novelty and SuperBowl championship rings ) but the door recess directly behind the handle. There's where fingernails constantly contact the paint, and where Toyota has wisely installed clear film protectors to help. But, everything wears, rusts, and deteriorates; it's entropy in the universe...the sooner you accept you can only minimize the impact, the sooner you'll enjoy a well-adjusted life.

 

Ok thanks fellas. I’ll order them from Roman.

I’m not a weirdo about scratches or whatever. My truck gets used. It’s just... shocking how bad hers look on her 4Runner. And I put those on after her chrome ones started peeling. Obviously she is the common denominator.

 

Uh...Oh, I didn't mean to imply that I was "well-adjusted" about scratches on my Tundra, or the irresponsibility of others...

My advice: (1) You are not responsible for the sins of your wife. (2) You really can't change them after you marry them. (3) "Acceptance" can be corrosive if you dwell on adverse behavior (not true acceptance). (4) True acceptance, i.e. "working out" your marriage, is much easier on your psyche and much easier on your bank account, than divorce. Experience talking here.

 

I rarely notice the condition of my handles because I have the plastic black ones. Whatever restorer on hand blackens and gives them sheen. I think if they were painted black I would OCD over the more visible scratch imperfections. On trucks other than black, I think it’s a polished look. Ultimately your preference.

 

I replaced my chrome door handles with factory painted white door handles years ago. Never had any problems with them scratching or showing any weird signs of ware.