Black our Grill DIY Guide
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 655
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CtK,
I finally finished painting my grill matte black, against a black obsidian car. I only got a few pics up at http://rogertan.smugmug.com/gallery/...0_XTiVX#P-2-15.
After a number of attempts at this thing, I should share out some tips and lessons I picked up along the way. Keep in mind that I had very little painting experience prior to this, so this may only apply to the n00bs like me:
1. Don't use a low grit sandpaper like 100. The point isn't to strip off the chrome covering down to the plastic, but rather, provide a porous-enough surface for the primer to bond to. Use something like 320, or a scrubbing pad.
2. If you do take off too much, fill up holes/scratches/whatever with Bondo. Even if it looks somewhat okay with primer, the defects become magnified once the paint goes on. It's better to err on applying too much bondo (fumes aside) and sanding it down, than applying too little.
3. It pays to wait between coats. Some paint can instructions say something that all coats must go on within one hour, leading one to rush the job. I don't know if that's 100% necessary, but I found that if I was more patient between coats (a few hours at least), I was much less likely to get runs or uneven applications.
4. Try to hold the can upright and prop up the grill while painting. I wrote on this thread earlier about the random splotches I got. I'm convinced a few of the times this occurred was because the spray paint can was shooting out propellant, instead of paint, thereby affecting following applications done soon thereafter. This was probably due to holding the can at an odd angle.
5. For matte, don't bother wetsanding or using rubbing compound before clearcoat. Once you wetsand, you'll introduce some areas that aren't blended in perfectly, forcing you to use rubbing compound to smooth it out. Well, that basically means you polish the paint, thereby negating the beautiful matte effect.
6. For matte, get a matte clearcoat. Krylon makes one called Crystal Clear Acrylic or something, and it comes in Glossy, Satin, and Matte. I used matte, and it looks perfect for my purposes. I read in various places online that you can wetsand a glossy clearcoat to get a matte one, but I didn't feel it was worth the extra effort and potential risk, hence, the Krylon. It goes on a little thicker than the duplicolors, but hopefully after applying the primer and basecoats, you'll be experienced enough to avoid runs in the clear coat.
Hope this helps everyone interested in doing this.
Good luck,
Roger
I finally finished painting my grill matte black, against a black obsidian car. I only got a few pics up at http://rogertan.smugmug.com/gallery/...0_XTiVX#P-2-15.
After a number of attempts at this thing, I should share out some tips and lessons I picked up along the way. Keep in mind that I had very little painting experience prior to this, so this may only apply to the n00bs like me:
1. Don't use a low grit sandpaper like 100. The point isn't to strip off the chrome covering down to the plastic, but rather, provide a porous-enough surface for the primer to bond to. Use something like 320, or a scrubbing pad.
2. If you do take off too much, fill up holes/scratches/whatever with Bondo. Even if it looks somewhat okay with primer, the defects become magnified once the paint goes on. It's better to err on applying too much bondo (fumes aside) and sanding it down, than applying too little.
3. It pays to wait between coats. Some paint can instructions say something that all coats must go on within one hour, leading one to rush the job. I don't know if that's 100% necessary, but I found that if I was more patient between coats (a few hours at least), I was much less likely to get runs or uneven applications.
4. Try to hold the can upright and prop up the grill while painting. I wrote on this thread earlier about the random splotches I got. I'm convinced a few of the times this occurred was because the spray paint can was shooting out propellant, instead of paint, thereby affecting following applications done soon thereafter. This was probably due to holding the can at an odd angle.
5. For matte, don't bother wetsanding or using rubbing compound before clearcoat. Once you wetsand, you'll introduce some areas that aren't blended in perfectly, forcing you to use rubbing compound to smooth it out. Well, that basically means you polish the paint, thereby negating the beautiful matte effect.
6. For matte, get a matte clearcoat. Krylon makes one called Crystal Clear Acrylic or something, and it comes in Glossy, Satin, and Matte. I used matte, and it looks perfect for my purposes. I read in various places online that you can wetsand a glossy clearcoat to get a matte one, but I didn't feel it was worth the extra effort and potential risk, hence, the Krylon. It goes on a little thicker than the duplicolors, but hopefully after applying the primer and basecoats, you'll be experienced enough to avoid runs in the clear coat.
Hope this helps everyone interested in doing this.
Good luck,
Roger
Registered Member
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 229
Likes: 0
From: Miami, FL
CtK,
I finally finished painting my grill matte black, against a black obsidian car. I only got a few pics up at http://rogertan.smugmug.com/gallery/...0_XTiVX#P-2-15.
After a number of attempts at this thing, I should share out some tips and lessons I picked up along the way. Keep in mind that I had very little painting experience prior to this, so this may only apply to the n00bs like me:
1. Don't use a low grit sandpaper like 100. The point isn't to strip off the chrome covering down to the plastic, but rather, provide a porous-enough surface for the primer to bond to. Use something like 320, or a scrubbing pad.
