Mirror paint/options - not junk aftermarket

joemomma · Apr 8, 2022

What options are out there for side mirrors? Mine look like absolute trash. I've thought about having them painted, just wondered if there was another or better option to painting the factory ones? I'm not really interested in junk AM "aftermarket", if that makes sense.

chithead · Apr 8, 2022

Mind if I subscribe and see what is recommended? Mine are the same, and the mirror glass wobbles and shakes in both going down the road

07GtS197 · Apr 9, 2022

Cobra/export are going to really be it. I do like the mmd mirrors but they don’t flow well with the sn95 imo.

My 00 gt had body painted mirrors and they actually looked decent.

badass98svt · Apr 9, 2022

Yup, export mirrors are it. Unless you want to paint your OEM mirrors body color, which rarely looks good, IMO. It reminds me of a cheap paint job where they leave everything on the car before they paint it.

I just installed my exports yesterday.

ttocs · Apr 9, 2022

painting them makes a huge difference. The only time I have seen anyone switch mirrors I can't say that I liked their choice.

badass98svt · Apr 9, 2022

ttocs said:
painting them makes a huge difference. The only time I have seen anyone switch mirrors I can't say that I liked their choice.

You're saying painting the OEM mirrors looks nice? I assume you mean repaint them in trim black?

ttocs · Apr 9, 2022

no paint them body color

badass98svt · Apr 9, 2022

See, to me, that looks like the painters were too lazy to remove the mirrors before paint, but that's just me. Reminds me of the old $500 Macaco paint jobs. That is especially true on 96-98 mirrors. 96-98 are textured, 94-95 have a smooth finish. OEM mirrors look best in the OEM black. I'd just repaint them with SEM Trim Black.

I mean to each his own, but it's not for me at all.

Daryl · Apr 9, 2022

I also prefer painted. My ‘95 Cobras match my black paint and it’s super easy to care for them (wash/wax) and you don’t have to deal with fading plastic that turns dull. And, it keeps the car more original. Like everyone else’s response, it’s just my $.02, but I genuinely think you’ll be happy with painted right away AND in the long run.

What do some of these “foreign ones” that have been referred to look like? I’m not familiar with them.

But, whatever you choose, we of course will require pictures be posted ! Good luck with it…

Daryl

joemomma · Apr 11, 2022

I might try the SEM Trim Black and see how I like it. Honestly I think it's just that they're 28 years old and need refreshing. I threw some 303 on them last year and they looked "OK" for while, but they've suffered since.

95opal · Apr 11, 2022

badass98svt said:
See, to me, that looks like the painters were too lazy to remove the mirrors before paint, but that's just me. Reminds me of the old $500 Macaco paint jobs. That is especially true on 96-98 mirrors. 96-98 are textured, 94-95 have a smooth finish. OEM mirrors look best in the OEM black. I'd just repaint them with SEM Trim Black.

I mean to each his own, but it's not for me at all.

The old monocromatic Maaco paint job lmao

95opal · Apr 11, 2022

Daryl said:
I also prefer painted. My ‘95 Cobras match my black paint and it’s super easy to care for them (wash/wax) and you don’t have to deal with fading plastic that turns dull. And, it keeps the car more original. Like everyone else’s response, it’s just my $.02, but I genuinely think you’ll be happy with painted right away AND in the long run.

What do some of these “foreign ones” that have been referred to look like? I’m not familiar with them.

But, whatever you choose, we of course will require pictures be posted ! Good luck with it…

Daryl

Modified 04 cobra mirrors

ttocs · Apr 11, 2022

I knew a girl at work in the early 2000's that came to work all excited that she had her car painted and it looked so amazing ect. She got it done at the AZ version of maaco and I knew that it just could not be good before I saw it. I will never forget laughing at the fact they didn't even bother to mask the tail pipe and did a bad job around the wheels/tires as there was overspray everywhere.

Now funny story, maaco installed/painted my sideskirts. I was just about to move and wanted to get it done somewhere that if I had a problem later maybe another location could do it. I told them that I was not looking for the $199 special and wanted extra steps taken to ensure the bottom lip under the car was mounted. They did a great job top/bottom on it. My only complaint was that they didn't blend the skirts into the body a little better where they met up but it was not a deal breaker.

joemomma · Apr 11, 2022

95opal said:
Modified 04 cobra mirrorsView attachment 16487

Details on modifications? I like the look of those.

95opal · Apr 12, 2022

joemomma said:
Details on modifications? I like the look of those.

The cobra mirror has a small portion that hugs the square bodied new edge at the bottom of the mirror. It needs to be trimmed off and reworked to the sn body line. Simple mod that can be done in a couple hrs. Look at this oem cobra mirror compared to How it looks in the pic i posted previously. Once you see the difference youll know exactly what has to be done.

Frank.JD.Perez · Apr 12, 2022

i like the oem black too, unless you have exports, but even then i dont think its worth the money for a mirror. if you really want something different just wrap it

cheap and relatively easy with 2 sets of hands and a heat gun

Michael Plummer · Apr 12, 2022

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Michael Plummer

chithead · Apr 12, 2022

Frank.JD.Perez said:
i like the oem black too, unless you have exports, but even then i dont think its worth the money for a mirror. if you really want something different just wrap it

cheap and relatively easy with 2 sets of hands and a heat gun

View attachment 16518

Dude... I am in LOVE with this car!!! Wow!

Ronnied · Apr 13, 2022

IMO, I think it really makes a difference on the car color. While I see the thought of painters being too lazy to remove I also see tons of vehicles with color matched mirrors. (not necessarily Mustangs just in general) I like the black mirrors on my white drop, just me. Now I do like Michael Plummers and TTOCS examples to name a few it still comes up to personal preference.