DIY: Midnight grille look alike

[Csquared]

Hey Guys,

I just spent off of today doing my own Midnight grille look alike, it's gloss black instead of the black with metallic flakes, the hardest bit is taking the grille out, and then placing the paint tape on the upper and lower lips so when you spray it, it doesn't turn black. Doing the whole thing black would be easier.

First off thanks to CKP for the painting tips and ericson112 for the products and the steps. I took pics so decided i'll do a DIY.

I guess i need a disclaimer incase ppl sue me if they mess up. : Do this at your own risk, this is what I did and if you mess up it's not my fault.

Items needed
1. Newspaper or box or whatever to stop paint from going everywhere.
2. Painters tape
3. Sand paper (I used 100 grade)
3. KRYLON Fusion spray paint - Glossy Black
4. DupliColor - Clear Coat

Step one: Remove grille, find out how here. http://g35driver.com/forums/tech-07-...e-removal.html

Step 2: Wash and dry your grille

Step 3: remove Mt. Fuji from the grille

Step 4: Tape up the upper and lower lip of the grille if you want the Midnight grille look. ( I used painters tape )

Step 5: Sand down the parts of the the grille you are going to paint ( I used 100 Grade sandpaper, you can use a higher grade if you want it smoother but I find 100 grade removes it fast and also with enough layers of paint it's smooth anyways.

Picture of the grille sanded and taped up:


Step 6: Wash and dry your grille again you do not want to trap dust etc under the paint.

Step 7: If you are using a different type of paint you might need to use primer first to make the paint stick to the plastic, the KRYLON Fusion spray paint - Glossy Black it works fine without primer

Step 8: Spray 4-5 layers of Black over the grille with a sweeping motion 8-10 inches away, remember to wait 10-15 mins between layers to allow it to dry

Picture of grille with 4-5 layers of black


Step 9: Wait for the black to be completely dry (to make sure i left it to dry for an hour, then apply 2-3 layers of clear coat on top of the black, remember to wait again 10-15 mins between layers for the clear coat to dry.

Picture of the grille with clear coat on as well:


Step 10: Wait for the grille to completely dry, I gave mine around 3 hours then remove the tape (Becareful here do not rip it off so fast that it pulls the paint on your grille off as well) and reattach Mt. Fuji

Step 11: Attach back on car

Picture of the grille with tape off:


I messed up a little taking the paint off tape (also maybe because i didnt' tape it up that well, total noob first time painting something in my life) you don't notice it unless you really walk up to it and look into every detail of the grille
Picture of mess up sorry for crap quality


Picture of the grille with Mt.Fuji back on


Picture of the Grille with blacked out:


The only imperfection is the lower lip between the black and the chrome, you can only see it if you are just at the right distance and you are looking for it, if not i think it looks fine.
I hope this helped! First DIY

[ericson112]

looking good..nice job on the writeup

[Csquared]

Thanks to you man, haha.

[G in NY]

nice good job

[ckp]

nice write up csquared!! congrats...my new grille is coming in the mail in a few days...and i am still debating what to do...either do a midnight grille like yours or all glossy black ...lol decisions decisions!

[Csquared]

Honestly much easier to do all black just because you don't have to tape off the bottom lip, it's hard to make it so that it's all even etc, because it's curved as well. Tell me what you decide and let me know!

[kool_yaar]

nice job! and a good write up taking a biit more time and patience with the tape would do wonders, ill keep that in mind if i do mine instead of getting the midnight grill, thanks!

[supracrazy]

Good work and nice write-up
Waiting for the pictures on the car.

[MikeYo]

looks good!

[Csquared]

thanks guys, yeah i spent an hour doing the tape and redoing, first time, guess i jsut need more practice.

[g35_6gear]

Good write up. Make sure you use a fine edge stripe tape when you do this. You can get it at any paint supply store or Home Depot, Lowes's, etc. The chrome edge will come out much sharper like the factory would do it.

[Csquared]

Bump for adding pics in first post of it on that car.

[AlterZgo]

Couple of ways to not mess up the paint when you pull off the tape:

1) Pull the tape off when the paint is still dry. Downside is, you have to re-tape each time you're spraying another coat.

2) Once you've applied multiple layers of paint, before you pull off the tape, run an exacto knife along the seam btw the tape and the grille. This way, when you remove the tape, it won't pull off the paint along the edge.

[Csquared]

Do you mean still wet? I found out it was more me, unable to tape it very well that lead to the problem hahaha.

[AlterZgo]

Yes. Pull the tape when the paint is still wet. It leaves a perfectly crisp edge.

Of course, if it's not taped well in the first place, this technique won't make a difference.