2. If you do take off too much, fill up holes/scratches/whatever with Bondo. Even if it looks somewhat okay with primer, the defects become magnified once the paint goes on. It's better to err on applying too much bondo (fumes aside) and sanding it down, than applying too little.
3. It pays to wait between coats. Some paint can instructions say something that all coats must go on within one hour, leading one to rush the job. I don't know if that's 100% necessary, but I found that if I was more patient between coats (a few hours at least), I was much less likely to get runs or uneven applications.
4. Try to hold the can upright and prop up the grill while painting. I wrote on this thread earlier about the random splotches I got. I'm convinced a few of the times this occurred was because the spray paint can was shooting out propellant, instead of paint, thereby affecting following applications done soon thereafter. This was probably due to holding the can at an odd angle.
5. For matte, don't bother wetsanding or using rubbing compound before clearcoat. Once you wetsand, you'll introduce some areas that aren't blended in perfectly, forcing you to use rubbing compound to smooth it out. Well, that basically means you polish the paint, thereby negating the beautiful matte effect.
6. For matte, get a matte clearcoat. Krylon makes one called Crystal Clear Acrylic or something, and it comes in Glossy, Satin, and Matte. I used matte, and it looks perfect for my purposes. I read in various places online that you can wetsand a glossy clearcoat to get a matte one, but I didn't feel it was worth the extra effort and potential risk, hence, the Krylon. It goes on a little thicker than the duplicolors, but hopefully after applying the primer and basecoats, you'll be experienced enough to avoid runs in the clear coat.
Hope this helps everyone interested in doing this.
Good luck,
Roger
I finally finished painting my grill matte black, against a black obsidian car. I only got a few pics up at http://rogertan.smugmug.com/gallery/...0_XTiVX#P-2-15.
After a number of attempts at this thing, I should share out some tips and lessons I picked up along the way. Keep in mind that I had very little painting experience prior to this, so this may only apply to the n00bs like me:
1. Don't use a low grit sandpaper like 100. The point isn't to strip off the chrome covering down to the plastic, but rather, provide a porous-enough surface for the primer to bond to. Use something like 320, or a scrubbing pad.
2. If you do take off too much, fill up holes/scratches/whatever with Bondo. Even if it looks somewhat okay with primer, the defects become magnified once the paint goes on. It's better to err on applying too much bondo (fumes aside) and sanding it down, than applying too little.
3. It pays to wait between coats. Some paint can instructions say something that all coats must go on within one hour, leading one to rush the job. I don't know if that's 100% necessary, but I found that if I was more patient between coats (a few hours at least), I was much less likely to get runs or uneven applications.
4. Try to hold the can upright and prop up the grill while painting. I wrote on this thread earlier about the random splotches I got. I'm convinced a few of the times this occurred was because the spray paint can was shooting out propellant, instead of paint, thereby affecting following applications done soon thereafter. This was probably due to holding the can at an odd angle.
5. For matte, don't bother wetsanding or using rubbing compound before clearcoat. Once you wetsand, you'll introduce some areas that aren't blended in perfectly, forcing you to use rubbing compound to smooth it out. Well, that basically means you polish the paint, thereby negating the beautiful matte effect.
6. For matte, get a matte clearcoat. Krylon makes one called Crystal Clear Acrylic or something, and it comes in Glossy, Satin, and Matte. I used matte, and it looks perfect for my purposes. I read in various places online that you can wetsand a glossy clearcoat to get a matte one, but I didn't feel it was worth the extra effort and potential risk, hence, the Krylon. It goes on a little thicker than the duplicolors, but hopefully after applying the primer and basecoats, you'll be experienced enough to avoid runs in the clear coat.
Hope this helps everyone interested in doing this.
Good luck,
Roger
Do you have a pic from a little farther away to show what the whole front end looks like??
I wonder how that would look on a Blue Slate G37??
thanks!!
Registered User
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
From: Sarasota, FL/Boone, NC
My G is black, so is there any chance of me getting the grill to match my paint myself, or should I just have it professionally done? I like that matte black with the chrome strips and Fuji though...
OMG this radiator cover was a biznatch to remove!! I ended up cracking the cover where the middle prongs are near the coolant reservoir. On top of that I dropped a bolt into the abyss and had to remove the intakes before squeezing my arms way down there to get it back. Try doing this in the dark with all those clips being harder than a mother to take out.
I wasn't expecting a 2.5 hour job just to remove the grill so it got dark on me quick! Add to that my flashlight losing battery power and you've got yourself a cursing factory. My neighbors must think I'm crazy for dropping all those "F" bombs and "S" bombs.
Tomorrow begins the sanding and painting and I plan on taking the whole day to paint. Don't wanna rush this part of it.
I wasn't expecting a 2.5 hour job just to remove the grill so it got dark on me quick! Add to that my flashlight losing battery power and you've got yourself a cursing factory. My neighbors must think I'm crazy for dropping all those "F" bombs and "S" bombs.
