techboy Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 (edited) Recently, I became interested in picking up a set of the 83-86 turbo door handles for my current restore project. After a lot of hunting I became discouraged by both the quality of what's available and the prices. So, I took matters into my hands. Here's what I did (I'm sure others on here have done something similar) .... Years ago I had a local friend who owns a graphic shop make me some "turbo" decals for the door handles, he did a great job, but when I looked closely at the later year handles I noticed they had knurling on them, and I figured they'd never lay right or look right, so I threw them in a drawer. First thing I had to do was find them. After some digging, here they are. http://imageshack.com/a/img661/8303/w2X8Ee.jpg Next, I had to remove my door handles. If you don't know how to do this there's some good threads on here with some great tips and it can be done in about 5 minutes after you get the door cards off.http://imageshack.com/a/img540/5100/Q3RO6L.jpg Now it was time to deal with the knurling. Here's what I'm talking about.http://imageshack.com/a/img538/8993/0eTAx2.jpg Next, I got out my orbital sander. I think I had like 220 grit on the bottom. I simply sanded them down until all the knurling was gone and they were flat. http://imageshack.com/a/img661/1079/EHmIjw.jpghttp://imageshack.com/a/img633/7132/1ux9RH.jpg As you can see in the above picture, doing this makes the plastic very dull and grey looking, not "black" like they should be. So next I got out some buffing compound and a cloth buffing wheel. http://imageshack.com/a/img912/1003/hOpPka.jpg Here's what they looked like after several minutes of buffing. Don't use too much pressure or you'll burn the plastic, kinda similar to if you've ever used those headlight restoration kits. http://imageshack.com/a/img538/4037/n4E3ud.jpghttp://imageshack.com/a/img538/9858/WXRMOZ.jpg I actually still wasn't happy with this, so the next thing I did (but I didn't take any pictures) was use some wax on them and hand buff them with a microfiber cloth. That really did the trick making them look super smooth as you can see below. http://imageshack.com/a/img540/1015/zACR8y.jpg Now it was time to lay up the decal. First, I trimmed the decal tight to the T and the O on the left and right and then eyeballed the decal left to right and marked the ends with painters tape. http://imageshack.com/a/img673/1161/rvTXH6.jpg Peeled the backing off and carefully laid it in place and ran over the top it several time with a plastic putty knife. http://imageshack.com/a/img905/5536/4JqVSS.jpg Carefully remove the facing. http://imageshack.com/a/img661/4004/zyPBym.jpg Whaa-la. Done. http://imageshack.com/a/img910/333/3e84Mh.jpg I'm very pleased with how these came out. I can't remember how much I paid my graphics guy for the decals, but $5 seems to stick in my mind. So, that's it - 5 bucks and some time. Now, all this said, I'd still like to get a set of real ones someday, but for now, while I'm in the midst of restoring a car and don't wanna spend extra money on novelties, these make a decent substitute. If you try it, let me know how you make out. Edited June 28, 2015 by techboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebird Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 I sold both my sets of 86 turbo door handles and done this to mine years ago.Spray some high temp clear coat on them and you wont be able to tell they are decals.Burton is where I got my decals...fyi Cant wait to see your car when its done...im sure it will be pristine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted June 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Cant wait to see your car when its done...im sure it will be pristine! Either that ^^^, or I'll regret not buying your black 89 for the rest of my life ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyWadd Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 Nice work. Any installed pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aknorthstar Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 (edited) Did mine on the car. Finished with matt clear, got my decals from ebayhttp://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u546/cjhippie/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-06/20140622_215328_zps9s1hqcz2.jpg Edited June 28, 2015 by aknorthstar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creakyjoints Posted June 28, 2015 Report Share Posted June 28, 2015 U may have a problem with them staying on. Not sure how long it is going to adhere to the wax you put on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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