Blacking out the grille

[MillerPKA]

Today I went to Lowes and picked up the exact enamel that fireteacher used for his trailer hitch. this afternoon i did the hitch and i'd say its definitely worth the 30 minutes. i got home today and my grille caught my eye. i never liked all the chrome so i decided to take the grille off and make her black as well. here's what she used to look like:

Posting what's done so far in a sec

 

[MillerPKA]

My roomate and I spent close to an hour ripping off the chrome layer, let me tell ya...biggest pain in the ass i've ever experienced. used a razor blade to raize the chrome from the plastic and a plyer to yank it from there. here's the slaving in progress

 

[MillerPKA]

after first coat, this is where i stand now

 

[Drew]

ok somethings that I found interesting.


1. You mix either protein powder or creatine with Bud Light

and....

2. You keep water in your tub at all times "just in case."

and...

3. Is that a wine box?

:biggrin2:
Drew

 

[Elton]

i see your deblinging the 4runner you doin the bumpers too ?

 

[MillerPKA]

first off, as you can guess we use each for different occasions. secondly, i filled the bathtub a little bit to wash the grille. lastly...it's a wine box welcome to a college house.

as far as deblinging, i guess that's a way to put it, if it turns out well on the grille i'll definitely be moving onto the bumpers, then the chrome fender flares to top it off...if its chrome its goin bye bye

 

[MillerPKA]

and she's done! i'm really surprised at how close the color matches. now does anyone know if i can sand this down to make it look smoother? you can see the paint streaks if you get close enough

 

[1fast_e]

You did a good job. It turned out better than I would have thought.

 

[Elton]

looks good left a little chrome in there so it dont look so plain

 

[MillerPKA]

yeah that bottom strip would have been a pain to remove so i left it. gladly it doesn't look that bad. can't wait until i can find a sandblaster so i can airbrush the bumpers now.

 

[fireteacher]

hurculine the bumpers. heres some pics

http://yotatech.com/showthread.php?t=96117
(scroll down)

also, wet sand down the imperfections and reaply THIN coat until you get it the way you want it. you brushed that on right?

 

[broncosi]

i was looking at this grill on partstrain, it looks black pearl, price is $53

 

[MillerPKA]

dammit! that's the one i've wanted for a while now. do you know if they have the same 7 mounting clips as the 96-98?

 

[MillerPKA]

Fireteacher, I've been doing some research on the net about the Herculiner and northfacer's job over at YT looked insane, so with you two's suggestions I'm going to do it. Couple questions first: Did you sand down your bumpers first? Some sites say that it will adhere to anything perfectly, while others say the more you sand the better the adhesion. of course i don't know if you had the chrome or painted bumper beforehand. anywho, any tips etc would be awesome.

 

[fireteacher]

dammit! that's the one i've wanted for a while now. do you know if they have the same 7 mounting clips as the 96-98?

just my .02 but that thing is ugly. it looks like the thing they fly in starwars! if you like black just leave what you did and now your original!

i had painted bumpers and i didnt sand, rather i took the roughest sh!t and scuffed it up pretty good. i would do the same to the chrome but that stuff does stick to anything!

USE A MASK when applying it. it is horrificly strong stuff and DONT get it on you. will stay for a week and make you sick

 

[MARSHALLMAY]

to get the streaks out you should sand it with some 2000 grit and a lil water. this will leave it smooth but not shiny. shooting it with some clear will bring back the shine and help the job last.