[Paradoxmaker]

I got tired of cleaning wax off of the stock rough/flat grille inserts so i decided to try to change them. I looked at the piano black ones on Ebay/Amazon but they are kind of pricey right now. Ended up trying to paint them. 1st i went with just gloss black (like the piano black ones) but i decided that wanted a little more emphasis.

Since i've got an SE with the metallic grey painted wheels settled on leaving the background of the ribs black and making the ribs grey to match the wheels.

I like it, it's got more contrast than being solid black but it's not as visible as making the ribs chrome. So far i've only done 1 triangle, now that i see how it's gonna look i'll do the center grille and the other triangle.

 

[Old Farfegnugen]

I like.

 

[Duffman355]

like to see them on the car before judgement. I think I like the idea

 

[Paradoxmaker]

like to see them on the car before judgement. I think I like the idea

It's been cold so i haven't worked on it in a few days.
But i am working on the 2nd triangle now.
not sure when I'm going to try the center, I'm having trouble getting it off the car.

I will post pics when it's done.

 

[elwood125]

I've heard that you need to remove the bumper cover to do them. Interested to see how this goes

 

[Alente]

Maybe its the camera, but the paint looks like it needs to be sanded inside the grill.
The idea sounds great though.

 

[Paradoxmaker]

Maybe its the camera, but the paint looks like it needs to be sanded inside the grill.
The idea sounds great though.

Yeah, well I did say that one was an experiment. [?|]

Turns out i didn't clean it good enough and didn't get all the wax off so yes the black is a little rough. It doesn't look bad, but it is noticeable. I'm debating whether i want to take the time to strip the paint, clean it better and try again or just leave it until i can replace it with a new piece from ebay.

The other 2 pieces got scrubbed better and wiped down with mineral spirits before painting so they came out much smoother and look a lot better.

Now if only it would stop misting and warm up a little so i could wash it and take some pictures with the pieces on the car.[clap]

 

[Paradoxmaker]

Gave the car a quick rinsedown so i could get some pictures.

I do like it better than the flat black grille, but the biggest thing i notice now is that now I need to paint over the chrome on the fog lights and the emblem bar.[hihi]

 

[Duffman355]

^^^ It's more subtle than I thought it was going to be.

 

[Mr Rutherford]

Looks, good what kind of paint did you use.

 

[Paradoxmaker]

Looks, good what kind of paint did you use.

Krylon Fusion for plastic for the Gloss black and Rust-oleum metallic grey gloss for the highlights.

 

[Mr Rutherford]

Krylon Fusion for plastic for the Gloss black and Rust-oleum metallic grey gloss for the highlights.

How long did it take? I assume you had to do it in phases. I'm wondering what plasti dip with glossifier would look like. I doubt it would be as shiny as the piano black grills but might be close.

 

[Paradoxmaker]

How long did it take? I assume you had to do it in phases. I'm wondering what plasti dip with glossifier would look like. I doubt it would be as shiny as the piano black grills but might be close.

It only took about 6-7 hours total spaced over 2 different days. Maybe 8 including removing the pieces from the car.

Pulling the grilles, cleaning with soap and water and mineral spirits, drying, painting gloss black.... AND the part that speed it up - baking them in the oven at 200°F to dry the paint. Then masking, painting grey, and baking again so they could be reinstalled.

 

[Theblueoval]

Man I'm a little late but I have the piano Black grill for sale. Just installed the zetec so I have no use for it anymore. Looks great though. BTW I took care of my foglights and grill whiskers as one of my first mods so I know what you mean about how they bother you lol.

 

[Paradoxmaker]

Man I'm a little late but I have the piano Black grill for sale. Just installed the zetec so I have no use for it anymore. Looks great though. BTW I took care of my foglights and grill whiskers as one of my first mods so I know what you mean about how they bother you lol.

Went and took care of the fog light bezels today.

 

[Theblueoval]

Looking good!