so i recently had to break the glass on both of my mirrors so that i could completely disassemble them for paint. does anyone know a better way to do with is with the glass in tact as that's the only way i could get to the screw mounts unfortunately.

 

Dude, are you kidding? You broke the glass to disassemble the mirror? Uh....the traditional way to do it is pull the mirror off the car, mask up the glass, and paint the sucker! I don't think these mirrors were meant to be disassembled!

 

I thought that you could fit a screwdriver in there to get to the screws. From the looks of mine, it seems that it's possible.

 

I don't even see any screws in my mirror assembly...maybe I'm not looking hard enough? But still, why the need to disassemble the mirror? You can get decent enough paint coverage with the mirror intact.

 

I purchased a used red outside side view for my black IROC. To remove the "mirror glass" all you have to do is "by hand" maneuver the glass (it won't work with the remote) to get to 2 phillips screws holding it on from behind the glass. Once the screws are removed the glass comes right off.
Then I was able to paint it.

 

At a good shop..the only way to paint a mirror is to remove the glass. If you don't...there will be nothing but overspray on the inside...and it can be seen. Same with the rest of any car...remove the bumpers..moldings...taillights...headlights....ect...don't tape up everything....the outcome looks horrible.

I've taken the glass out a few sets....it's tricky to do...but I just manuver the glass it self...applying just a little pressure...and it popped out.


not saying your wrong BlownUp Blue...but if you want to do it the right way....remove everything you can....

 

nope... i'm serious! The correct way to paint a car is to take everything apart. the quick way is to tape up. if you have to tape up anything on your car you are not painting the car the best way possible and i won't do it any other way, but that's just my problem.

 

i tried... after a little while became frustrated and realized that i could only get to the screws if i removed the glass. it was held in so well i had to break it. not a big deal but if there is a better way i'd like to know as i will be painting my other cars soon.
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that's the problem... "DECENT" isn't an option with this car which is why i broke the mirrors as a last resort to make sure the paint was the best possible coverage i could do.

 

wonder if iroc mirrors are different? the mirror itself on my 91 is attached to a flat plastic panel by glue/adhesive, this pannel is only held on by what looks like plastic clips. these clips with metal reinforcement aren't easy to get to because of the limited space. i could only get to 2 of the 3 phillips screws that hold the mounting portion to the actual mirror.

when i removed the glass i could get to 3 more screws that removed the actual power motor assembly and plastic mounting plate for the glass and then i could reach the 3rd and final screw of the 3 that hold the actual mount for the motor and glass assembly.

it looks like you would need a special tool to get to that 3rd screw for the main mount.

 

On a 1991, you should have been able to remove the glass mirror without breaking the glass. On early ones breaking the glass was necessary to get to a hidden screw holding the mirror backing plate to the motor. On the later style you manuever the mirror to the far extreme until you can get in behind. There is a cross-shaped piece that is on the motor that snaps into the molded plastic on the mirror backing plate. Once you've got the mirror free there are three screws as I recall to remove the inner frame that holds either the motor or the manual mirror adjuster to the mirror housing.

Lon

 

This was also an issue. glass is $5 a side for new clean glass. the power mirror motors from gm are shal we say expensive in new shape. the car i'm working on has 108,000 miles. the chances of getting the plastic to release was a scary option. I'm glad you brought it up though as this is also what i was told is the easiest and most correct way, on a high mileage car though i was worried about the plastic mount breaking.

this may be the only real way to do it without breaking the glass but i would have to do it on a spare mirror to make sure the plastic wouldn't break on my good one.

 

I removed the glass and motor assembly from my 89 IROC. There are 3 screws holding it in place by moving the mirror to the extreme positions you should be able to see them and reach them with a screwdriver. 1 of them is hard to find but since you've already broken yours you should be able to see where they are easily. I bought a replacement mirror from a local pick a part junk and repainted it to match my car, but I just masked it off and sprayed inside let it dry move the mirror around and sprayed again.

 

Is there any way that you can post a pic of what it looks like inside of the mirror for those of us that don't know? I thought there were only 2 screws. I'd like to see where this third one is.

 

it was impossible with a normal screwdriver to move the mirror assembly enough and not break it. there maybe something else out there that would work but it was quite tight. as for painting it even though it would be hard to see going that level would leave it uneven and especially with the 4 stage paint i'm doing it would be almost impossible. this is the proper way, just need to find the best way to get the mirror apart without breaking the glass. luckily the glass was slightly scuffed from years of washes so i needed new pieces anyhow.


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i could do that after superbowl weekend. too much going on right now but that's a good idea.

 

Sounds good.

 

I took a second look at the mirror I replaced and noticed that 1 of the screws was broken off. I was able to gentle pry the glass away from the motor assembly though. I used a very thin screwdriver. Once you lift a small corner of the glass gently work the screwdriver around and it will pop loose.

Here are some pictures the quality of the mirror isn't so good because of the glare.

 

Thanks for the picture ringo. Now i see what you guys were talkin about.

 

Those 3 screws mount the inner pot-metal frame that mounts the motor to the mirror bucket housing. I'd have to see the back of the plastic mirror backing to know which style you have. I just looked up my old posts on this subject. 82-85 have the single screw mounting the mirror to the motor. You DO have to break the mirror to remove that single screw on those mirror assemblies. You dn't have to remove the mirror glass from the black plastic backing on the newer ones. If you can see a cross-shaped metal piece you just pry it off the backing and the mirror glass and plastic backing come off as an assembly with no glass breakage required. Use a towel on the glass to snap it back onto the cross-shaped pieces from the motor after you're done.

Lon

 

Thanks Lon

I do have a practice mirror and using a screwdriver as you described to pry off the glass and plastic backing worked perfectly.

Good to know for the future.

 

Guys, I apologize if I came across as a jerk before. I agree that the only way to properly paint is to remove everything....I just didn't realize the mirror glass could be removed.

 

have no idea what adhesive is on the mirror glass you guys are able to remove but mine would not loosen up at all. i was also worried about putting the slightest divit in the plastic surrounding the mirror trying to pry the glass. do you have a picture to point out this piece you say you can snap off safely to remove the plastic assembly? i don't even see it with mine apart?

 

The adhesive is some kind of rubber silicone adhesive you get in the long tube that needs a gun to dispense. Anyway you don't need to remove the glass from the plastic backing plate. The cross piece that Lon was talking about is the pivot point where the backing plate and the motor meet. It's a round pin held in place by a couple of clips that are part of the motor assembly. They can be pried loose and the glass and its backing plate lift out of the housing.
I have to go to work now but I'll take a picture when I get back.

 

When I repainted mine, I simply worked my fingers behind the whole glass/trim and gently popped it out

Then removed the 3 screws to get the power motor out

Reassembly took some finesse since it didnt want to pop back in. I took it to a glass shop to see their special way to snap them back in.

It consisted of: positioning the glass, making a fist, and whacking the glass

 

Here are the pictures:
They should be self-explanatory.

 

So can you actually convert a manual window to a power mirror assembly? My car came stock with manual windows, and I recently painted the car. I added all the power options, but held off on the power mirrors because I didn't want to try to match the paint on my car. I actually do have two power mirrors, but they're white and my car's blue.

 

Yep. I converted my RS 'vert to power mirrors. That's how I discovered about the early and late mirror motors. It helps to pull the wiring from a doner car along with the switches.

Lon

 

I also found that manual mirrors off an 84 wont work with power parts from a 92

Tried swapping undented shells when i repainted. Didnt work