**This is the plastic grip you use to close the door, the one with all the window functions on it, not the door handle to open/unlatch the door**

My door handles have finish on them thats flaking off, scratched up, chewed up.. looks like ****. I beleive its the same stuff thats around the shifter. I took the stuff off of my shifter cover with nail polish remover, it came up pretty good and just looks like a clean black plastic finish.

Has anyone done anything similar to this?

How much of my door do I need to take a part to get the plastic handles free? I assume soaking them in nail polish remover again should do the trick. I then plan on spraying them the same colour, beige/tan.

 

Hmmm...spray painting wouldnt be a bad idea for bad condition handles. Mine are in great condition.

 

This is discussed in another thread. You can take the top plastic part of the handle off of the door panel via screws on its backside. Nail polish remover or paint thinner should take off the old paint.
My idea for repainting is to use Krylon Fusion paint becuase it bonds to plastic and wont wear off again. Ive seen it used on handles before and after a couple years it was still holding strong. Im just not sure if they offer a color to match your application. You could try using Fusion white and then second and third coats of a matching acrylic spray paint while the fusion is still tacky.

 

this happened to me. i have an '01 a4 b5 and the handles were scratched to hell. when i was trying to pry the handles off there was tension, so i took the door panel off, there are screwed from the back of the panel that needs to be taken out to take the handles off nicely (otherwise you can just break the handles off). I sanded my handles down using really fine sandpaper, you couldn't tell i sanded them down when i was done with them. i used Krylon Fusion paint (for plastic and with primer) but i sanded them down just cause i feel like the paint will stick better and longer. but it worked perfectly. i did 4 coats. make sure you are patient with the coats, that they are completely dry before you do another coat! rather be patient and take a little bit longer than having paint dripping everywhere...