legacychick Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 This is what I've been planning to do with my grille, but didn't have the guts to start. Now that you have provided these wonderful instructions, I can get to work. I do have a dumb question because I have never painted any car parts without the paint flaking off. Do you have to sand the plastic at all before priming, or will the primer hold the paint on? I am going to leave the chrome so I don't need to worry about that, I just don't want the paint to come off the plastic part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeeeeeYa Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 Heat issues are about to be addressed. Frustration over heatsoak during autocrossing should shortly become a thing of the past. My water/meth injection system should be arriving any time Maybe I'll start looking at grille mods again..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahkil Posted August 9, 2006 Author Share Posted August 9, 2006 Do you have to sand the plastic at all before priming, or will the primer hold the paint on? I am going to leave the chrome so I don't need to worry about that, I just don't want the paint to come off the plastic part. I've painted mine twice. The first time I just primed right over top of the factory finish and then put a coat of paint over that. I had it for about 8 months that way without any flaking problems. When I filled the gaps as seen here, I ended up sanding (with high grit to fine grit in 3 steps IIRC) all the factory paint down to the raw plastic and then primed and painted it. I have had it this way for about 6 months now without any flaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 ^ what paint did you use...I painted mine two days ago and pulled the blue tape last night. I had a little bit of flake around the emblem and the chrome rim (left it chrome) Or did you pull the tape when the paint was still wet? My vB Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahkil Posted August 10, 2006 Author Share Posted August 10, 2006 ^ what paint did you use...I painted mine two days ago and pulled the blue tape last night. I had a little bit of flake around the emblem and the chrome rim (left it chrome) Or did you pull the tape when the paint was still wet? I used Rust-o-leum. I painted in the evening and then pulled the tape the following morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jholder Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I did'nt go out of my way to pre-sand the stock grille. However, since I had to do some much clean up and sanding of the fiberglass/bondo, a lot of it ended up getting sanded anyway. As I recall, I think it's generally suggested that you go over a previously painted surface lightly with 4-600 grit before priming to promote adhesion. Make sure to really clean the surface before you paint, i usually use soap and water and end up with alcohol (i think i used denatured alcohol this last time with no adverse effects on the plastic). --james This is what I've been planning to do with my grille, but didn't have the guts to start. Now that you have provided these wonderful instructions, I can get to work. I do have a dumb question because I have never painted any car parts without the paint flaking off. Do you have to sand the plastic at all before priming, or will the primer hold the paint on? I am going to leave the chrome so I don't need to worry about that, I just don't want the paint to come off the plastic part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJuan Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 As I recall, I think it's generally suggested that you go over a previously painted surface lightly with 4-600 grit before priming to promote adhesion. Make sure to really clean the surface before you paint, i usually use soap and water and end up with alcohol (i think i used denatured alcohol this last time with no adverse effects on the plastic).--james Your right. Legacychick, You should always lightly sand painted surfaces. This will make the primer stick better. It's good to put at least 2 coats of primer down to fill in tiny imperfections and then lightly sand the primer with 600 + sand paper to smooth it out and get it ready for paint. I also used a clear coat over the paint to protect it and make it shine more. FYI, make sure to use 1000 grit sand paper over the paint before shooting the clear........ just a suggestion. My wife's balls are delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I used the Rustoleum, presanded, and primed too...probably do it again w/some clear coat. I am quite happy with the way it turned out the way it is sitting now and I am sure that would be a nice final touch. My vB Gallery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jholder Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 I keep meaning to go back and clear. I just color sanded with 1000-1500-2000, rubbing compound, polish, and sealed the regular rustoleum with wolfgang. Its pretty reflective even without hte clear coat. --james I used the Rustoleum, presanded, and primed too...probably do it again w/some clear coat. I am quite happy with the way it turned out the way it is sitting now and I am sure that would be a nice final touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacychick Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Thanks for the pointers everyone. I will probably attempt to do this in the next few weeks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJuan Posted August 19, 2006 Share Posted August 19, 2006 Thanks for the pointers everyone. I will probably attempt to do this in the next few weeks! Right on! Post some pics when you complete it. My wife's balls are delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisS Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 3 weeks later, finally finished mine. Got rushed on my first attempt. Let me just say this, if you've never done this type of work before make sure you set aside an entire day! I figured 6+ hours would be enough, I was wrong. Since I thought I had to go somewhere (turned out I didn't...) I rushed the bondo and painting. As a result I had holes in the bondo and a runny paint job. Plus it turned out some of the places that I didn't sand with a finer sand paper really did need to be sanded (obvious scratch marks) Finally had some free time today so I sanded it back down and picked up where I left off. 4 hours later and I'm finally happy with the results. I think these cars look so much better with the grille like this! http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/3346/grilleud6.jpg Also, I wasn't very happy with having only the 6 zip tie points as shown in the orignal post. It just didn't give any security to the outsides of the mesh. So I drilled a couple small holes on the outsides, near the bolt holes. I ran a zip tie through these holes and through about 1" of the mesh to hold it in place, seems to work quite well and is only visible with the hood open. I'm still not satisfied with the lack of a tie down point in the top middle, but there's really nowhere to put it there without being obvious. http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/5338/zippointsnc5.