As the title asks, has anyone painted their stock grilles? I am considering either installing the Aero Grilles on my CR/W MC, or just removing my grilles, priming them, shooting on a couple coats of Satin Black paint, covering that with a couple coats of Satin Clear (all automotive-grade, not the less-durable model-car stuff...lol), and re-installing them. Has anybody done this, in black or any other color? If you have, do you have pics?

Aslo, on a related note, if I remove the lower grille (circled) by gently prying it off, is it re-installable (if that's a word...lol)?

 

The front bumper must be removed from the car for you to remove the lower grille. To remove the grille you will have to peal off the hot glue like substance and thne it is easy to undo the pastic clips that hold it to the bumper

 

I had mine painted, but I didn't do it myself, I took it to a body shop. THey took the front grilles off, I drove my car for the say with no grilles, then went back and they reassembled. Probably could have taken them apart myself, but my local shop does good.

 

You have several options. People have painted, applied vinyl, and replaced grilles with great success. See these threads:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=48483
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=89566

 

I bought a set of grilles, had them painted black, then swapped them in my garage. Easy. Same for the boot handle, and the mirror caps.
Foxtrot is correct. You have to remove the bumper to remove the lower grille. But it's not that big a job.

 

I did vinyl... Looks great and it's reversable later on, should I choose to go back to stock. Plus, you can do vinyl right on the car - no removal required:

 

I painted my grill including chrome, intercooler cover, and mirrors. I went and had the paint matched at a professional paint store (2 spray cans for about $22 in 04 jet black). I didn't even prime the parts. They suggested an adhesion spray that works on plastic. Then a 2-part clear coat with hardener over that. The mirrors came out great. I have picts in my gallery

 

MiniS AZ, what did you buy, paint-wise? I'm looking for a spray can of the '06 Hot Orange color to do a few accent peices, and I was wondering if I could get it in a spray can - sounds like I can. Would paint of this type also contain metallic flake, if our color is a metallic?

 

Mine didnt come out as good as yours did, maybe i didnt take as much time to do mine

 

That looks great! I was thinking of using electrical tape. Is it hard to remove the adhesive if I don't like it after a while?

 

I took one of mine off after a few months - rock hit split it a bit. It peeled off in like 4-5 peices, no problem. I used a sheet of vinyl available from D.ick Blick, cut into strips, but I also know that someone makes vinyl "black out tape" in sufficient width to do the grille. I'd stay away from electrical tape simply because it's quite a bit thicker than the vinyl used in blackout tape and hence is tougher to work out any bubbles that get under the tape.

If you use something sticky, use a "wet application" technique to make your life easier. Simply put 2-3 drops of dishwashing liquid in a spray bottle of water, then LIGHTLY MIST the slat prior to applying the vinyl. The soapy water will let you slide around the material for several minutes. A plastic squeegee (available for like $2 at a sign shop) can be employed to gently push out air and water from beneath the vinyl (work from the center outwards towards the edges). Use a hair-dryer to speed the drying process when you get the positioning the way you like it, and a SHARP (read as: new) Exacto-knife to make slits in the vinyl to help you wrap next to the thin supports that reinforce the slats.

Once you do the first one (which will end up taking you about 20-30 minutes since you're teaching yourself to work with the material) each additional slat only takes about 10 minutes, and can be done right on the car (the only thing you might need to remove is the license plate bracket to access the bottom-most slat). My vinyl is like 7+ months old, and still look as good as the day I applied them, probably because I use the same UV-resistant vinyl protectant on them that I use on my trim.

Also, I've heard people complain about chipping on painted slats, for whatever that's worth. repainting is always an option, I suppose, but you'd need to take the slats off the car, of course.

Herre's a close-up of the final result (taken in October):

 

I was one of the first to black out a stock grill and went with just paint before anyone started doing vinyl. They have been on for over 3 years now and they are pretty chipped up, but nothing terrible. I could easily touch them up with a small brush and some careful marking with flat black paint.....or i could just spray them again. I love the look (although I think I'm changing it up for something a little different soon)

 

I painted mine however I do a lot of highway driving and rocks are not kind to the painted parts. They look like hell right now and that's why I am going with the aero grille. I would think the vinyl would actually work quite well. Just my .02 cents.

 

I got the idea from RallyMINI, it's true...

 

Mine is the OEM black grill which has slats made of black plastic, so no issue with chipping or durability. Price was reasonable at less than $60 for full upper assembly and lower slat.

 

I wonder if you could DYE our slats? They are thin and made of plastic so you could easily boil it in water and then pour in black rit dye and it would die all of the plastic black.....and thus make chips invisible.

 

Let us know if that works, bro!

Yeah, but where's the fun in just BUYING one?

Seriously, $60 isn't bad and you know it will be flawless that way. Looks GREAT on the Pepper White! However, doing it as a DIY project is a good start for anyone wanting to get their feet wet on a low-cost, low-risk, reversable MOD with startling results...

 

Wow, I love how your car looks w/ the grille painted black! I might just put this on my to-do list for the summer!

 

Still one of my favorite MCs!!!