I'm in the process of spray painting the front grilles semi-flat black. I was wondering if those of you that have done this have used clear coat or not. I want the black to remain that satin, or flat, color and don't want it to get glossy. Would a flat or satin clear keep it non-glossy or should i just not clear coat?

Doing this project now so I'd appreciate any quick responses so that I can head out to Ace Hardware to pick up a can of clear.

Thanks.

 

I have seen clear coats offered in flat, satin and gloss. I would give the satin one a try. You could also try painting a scrap of plastic and apply clear to it. That way you can see the results.

 

Have used both the flat and satin clearcoat over flat paints, and I prefer the flat when I want absolutely no gloss. The satin has a little depending on the angle you look at it, but not much. It's in the eye of the beholder, I think. Do a couple of practice shots and pick what you like best.

 

Im still testing my hood scoop to see how it fairs with chips. I may sand it down and put another couple thin coats of flat black on it. Ill prolly try the test on a piece thing for the flat clearcoat first also.

 

Decided to just spray a bunch of coats of black and not use clear. My mother said she'd tried it and the paint still had gloss cause of the clear. If it chips too easily or anything I'll just take the grilles off and re-paint + clear.

For now, the upper grill is on the car. I'll post pics tomorrow cause it's obviously dark out already.

 

As owner of a vehicle customizing shop I can say first hand that if you are looking to get a nice semi gloss finish, prep the plastic extremely well. wet sand with 220 wet, get all the corners and crevices. spray krylon plastic primer, then use Krylon semi gloss black, it is the closest to a factory semi flat black ive seen yet.

 

I wish you would've told me this before I painted the grilles and before I put them on the car. I just used Krylon multi-purpose semi-flat black. I sanded the grilles, wiped them down, dried them, gave them about 5-6 coats of black and let them sit for a couple of hours before putting them on the car. Checked them this morning and the color is exactly what I want but I'm worried about how well the paint will hold.

Does the bumper need to come off for the lower grill? Thanks in advance.

 

I used 4-5 light coats of Krylon Semi-Matte Black on my grille and it is holding up just fine. Not too glossy and not too flat, just right!

Jim

 

I have the same thoughts about the color, looks perfect to me. Good to hear that it's holding up well.

So does the front bumper need to come off in order to swap the grill?

 

front bumper removal is only an issue the first time that you do it. it is not difficult, nor does it take much time. drive up to ft. lauderdale if you are concerned. i'll help, but it doesn't take much effort.....

 

Thanks for the response and the offer. I've taken the bumper off before, although on someone else's MINI, but I was just wondering if there was a way around it. Didn't want my parents coming outside and seeing my car in pieces lol. I guess it'll make for a good picture.

 

Here are some shots I took with the iPhone today after work. Excuse the quality, but, hey, you get the picture.

What do you all think?

 

That settles it! This weekend im doin the upper grill. Very nice!

 

Thanks. I'll be doing the lower grill this weekend as well.

Make sure you paint the grilles with good weather (i.e. no humidity, not too cold/hot, etc). The first time around the temp had started to drop and the humidity picked up and the paint came out like absolute crap. Have to repaint the lower grill for this same reason.

Be sure to post pics in here.

 

So what was the conclusion on the flat black clearcoat. Im going to be doing mine this weekend Joeymod and most chrome on car. I have the right flatblack paint but the clear coat and bulldog adhesive promoter is still up in the air

 

I didn't use any clearcoat and the finish is the same as the day I painted it. Well, aside from 1 tiny rockchip.

You would have to ask the others who have done the Joeymod to see if they've clearcoated the plastic bits...