Painting grille shell

I have the standard silverado grille on my truck (you can see it in my sig). I want to paint the gray plastic part, and I was wondiring the best way to paint it, so that it will stick. I'll be using spray can stuff, as I am not ready to pay a body shop or buy the paint myself. Any tips would be great. Basically, I'm looking to do what sportin83 did to his door handles, if that worked out alright for him. The SIlverado (left) in the pic is what I want to do to my grille
http://img.drive.com.au/drive_images/Editorial/1999/08/03/gmboss.jpg

Since you're going to use a spray can I guess you know that it won't look anywhere glossy or exact match to the factory paint. But all you should have to do is sand it smooth, apply a base coat of some sort and then spray.

Well, they have pretty decent factory color match in a can, but I can't remember what brand it was. To get it glossy, wouldn't you just apply some kind of clear coat?

If the surface has any small gouges or nics they show up big time. Sanding has to be done to remove even the smallest of tags and blemishes. You need to find a paint man and get him out for lunch. Let him do it as a side job. They got the real paint and you can always make him do it over.

Do it right, do it once..... :eek:

I talked to my paint man and Nov he will do the bowtie, upper and lower plastics on both the front and back bumpers in white for $150. Gives me time to save up and gives me time to get more for the same price. Really I will stop there... no, really...I mean it..... :bananadie

I have the standard silverado grille on my truck (you can see it in my sig). I want to paint the gray plastic part, and I was wondiring the best way to paint it, so that it will stick. I'll be using spray can stuff, as I am not ready to pay a body shop or buy the paint myself. Any tips would be great. Basically, I'm looking to do what sportin83 did to his door handles, if that worked out alright for him. The SIlverado (left) in the pic is what I want to do to my grille
http://img.drive.com.au/drive_images/Editorial/1999/08/03/gmboss.jpg


i painted my grill, door handles and tailgat handle and have 1 mirror done so far. i used spray cans on all of it. get the color to match at auto zone or similar place.

1 clean surface from bugs tar and anything else.
2 remove from truck
3 depending if you wanna keep the texture ( i did on the grill) use atlease a 600 grit or higher to smooth the surface.
4 tape area off and make sure the area being painted is clean from any dust or anything. i usually use soapy water to clean after sanding then let dry for a bit.
5 start painting light coats. i used atleast 4 or 5 coats of paint, then let sit for a day then used 4 or 5 coats of clear.
then let sit for a day before driving with it.
6 put back on truck and cruise.

mine looks good and everything is holding up great, i just got a small rock chip in the grill but other than that is seems to be tough.


my only advice is dont rush the paint. take your time. if you get a run then you gotta let it dry and sand again. light coats. there is no such thing as to many coats either. hope this helps.

i painted my grill, door handles and tailgat handle and have 1 mirror done so far. i used spray cans on all of it. get the color to match at auto zone or similar place.

1 clean surface from bugs tar and anything else.
2 remove from truck
3 depending if you wanna keep the texture ( i did on the grill) use atlease a 600 grit or higher to smooth the surface.
4 tape area off and make sure the area being painted is clean from any dust or anything. i usually use soapy water to clean after sanding then let dry for a bit.
5 start painting light coats. i used atleast 4 or 5 coats of paint, then let sit for a day then used 4 or 5 coats of clear.
then let sit for a day before driving with it.
6 put back on truck and cruise.

mine looks good and everything is holding up great, i just got a small rock chip in the grill but other than that is seems to be tough.


my only advice is dont rush the paint. take your time. if you get a run then you gotta let it dry and sand again. light coats. there is no such thing as to many coats either. hope this helps.


You didn't use any kind of "adhesion promoter" for the plastic?