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahkil Posted August 21, 2006 Author Share Posted August 21, 2006 ^good idea on the sides. I may go back and try to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n888aw Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 I have been planning on doing this as well, but if i remember from reading the first couple of posts, you do have to take the bumper off? I am confused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisS Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 I have been planning on doing this as well, but if i remember from reading the first couple of posts, you do have to take the bumper off? I am confused Negative, no bumper removal required. Grille comes out as it's own piece. Removing the bumper requires removing the grille, but not vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n888aw Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 well then, that answers my question, Thanks TravisS..... I think i may be buying the supplies this weekend and getting it ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkl303 Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 I will be doing this soon(ie start on sunday/saturday) or next weekend. Instead of using the screen repair kit I might use the stuff that you use to repair drywall when you punch a hole in your wall(or in my case tear stuff out that has huge freakin wall anchors. Only issue I can forsee is cutting it correctly less I get too much metal hangling off. Anyone know if I can use a die on those two plastic knubs and turn them into a screw? I still probably use tape or a glue but I want to make it extra stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkl303 Posted August 30, 2006 Share Posted August 30, 2006 I did mine this weekend. I am not happy with the way the bondo job turned out(mainly an issue with sanding) so I will probably do this again(maybe next summer after all the rocks have done their damage to the painted fence material). I would post pics but I accidently dropped my camera and so it doesn't work anymore, but I may borrow someones camera and post pics. BTW the drywall material works great on the flat area, not so good on the rounded corners. The aluminum is too stiff if left straight and applied to the corner. If I did this project again I would still probably try the drywall hole material again, but this time try and mold the aluminum before applying it to the corners of the grille. seeya - As much as I can see this as a bad thing in terms of heat soak/aerodynamics, I can also see this as a heat preventitive measure as well(unless you live in a warm state). I got the opportunity to look at the radiator on my car and I can say about 30% of the fins are bent. The holes on the mesh are much smaller and would probably stop some rocks from damaging the radiator or at least deflect and absorb some of the impact before hitting the radiator. Also in terms of air intake my guess is it would be better as the fencing material probably allows for 75%-80% surface area as opposed to the original of probably 65%. The weakness in my arguement though is air might flow better even though there is 10% less surface area, but when the car is parked it feels like more heat is escaping through the grille then it was before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSaladino Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 thanks a lot for your write up!! I had been thinking about doing something similar, but when I saw this thread I knew this is what I was going to do. TravisS definately does have a point about the bondo being a pest... definately not very user friendly lol. anyway, here's the final product http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g88/jsaladino/DSC_0003.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacychick Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 I finally bought some mesh from Summit Racing that is powdercoated black. It's more than the gutter guard costs, but I really wanted black mesh for my car. A friend of mine is going to do the bondo work, but he's using something like bondo but with fiberglass. If I had another grille I would attempt this myself, but at least I will be doing the sanding, painting, and assembly work. I have to work around his schedule, so I don't know when I will get this done, but I will post pics as soon as I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSaladino Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 sweet!! can't wait to see how yours turns out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisS Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 sweet!! can't wait to see how yours turns out Same here. I would think a fiberglass filler would be much better for this then bondo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJuan Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 I saw the Summit Racing mesh screens and they look good, I'm gonna go back and redo mine with the new screen. My wife's balls are delicious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZinFreak Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Subscribe. Damn these really look nice and aside from a weekend of dinking around in the garage, the savings of > $250 is really appealing. I'll get to this when the rain starts in another month. -Zin 06 LGT LTD GRP 5MT 07 FXT LTD OBP 4EAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n888aw Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 I am in the middle of doing my grille mod. Started this past weekend and just need a little more time to finish up the bondo (which is a royal pain in the a__). Just have to sand down the bondo and primer, paint and attach the screen and im good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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