I just put black m7 girlls on my car this pass Sunday. I didnt realize until after i took off the factory grill that the metal structure behind the grill is painted PW. So when i put the m7 black grills on (which i LOVE!) i reliezed that the PW is going to be pretty visible behind the girll. So should i leave it the way it is? or take everything back off and paint the metal structure black behind the girll?

1.) I kinda like the metal showing behind it, it shows the skeleton of the "bonnet" and makes the car look alot more "bare bones/race car".

2.) If i painted it, (alot more work) it would be more stealthy and sleek.

here are the pics....

 

You'll want to paint the PW parts behind the grills.

 

Gotta paint it, unless you're going to do a lot more mods in the bare bones/racing style (black scoop, black wheels, M7 springs, maybe stripes, front splitter, and of course performance to back it up).

 

I think i should paint it also, im getting my black wheel arches/skirts painted in PW soon and then getting custom vinyl stripes. Black SSR type C's for B-day or X-mas. I think i could have it painted when i get my wheel arches/skirts painted.

 

I would paint it. Those grills are sweet though.

 

I'd paint it. I have the same grilles on my CR and I LOVE them. They look so good. I have been planning to paint those parts on my car as well but I'm terribly lazy. I know I'll love the look even more once I do it.

 

I'd say paint it.. its really not that hard. Heres an example of it painted:

 

The flash in your pictures make the white background more prominent. I've seen these on a PW and they look hawt without painting, but I'm a big fan of the blackout look so I would say paint-em. This will lead you down a very slippery slope of many more mods...

 

It definitely looks "unfinished" with the PW. Black will look much cleaner.

 

I was resisting the urge to buy these, but you've sealed the deal. Thanks a ton! More money down the MINI drain.

 

Paint it!

 

just to be devil's advocate... since you're taking the arches in to be sprayed what if you hit the grilles too? too much PW?! maybe... i don't know, just a different POV

 

I think i'll have the metal structure behind the grills painted black while its at the body shop, getting the wheel arches and side skirts painted in PW.

1 problem....maybe someone can help me. on the middle grill it has rubber O'rings with metal O claps that are pushed on. They bend to form against the stud when you push them on and i dont think you can reuse them. Would i need to contact peter from m7 and order new hardware for the middle grill? or does anyone know where i can get some that are the exact same size?

Also...when i installed my grills i had basicaly zero instructions, and guessed on alot of things. the two top screws that hold on the upper grill, did you all put the screw heads facing the grill or the nuts facing the grill? mine has the nuts facing the grill because i could not fit the screws into the tab without bending them. So i slipped the nut infront of the tab (between the tab and grill) and put the screw behind the tab and ran it through that way.

 

Definitely paint the PW supports. BTW, thanks for posting this thread, I'm getting the M7 grilles and now I'm forewarned of the need to paint. that should save me the disappoinment of finding out in the middle of the whole process.

 

I spoke with randy from m7... you can bend the tabs back just a hair, slide in the bolt and bend it back...
re: the metal o clamps can be purchased at a hardware store.
-g

 

MINI should paint the parts behind all the grills flat black.

 

would i have to get new metal O clamps for the middle grill? i think they are a 1 time use item. I wonder if i could buy just the middle grill hardware from m7. I should probably call them.

if you plan on painting the area, watch out for the middle grill, its held on with tabs and some SUPER sticky glue/putty from HELL!!! took me about an hour to scrape it all off. i finally started to use lacker thinner and a putty knife. Probably not the best choice in materials to use, but i didnt know what to do.

 

Just had a peek at my '06 MCS and the grille supports are black. Maybe they realized it wasn't too asthetically pleasing to view the surrounding superstructure through the grille. A hell of a lot more expensive to paint the supports a different colour than the car though.
I just had a look at the original pic. The grill supports are the same colour as the roof. I have a black roof so mine are black, while Mini Mizer's roof is body coloured hence the white frame.

 

Hu99, did you take off your factory grill? because there is a black plastic pieace that outlines the actual metal structure and goes behind the colored slats on the grill to hide the painted metal. I dont think the factory would take time to paint that section a different color while in the paint booth. Im pretty sure they spray the whole shell one color and then paint the tops of the cars seperate. I could be wrong, but if it is the metal that you are speaking of can you post pics?

 

you really don't need to bother getting an expensive paint job on that part of the grille, just use BBQ flat black and it would look fine, just be careful to mask everything REALLY well first and you should be good, take the bonnet off for it if you can

us aero grille on stock bumper people had to paint behind the mid grille too the top grille from the aero grill covers the bonnets frame) we just used BBQ grill paint and it looks fine since its behind the grille already

 

Paint it. It takes a half hour at most and is well worth it. Mask off the radiator, thouhg to give it more of a race car look.

Exaple:

 

That looks nice!

Im planing on painting it, maybe even this weekend. Now that i know how the bumper comes off, i dont think it will be as rough as the first go around. i'll get some flat black spray paint and do it in my driveway. (Mask everything off with tape and newspaper) My only problem is the metal claps that hold on the middle grill. Im not sure if they can be reused or where to get new ones. I dont really want to wait to have them shipped from m7, that took 2-3 weeks. Maybe i could have them over nighted and pay the shipping on them.

 

Oops! My bad. Closer inspection reveals plastic covers. Why couldn't they stay where they are though? No room under the M7?

 

From what i could tell during the install, you have to take it off in order to get the m7 grill to sit flush. I had actually thought about putting the plastic piece back behind the grill but there is no way to hold it on (unless you drill new holes into it) and im not sure how that would work with making it fit right. I also think the m7 grill would stick out of the metal housing if it was placed behind it.

 

You are making my mod list grow. Hope you are happy! I have just spent around 1500 on "stuff" for da new MCS which should be here soon.

I love the M7 grill. I definitely would paint behind it. The pw/pw combo looks awesome!