R3diK3r0u5

iTrader: (1)

subscribed for future usage

great DIY

Robert_K

iTrader: (1)

Awesome!

Damn Dirty Ape

iTrader: (16)

pics of finished projects?

Anyone in the St. Louis MO region that wants to do mine? Not sure enough of myself and I'd have to see your car to see how good you are

BuckNorris

its actually pretty simple, especially with this diy. blnewt did all the hard work with the measuring/getting it all on one section of vinyl. i was hesitant at first, too. turned out to be easier than i was expecting. plus, looks way better knowing you did it yourself.

dkmesa350z

iTrader: (3)

Thanks a lot for the DIY. Your measurements made it a lot easier! I opted to use satin black 3m 1080

dkmesa350z

iTrader: (3)

What a huge difference such a small change can make!

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Nice job!, Is the satin vinyl between gloss & matte? I've got a big pile of 1080 samples but satin isn't one of them

dkmesa350z

iTrader: (3)

yes, it is supposed to have a little bit of sheen compared to matte. I believe it is a new product. Ordered from Metro Restyling.

Bota36

iTrader: (1)

I finally made the decision to give this DIY a try. Thanks blnewt for the great write up.

Before


After




Next up...midnight grill. Little worried about that one but willing to give it a try.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Nice work Bota, looks like you did a great job

Bota36

iTrader: (1)

Thanks blnewt. I found out on the 2nd side I did, it was easier to do bottom of the top trim with the window down. It allowed me to tuck the vinyl easier because the rubber trim would bend out of the way just like the top rubber.

All in all it's a such a great DIY to change the look...and you can always go back to chrome if you want. I'm just trying to figure out how to do the grill now. I'm probably going to try with the grill left on but I want to remove the Emblem first. I'll figure that part out but I want to do some more research on the subject first.

Did you take your grill off or did you leave it on? Did you also remove your emblem?

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

I placed the vinyl sheet on the grill, tacked the front surfaces down lightly once I had the vinyl centered just right then removed the grill. I removed the grill first to remove the emblem, then just lightly bolted it back on to place the vinyl. You'll want to remove the grill to be able to fully wrap the edges that go between the bumper and also heat & seal the back edges and it'll allow you to trim around the vertical plastic supports between the grill slats. I've wrapped a couple 2007-2009 sedan grill but haven't done the 2010+ grills yet so I'm not able to provide specifics on your grill. Look forward to seeing pics of your grill when you get it done. You really need to heat the vinyl pretty good to get enough stretch to allow you enough vinyl between the slats. You want to cover the upper top edges of the slats enough to go fully back to the back edge w/ the vinyl. The underside of the slats only need about 1/8" to wrap on the underside. Not sure, but if your grill has some slats that have a narrower gap I'd start w/ those first so you'll get an idea how much you need to heat & stretch before moving to the tougher slats w/ the wider gaps (which require more vinyl area).
HTHs

dkmesa350z

iTrader: (3)

Night and day difference on black Gs, that looks awesome.

jktinen

****ed this one up... gonna have to leave it up to the professionals.

bat6wc

iTrader: (31)

thanks for the writeup newt. I purchased some vinyl and Im going to give it a shot, and if not, the pros will do it. Im also doing the top and bottom chrome strips on the oem midnight grill.