Having sported the Plastidip look for some time now, i thought it was time for a change. (That, and the old grille didn't survive the accident. To PD's credit though, that part was entirely intact... no scratches or nicks).

Before i go into the pictures, a little background.

I help my kiddos with their toys, model building and occasional paint job. One time i experimented with a "dusted/speckled" look of black on gray and really liked the effect.

And that's what i tried to achieve here, coupled with a pseudo black chrome effect by applying bare onto the chrome and adding a little bit of gloss clear on top of it for that satin finish.

I also darkened the area near the emblem more than the sides, an effect already inherent to the OEM grille design, which i made more obvious.

Sadly, i'm finding it hard to take representative photos of this. The effect is much more apparent when you look at it in real life from one angle to the next.

That said, on to a few pics!









p.s. This is an experimental paint job more than anything. That, and i wanted to try something different. It's noticeably lighter than the Midnight Grille, darker than the OEM and glossier and "prettier" than PD. The overall effect is rather subtle, and i like that.

p.p.s. The speckles were done with a few very light (and far) coats of NiteShades, with clear applied on top in the same manner.

 

That grille looks nice with that colour of G.

 

It is kinda hard to see the effect in the pics but I do like the glossy effect but on a side note, what wheels are those? They look awesome

 

Very nice! I love the subtle effect, as opposed to the harsh contrast with plastic-dip/blacking (it never looked quite right to me on PG.. only on black cars)

Now if only you could do the headlights in that as well!

 

Sweeet...I never liked the look of plastidip anyway, especially on an Infiniti. Maybe on a civic. I always thought black chrome would look way nicer but I understand plastidip is a budget alternative.

Really like the way you did the grill. Great job. Airbrush? Doesn't look like rattlecan job but if it is, sweet skills.

 

Thank you, folks.

Definitely on the subtle side. Unless you're up close then the effect is apparent. I'm going to try another angle/light setup and see if i can get any closer. The wheels are 18x9.5 Enkei RP03's.

Some day.

Rattlecan's. But a/b would've been much better! It's hard reaching the nooks and crannies with a can, but i think i got it pretty close

 

looks really good!

 

Looks sharp!

 

Car looks awesome!

 

Looks great man!

 

awesome job mike! did you sand down the grill first?

im gonna do my headlights this weekend, hopefully i dont chicken out!

 

Thanks, guys. Erick, i didn't sand it down -- i still wanted the chrome to show through somewhat. On a test strip of plastichrome, with proper cleaning the painted/cleared finish was sound. It certainly passed the fingernail test. Good luck with the headlights!

 

Looks good. Off topic, but can i see more pics of your spoiler?

 

Couldn't agree more. I'd like to switch all the chrome on my car to black chrome - grill, headlights, emblems.

 

Absolutely.