You didn't use any kind of "adhesion promoter" for the plastic?


no i just sanded it to make the surface smooth and the paint i got said works on metal or plastic surfaces. you could use a primer , but i didnt and mine is holding up great.

cool... what kind of clear did you use?

cool... what kind of clear did you use?

i used the same brand as the paint i bought. it was about 5 bucks a can for paint and clear. might get a cheaper clear but i didnt want to take a chance of it not working right so i bought the same brand that was guaranteed to stick and work with the paint

what brand of paint did you use?

i dont recall the brand but advance auto and auto zone both carried it. it says truck and suv paint or somthing on it and they had a book to tell what color shade for the year make model of the vehicle and it matches very good. not perfect but unless you want to pay a shop what to you expect. if i can find the paint i will try to get the brand of it for you.

thanks!

If you paint on chrome it does take the special Flex-Primer. Otherwise when it chips it takes off large peices.

the brand is dupli-color and its says it is a excact match, but to me it looks slightly different. but looks really good for the price!!!.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/7/web/823000-823999/823308_19_full.jpg

you should do the entire grill including the chrome, unless you wanna keep it i guess. i want a little flash but i like the smooth look of everything being painted. anyways here is a blown up pic of the grill all painted and the billet insert.

I really like the way the grille in the pic of the truck in my origianl post looks. I like how close your nerfbars are to your body... I may get out there this weekend and see if I can get mine to work in the other slot

I really like the way the grille in the pic of the truck in my origianl post looks. I like how close your nerfbars are to your body... I may get out there this weekend and see if I can get mine to work in the other slot

whenever i become not lazy for a while i am gonna remove my nerf bars. i dont like them on there anymore. need to take off nerf bars, paint passenger mirror, paint bugshield and install, buy new subs and amps and build custom box and install, get nelson tune. oh .... guess went from i need to , to i wish...

If it were up to me, my nerfs would be gone, also. But my wife is short and they were put on per her request.

whenever i become not lazy for a while i am gonna remove my nerf bars. i dont like them on there anymore. need to take off nerf bars, paint passenger mirror, paint bugshield and install, buy new subs and amps and build custom box and install, get nelson tune. oh .... guess went from i need to , to i wish...

At this point, getting a Nelson tune will start to save you money pretty quick. It will take a few months to break even due to the MPG increase, but you'll start to come out on top in no time.

If it were up to me, my nerfs would be gone, also. But my wife is short and they were put on per her request.

my girlfriend said she would like to have them on there and i put them there and she never uses them. and at first they looked good, till the 22's and the 2 inch drop now they just dont fit in, so they are gonna go as soon as i feel like taking them off then i will sell them and buy something different.

do yours attach with brackets and 2 bolts on each side that go thru those rubber cups?

do yours attach with brackets and 2 bolts on each side that go thru those rubber cups?

ya they bolt onto the 2 stock locations and then they also have a 2nd bracket in the rear and in the front 4 bolts total. the 2 on body mounts and 2 to the frame.

I had my grill shell painted by my friend at macco on his lunch break...$50. It looks good, i just wish he would of sanded it down a little more. It also dosent have the gloss to it, any way i can do that now? or is it too late?

I had my grill shell painted by my friend at macco on his lunch break...$50. It looks good, i just wish he would of sanded it down a little more. It also dosent have the gloss to it, any way i can do that now? or is it too late?

did he clear coat it?? if not you could get it cleared and it may help.

i dont think so, could I just do it myself? take it off, clean it up real good and put on a few coats? I need to take it off soon anyway, I want to cut out the "honeycomb" behind my speed grille and wax the speed grille like I was sapose to do before I put it on :dunno:

nah keep the chrome. it looks good, trust me :iceslolan

i dont think so, could I just do it myself? take it off, clean it up real good and put on a few coats? I need to take it off soon anyway, I want to cut out the "honeycomb" behind my speed grille and wax the speed grille like I was sapose to do before I put it on :dunno:

i would check with you friend that painted it and see what he says, but you should be able to put some clear coat on it, just make sure to get any wax, bugs or anything else off of it before doing so. the clear will make it shine some and also protect it.

has any of your grills chipped yet cuz i was thinking about painting my grill and my upper bumper but i am scared its going to chip too easy

has any of your grills chipped yet cuz i was thinking about painting my grill and my upper bumper but i am scared its going to chip too easy

if you sand it some and use good paint and clear coat it should be fine. i didnt use any primer but some say you need to on the chrome.