Ok so after repainting my grille twice in four months because of rock chips I decided to try to do something that would prevent chips from occurring. In another thread someone had mentioned that the audi/vw people use plasti dip on their grilles with success so on friday I went and picked up a can from home depot and some 120 grit sandpaper. I sanded down my grille then applied adhesion promotor, basically clear primer, that I had laying around the house and began to use the plasti dip spray putting on a light layer every four minutes.

It went on very smoothly but the parts of the grille that had been sanded down past the paint were not coloring in fully with the plasti dip so I decided to leave and go get another can because I was almost out. Bad idea but did not know it until later.

I started applying the spray a little heavier to cover up the silvery spots and it became really glossy in one area due to the wetness so I started letting it dry a little longer in between layers, bad idea number 2. After I went through a second can I was done and it was fully covered. I let it dry over night and I was hoping when the wet spots dried the whole grille would be the same color. Well it wasn't. It was furry like badly worn tennis grip tape and looked horrible.

Lucky thing is with mineral spirits and elbow grease I was able to remove all the plasti dip from the grille. What a major pain, don't screw up with this stuff. I decided to get another can and retry but with a slightly different approach.

I sanded the grille again then applied adhesion promoter to prime the surface. I then decided to repaint the grille before plasti dipping. I used an entire can of Krylon semi flat black interior/exterior spray applying light coats every 4 minutes. I waited about 10 minutes before applying the plasti dip. I started applying the plasti dip with light sweeping coats every four minutes and made sure not to get too heavy in any spot. It went on nicely and I only used a little under 3/4 of a can of the plasti dip to produce a nice even layer of rubber. Turns out if you apply the plasti dipevery four minutes it produces an even layer of rubber coating. When I went to get that second can originally it allowed the rubber to dry too much and a new thicker layer with more texture formed on top.

With my 2nd technique I was able to achieve a color and texture similar to plastic trim. I hope this can help someone from wasting 2 days on the trial and repair process of this stuff, and I'll let ya'll know how it holds up. Check out the pics and let me know what you think, they are from my cell though so sorry bout that.

 

Looks good. One of the better grille refinish projects I've seen. Interesting to how it holds up to rock chips.

 

let us know how it holds up against rock chips.

 

There is a pretty solid rubber layer on there now and it should hold up pretty well since I applied the plasti dip when the paint was still wet so it should have bonded well.

 

It "should," but will it?

Go outside, grab some pebbles, and start chucking them at the grille at 80mph.

Caution: do this with the grille off the car. LOL

 

The real question is if it bonds well what should I use the rest of the stuff on hands, feet, girlfriends hips?

 

Update: its been a week of driving every day about an hour total all highway at 80+ mph and the grille has not shown one sign of chipping. It is holding up great it has rained and it still looks like the day it was done. This stuff is awesome plasti-dip ftw you just have to make sure to prep right and apply properly. I'll let ya'll know how it holds up after longer time and get some pics with my camera and not cell phone up.

 

Anyone know if its possible to power coat a plastic grille? My painted grille is chipped to hell. It looks just ok after touchup paint, but ya.. more durable glossy option would be nice.

 

Nice, any pix of this grille on the car?

 

Looks good

 

Grille looks good! I hope this process works, I still think you'll have issues with
rock/sand regardless of what you apply to the grille.

 

curious as to how it holds up...keep us posted

 

Why did you have to paint it twice in four months? Weird. Your new setup looks really sweet. I wish my paint came out flat black opposed to gloss black.

 

Looks good. I see you're from Atlanta. Not sure if you're active, but if not you should come out to the monthly G and Z meets. Plus I wouldn't mind seeing this grill up close.

 

you cant because your grill will melt lol