Easy project, just time consuming. Thanks to all the DIY's I've read here, especially to G35papa for his paint and color choices. My first project like this, but now I'm ready for the headlights.

1. Washed and dried thoroughly (10-15 minutes).
2. Sanded everything with 400 grit sandpaper (1-1.5 hours, got into every corner).
3. Taped off along the top and back, and in the center where the logo attaches (30 minutes). Wanted to keep all the clips free of paint.

I used one of these and it made life very easy. http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct....=38&sid=241526. I strongly recommend one if you're going to do this. Home Depot, Lowes, and a few other stores had it for about $6.

4. 3 coats of Duplicolor black sandable primer, sanded in between coats with 1000 grit (10-12 minutes between spray and sand).
5. 3 coats of Duplicolor black Bumper Paint, sanded in between coats with 1000 grit (12-15 minutes between spray and sand).
6. 3 coats of Duplicolor clear coat, light sanding after first and second coats with 1500 grit (20 minutes between spray and sand).



I didn't want to keep Mt. Fuji entirely chrome, so I taped off the logo itself and basically did the same thing to it sans the clear coat. I'm very happy with how it turned out. The dashing young go-getter in the reflection was being mocked by his GF at the time of the photo, but he got her back later by taking her out to dinner and catering to her every need for a few days (the Inverse Logic Theory at work again).



I like how the whole thing turned out, but I'm probably going to redo the grille in a few weeks. The vertical surfaces have a nice, smooth, semi-glossy finish, and I was hoping to get a more matte-like finish on the horizontal surfaces, but as you can see, it came out a little pebbly rather than matte. I'm going to try to sand it down a little bit with some 2000 grit and see how it turns out. If that doesn't work, I may sand all of it down a little farther and put some more paint on without the clear coats. Who knows, we'll see. Paint and sandpaper are cheap.

Enjoy!

 

Looks good! Now, paint those headlight bezels!

 

good job im considering doing this to my grill also and nice write up =)

 

Glad to see I'm not the only guy doing that last week.



I'm doing one for my Lakeshore Slate 6MT, but I need to pick up some primer.

 

It looks great! I really like what you did with the emblem. I shall steal your idea when I do mine soon!

 

Good work Buckeye

After you sand the clear down (with some 2000) get some polishing compound and shine then buff it out, see if you like the results. If not, just try the bumper coating alone like you mentioned. I think you'll like it as is without the clear.

 

Thanks, I didn't really look to see if anyone else had done this with the logo, but I was standing there in the kitchen with it and just started taping it up. I figured worst case scenario I'd ruin it and have to buy a new one, but they're pretty cheap.

Taping it off took quite a while, probably 20-25 minutes. I knew it needed to be perfect or you'd see it. You can see a few miniscule mistakes on mine, but you can only see them with a magnifying glass or an extreme closeup photo. From 2 feet away with the naked eye it's invisible. There's a tiny groove and ridge between the logo itself and the mounting bracket. I used this as my guide to align the tape. Take your time taping it up, but I think the end result is worth it.

 

Thanks, I appreciate that. I was wondering about polishing it, but I'm a real novice in the polish/buff world. But I'll give it a try. Any suggestions on polish?

Another idea I had after I'd started painting was to paint the little tips that are between the horizontal slats a silver color to go with the logo. I'm hesitant because it looks good now, and while it might look better with the silver, but it might look a lot worse too (too blingy).

 

i've been meaning to do this. i've been rather lazy. i have some old plastic spray that i used on my old grill and it came out really nice but that was 3 years ago and i cant find the paint anymore.

now all you need is to paint the headlights to complete the look.

how hard is it to remove the grill. i never even looked at it yet. i know i saw 4 plastic top clips and most likely push tabs on the lower parts.