| Completely
disassemble both drivers and passenger side mirrors so that you are left
with just the aluminum bases. It is helpful that you mark the backs
of the bases so that you don't lose track of which base goes with which
parts. |
Front View of Mirror Bases |
| Mirror base
bottom view. |
Front View of Mirror Bases |
| Using some
masking tape, tape the bottom "studs" of the mirror bottom
leaving approximately 1/8" (3.175mm) exposed. It is crucial
that tape be wrapped tight on the studs as you will be marking the ends
with a magic marker. |
Front View of Mirror Bases |
| Continue masking
each "stud" so that all have 1/8" (3.175mm) exposed. |
Mirror bottom "studs" masked |
| The longest side
of the mirror base (opposite of the front mounting hole), you will need to
mask and expose the area towards the mirror base bottom. You will
expose approximately 1/8" to 5/32" (3.175mm to 4mm). When
masking this area, try to follow the curvature of the TOP of the mirror
base.
Our goal is to try to grind the base down
with a slight curve, not just straight across the bottom edge. |
Long edge masked |
| Long edge of the
mirror base, after being marked. |
Long edge marked |
| The bottom edge
of the mirror base (if the mirror were mounted on the car) needs to be
"tapered" to the point where it meets up with the ground down
edge of the long edge.
Note the taper of the marking. It
starts approximately 2.9" from the corner and meets the masking of
the long edge.
It doesn't have to be exactly, but make
sure the taper is smooth and gradual. |
Corner masked |
| This shows the
taper, after being marked. |
Corner after marking |
| Mirror base,
ready to be modified. |
Completely marked |
| Mirror base,
after modification.
When grinding, using a standard bench
grinder (with standard stone) may not work that well since aluminum tends
to "gum up" on the stone. You can use a die grinder with a
cut off wheel, and use it to take off a majority of the material.
When you get close to the limits, you can go to the bend grinder to do the
find detail work.
Make sure that the edges which are ground
down are FLAT on the underside.
Take extra precaution not to grind off
any of the primer of the mirror base as they are already ready to be
painted. If you accidentally grind off any of the primer, you will
have to have the have the bodyshop reprime the mirror before paint. |
Finished Product |
