New electric mirrors..aluminum needs repaired?

[Drafteddesign]

I paid a visit to my local pull-a-part yesterday, and found some electric mirrors for my truck. My truck has manual mirrors on it now, and I have no inclination to wire these up to work, so it's purely aesthetic.I can move the mirror glass with my hand to adjust it inside the housing frame, so they will still work like the stockers. I wanted these b/c the styling is much better and both mirror glasses are actually there.



The drivers side mirror has a pretty serious crack across the alum. housing, if you look closely you can see its discolored a little bit. I'm upset that the chrome is shot, as that was a really important part of it, but these were the only ones I found in the whole freakin' junkyard. So now I'm going to sand them down, give them a thin coat of glazing, or body filler, and paint to match the eventual body color(white).

My ? is will the alum. shrink and expand to a point that the body filler will crack? If so, I can JB weld the seam, and sand it down for the glaze coat, right? Has anyone ever seen this done?(painting to match body color?) Any opinions?

[longtooth]

I would JB weild it before using bondo. I would also let it cure for a couple of days also.

You should wire them in just for grins.

[RT22]

Yes JB weld let set for 48 hours, then sand JB weld and use as little filler as possible if still needed to get really smooth, prime and paint. Air temp changes should not be a problem on such a small repair, not like the thing is huge or really in a stress area. Go to body shop supply house for best quality filler. The crap at auto parts stores is not the quality that real body shops use.

[RT22]

By the way what did those come off of a path finder?? I like those may look for some myself. I like the lower profile look.

[Drafteddesign]

They came off of a '94 pickup. It had the top package like cruise, tilt, etc. I really like the sleeker lines too. Cant wait to get them put on. I think a few small detail changes are more gratifying than 1 big one.

[Drafteddesign]

They came off of a '94 pickup. It had the top package like cruise, tilt, etc. I really like the sleeker lines too. Cant wait to get them put on. I think a few small detail changes are more gratifying than 1 big one.

[Drafteddesign]

Ok, I feel like an idiot. The mirrors are chrome plated plastic. The mirrors were weathered pretty seriously which looked like cast alum. and they are even heavy(motors,maybe?) I didn't have time to install them so I took pics and crammed them in a closet. Today I pulled them out, and they're as plastic as Pam Anderson's rack. Whoops, and sorry. Does this change the prep method? JB weld will hold anything, so still think its a good idea.

[longtooth]

Yep you should still be good to go.

[dvdswan]

not that it matters, it would have been a good idea to have fished out the wire connectors instead of cutting them. but you'll love them when they are hooked up.

[Drafteddesign]

It WOULD be awesome to rock a totally plush conversion on a truck that didn't even come with a radio. I can still do the conv. Down the road as time allows. '95 chrome grill, '94 mirrors, 4x4 fenders, pathfinder map light...my truck won't know what it is

[RT22]

Sand off the chrome plating before using JB Weld so it will stick then sand prep primer and paint as usual. Use a good paint so it does not chip off, any paint facing the front will get rock and sand hits and cheap paint will chip fast. Many layers and clear coat for more protection. I went to the junk yard saw the same ones on a path finder but mirror was broken going to keep looking but yeah love the look. I may try to get them and hook up the power part but yeah the mirror can be moved by hand so why bother, once set they are good to go. Less hassle than wiring up just to hardly ever use.