Here's yet another version of the black grille using Plasti Dip. I call this the "Quick 'n Easy" version since it's quick and easy to apply *and* peel off.

Yep, peel off. If applied to a smooth surface, it withstands direct hits fairly well, but if you take it off from the edges, it'll peel right off. If you want a more permanent solution, sand the surface prior to spraying.

There's not much on the DIY for this, the photos are pretty self explanatory. I do offer a couple of tips on my site if anyone's interested.

A lot of people on the BMW, VW, Evo and Honda forums use the same stuff to paint their grilles, wheels and interior trims. Some of the veteran sprayers have even used it to cover their roofs.

I have an itching to try it on my (also) peeling trim since none of my local dealerships are willing to cover it under warranty.

 

interesting..

 

Nice job Mike. Looks very good.
Let us know how it stands up.

 

Nice job as always Mike. Just curious why did you keep the grill in? Might of been quicker to remove than masking it off. Plus you could save all those weird magazines to cut out different size letters for those messages to your "friends", haha.

 

Thanks guys.

LOL! I got out of the ransom letters a long time ago

Masking took no longer than 5 minutes, and taking it all off was even faster. I wanted to do something that was quick and easy so i decided against taking the grille off.

I was originally planning on doing this when i take the headlights and bumper off in a week or so (to replace the cracking clear cover on my headlight) but i needed some stress relief, so off to the garage i went!

 

Wow, you are a master masker. Again nice job, and good decision on taking it out in the garage, its wonderful what some quiet time will do......

 

looks nice. but curious if you put some sort of covering behind the grill to keep the radiator fins from being blocked by the paint?

 

I initially considered it, but since application of the spray is mostly in a downward angle, very close to the surface (only way to apply it thick) and the radiator is a good distance away, i didn't bother with it. On hindsight, it's probably a good idea to block the area, or as mentioned above, take the grille out completely.

 

wait wait wait I'm confused here, what's the "Plasti Dip" spray used for? O.o

Did you use it to spray the grill black? or did you use it to cover parts you don't want colored? I think I'm confused because it's colored blue like the masking tape

 

He sprayed his grill black with it.

 

Nice. I was actually planning on doing this since one of my friends recommended this to me, but I decided to use spray paint, and now i regret using it. I should've used Plasti Dip because it doesn't chip as easily as paint.

Can you do this on your wheels next and make a DIY. Im dying to do this to my wheels, but Im a little hesitant because of how the texture is. Is it smooth or textured?

 

Thanks. I'm far from a master masker, but this one was certainly an easy one to do! You should've seen what i did to the taillights on my old car, masking out circles without a template.

This Plasti Dip is basically liquid rubber in a spray can. It also comes in real paint cans where you literally dip inside what you want to have a rubber coating. Mostly used for tool handles and such. I used the spray version to paint over the chrome on the grille.

I also considered the paint, but judging from a lot of the DIY comments on it, the paint does chip anyway. This one is rubber, probably will last just as long, but at least one can either touch it up or peel and re-apply. The finish is semi-smooth. Hard to see, but if you run your fingers on it, it will catch a little. It is, after all, made to provide grip.

Probably won't use this on my wheels, but i am considering using it for the flaking interior and steering wheel trims.

 

Looks great! Anymore pix from further away?

 

Hey Soundmike looks good bro!
How does it spray out?
Does it cover the surface evenly like the paint does?
Also is there any overspay when it is applied?

It sure does looks pretty good, especially when you did this without taking the bumper and grille off. I just wonder how well is it holding on now without the grille being sanded down.

BTW where did you buy this??

 

I'll take some more pics soon. I was behind a truck throwing gravel around this morning and so far so good (can't say much about my hood paint... afraid to look at that now).

The nozzle fans out so you have to be rather close to the surface to get it wet enough for that first layer -- no more than 6" IIRC. While wet it may look like you have splotches but it dries even. I had a bit of slight pooling on one spot but again it dried out evenly.

If you want it to be a semi-permanent solution, then definitely sand down the surface being painted. Otherwise, leave it as smooth as can be so that it can be peeled off whenever you decide to go back to stock.

Home Depot and Lowes sell the stuff. You can get it as a spray, in a tall can or a regular paint cant. They also sell kits where you can mix up your own colors.