Tomorrow begins the sanding and painting and I plan on taking the whole day to paint. Don't wanna rush this part of it.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 74
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
CtK,
I finally finished painting my grill matte black, against a black obsidian car. I only got a few pics up at http://rogertan.smugmug.com/gallery/...0_XTiVX#P-2-15.
After a number of attempts at this thing, I should share out some tips and lessons I picked up along the way. Keep in mind that I had very little painting experience prior to this, so this may only apply to the n00bs like me:
1. Don't use a low grit sandpaper like 100. The point isn't to strip off the chrome covering down to the plastic, but rather, provide a porous-enough surface for the primer to bond to. Use something like 320, or a scrubbing pad.
2. If you do take off too much, fill up holes/scratches/whatever with Bondo. Even if it looks somewhat okay with primer, the defects become magnified once the paint goes on. It's better to err on applying too much bondo (fumes aside) and sanding it down, than applying too little.
3. It pays to wait between coats. Some paint can instructions say something that all coats must go on within one hour, leading one to rush the job. I don't know if that's 100% necessary, but I found that if I was more patient between coats (a few hours at least), I was much less likely to get runs or uneven applications.
4. Try to hold the can upright and prop up the grill while painting. I wrote on this thread earlier about the random splotches I got. I'm convinced a few of the times this occurred was because the spray paint can was shooting out propellant, instead of paint, thereby affecting following applications done soon thereafter. This was probably due to holding the can at an odd angle.
5. For matte, don't bother wetsanding or using rubbing compound before clearcoat. Once you wetsand, you'll introduce some areas that aren't blended in perfectly, forcing you to use rubbing compound to smooth it out. Well, that basically means you polish the paint, thereby negating the beautiful matte effect.
6. For matte, get a matte clearcoat. Krylon makes one called Crystal Clear Acrylic or something, and it comes in Glossy, Satin, and Matte. I used matte, and it looks perfect for my purposes. I read in various places online that you can wetsand a glossy clearcoat to get a matte one, but I didn't feel it was worth the extra effort and potential risk, hence, the Krylon. It goes on a little thicker than the duplicolors, but hopefully after applying the primer and basecoats, you'll be experienced enough to avoid runs in the clear coat.
Hope this helps everyone interested in doing this.
Good luck,
Roger
I finally finished painting my grill matte black, against a black obsidian car. I only got a few pics up at http://rogertan.smugmug.com/gallery/...0_XTiVX#P-2-15.
After a number of attempts at this thing, I should share out some tips and lessons I picked up along the way. Keep in mind that I had very little painting experience prior to this, so this may only apply to the n00bs like me:
1. Don't use a low grit sandpaper like 100. The point isn't to strip off the chrome covering down to the plastic, but rather, provide a porous-enough surface for the primer to bond to. Use something like 320, or a scrubbing pad.
2. If you do take off too much, fill up holes/scratches/whatever with Bondo. Even if it looks somewhat okay with primer, the defects become magnified once the paint goes on. It's better to err on applying too much bondo (fumes aside) and sanding it down, than applying too little.
3. It pays to wait between coats. Some paint can instructions say something that all coats must go on within one hour, leading one to rush the job. I don't know if that's 100% necessary, but I found that if I was more patient between coats (a few hours at least), I was much less likely to get runs or uneven applications.
4. Try to hold the can upright and prop up the grill while painting. I wrote on this thread earlier about the random splotches I got. I'm convinced a few of the times this occurred was because the spray paint can was shooting out propellant, instead of paint, thereby affecting following applications done soon thereafter. This was probably due to holding the can at an odd angle.
5. For matte, don't bother wetsanding or using rubbing compound before clearcoat. Once you wetsand, you'll introduce some areas that aren't blended in perfectly, forcing you to use rubbing compound to smooth it out. Well, that basically means you polish the paint, thereby negating the beautiful matte effect.
6. For matte, get a matte clearcoat. Krylon makes one called Crystal Clear Acrylic or something, and it comes in Glossy, Satin, and Matte. I used matte, and it looks perfect for my purposes. I read in various places online that you can wetsand a glossy clearcoat to get a matte one, but I didn't feel it was worth the extra effort and potential risk, hence, the Krylon. It goes on a little thicker than the duplicolors, but hopefully after applying the primer and basecoats, you'll be experienced enough to avoid runs in the clear coat.
Hope this helps everyone interested in doing this.
Good luck,
Roger
I just got done painting my grill matte black and can't say how much this helped.
except i rushed it a bit....
" the defects become magnified once the paint goes on." is so true...
I'll redo mine in couple of weeks with better paint and not rushing thru.
in the meanwhile, I'll post up some pictures.
taking out the grill wasn't so bad. or maybe the horror stories got me ready for it. The worst part was removing the large black cover, the one where all the screws screw onto.
