DIY: Midnight grille look alike
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#17
Originally Posted by 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.
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.
To the OP -- how long did it take to sand with 100 grade sandpaper?
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Well that was my thought exactly and i came to do my one because of this process,
If I buy the midnight grill, I'm going to have a scrap Grille, because i dont' really want to try to sell, it'll go for like what? 50 bucks? So I'll just try to paint my original one, and if i mess up i'll get the midnight. Cause it'll just be hanging around if I just brought the new one anyways might as well try it.
If I buy the midnight grill, I'm going to have a scrap Grille, because i dont' really want to try to sell, it'll go for like what? 50 bucks? So I'll just try to paint my original one, and if i mess up i'll get the midnight. Cause it'll just be hanging around if I just brought the new one anyways might as well try it.
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Originally Posted by fecurtis
Any updates?
Came home from the mall around 4AM Black Friday, put on the final coats of clear, then headed back out to Best Buy.
Other than me completely f***ing up one of the corners trying to blot something, it looks really good. I had to resand and respray the top left corner so the grille overall has about 8 coats of paint and 4 coats of clear. I drove back to Austin Sunday and it held up very well. (I'll try to add pics when I get a chance, i'm about to head into finals week)
From close up, you can kind of notice the lines where i had to resand and respray, but from anywhere beyond 2 feet away it looks great - especially considering it costs about $8 versus a few hundred from the dealership.
Thanks for the great write up!
My only recommendation is NOT to try and fix small things! Just spray smoothly and if there's a little mistake, leave it. Don't make it into a much bigger problem like I did.
Thanks for the great write up!
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