WishyouhadaLS?
LVC Member
i want to paint my lower grille on my gen 1 black like how pektel has on ls...is this a diy mod or needs to be taking to a paint shop, if diy what paintto use and procedure
? about painting lower grill on gen 1
- Thread starter WishyouhadaLS?
- Start date
JVIP
Well-Known LVC Member
you can do it yourself, I did....
I just took off the bumper,taped and masked the whole thing scuffed it up and applied a couple coats...looks perfect and is holding up just as good.
I just took off the bumper,taped and masked the whole thing scuffed it up and applied a couple coats...looks perfect and is holding up just as good.
ATrom
Dedicated LVC Member
paintscratch.com
mlara1129
Dedicated LVC Member
i think its a relatively easy mod. Never done it myself but i will in the next coupld of weeks. I have my stock bumper laying around, and i'm going to plasti dip the bottom grille and throw it back on my car when the weather gets nasty so my LSE bumper doesnt get any damage.
WishyouhadaLS?
LVC Member
After you scuffed it up what kind of paint did you use, I was thinking it would have to be preety tough, maybe calliper or engine block paint....I just don't want to do it and it chip off first day
Its going to chip regardless since it's low and in front of the car. Since it's just black its really easy to touch up or repaint everything again. There are actually 2 ways to paint the grille that I have seen. One is the way pektel has done it, I did it his way on my non lse bumper, and the way most do it because its les maskin off.
You can just paint the lower grille bars, like pektel did, NOT painting the verticle part next to the fogs. Most paint those bars and to some it doesn't make a difference but it does. I think it looks cleaner with that part next to the fog not painted.
You can just paint the lower grille bars, like pektel did, NOT painting the verticle part next to the fogs. Most paint those bars and to some it doesn't make a difference but it does. I think it looks cleaner with that part next to the fog not painted.
WishyouhadaLS?
LVC Member
Yeah thats what im planning on doing thanks for all the info, this is the reason i love LVC, but still my question is what kind of paint and primer to use
Not necessarily. I used truck bed liner paint (like Rhino Lining) a few months ago. Even with all the I15 construction it has yet to chip. It isn't as smooth as stock (there is a minor texture), but it has held up extremely well!
Yes, I would like to see some photography of this.
jmtiseo
The Peanut Gallery
I'm not a paint guru by no means but would the use of Imron by DuPont on the front bumper help prevent chipped paint? I've read it's a high quality, durable, paint that is harder than the "regular" stuff.
G-RELL
FULLY DIPPED LS
here a write up i PM someone years ago... and one of my first threads below..
-a good clean car is a great way to start (wax free will help the tape stick).
-If you look at the lower grill you can see a raised body line for the lower grill. I taped of the bottom of the grill right below this line (this is the toughest part getting this straight and even). follow that line to both fog lights.
- tape off the fog lights
-taping the "top" of the grill doesnt matter as much. i taped an inch or two back. just follow the natural space for the grill
-as you see in the pic. i used newspaper and sheets to mask off the rest of the car (i would cover at least half the car).
-i used 320 grit sand block to get down into the paint and smooth it all out. its important to sand to give the primer something to stick to. nothing to crazy, just smooth it out.
-the rest is pretty easy. you can use any type of primer. i just used a cheap automotive spray primer. this will finish up the smoothing.
***I was looking for a slightly rougher look to make it look like real trim, so i did not sand or wet sand the primer, just when it dries, wipe off the primer dust***
-I used a a semi-gloss black paint. i think mine turned out a little "shinny", so i might recommend a satin paint or maybe just an automotive trim paint. Your call.
-I rushed through mine a bit, but i would take it slow with multible light coats, eveness is the key.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=43948
-a good clean car is a great way to start (wax free will help the tape stick).
-If you look at the lower grill you can see a raised body line for the lower grill. I taped of the bottom of the grill right below this line (this is the toughest part getting this straight and even). follow that line to both fog lights.
- tape off the fog lights
-taping the "top" of the grill doesnt matter as much. i taped an inch or two back. just follow the natural space for the grill
-as you see in the pic. i used newspaper and sheets to mask off the rest of the car (i would cover at least half the car).
-i used 320 grit sand block to get down into the paint and smooth it all out. its important to sand to give the primer something to stick to. nothing to crazy, just smooth it out.
-the rest is pretty easy. you can use any type of primer. i just used a cheap automotive spray primer. this will finish up the smoothing.
***I was looking for a slightly rougher look to make it look like real trim, so i did not sand or wet sand the primer, just when it dries, wipe off the primer dust***
-I used a a semi-gloss black paint. i think mine turned out a little "shinny", so i might recommend a satin paint or maybe just an automotive trim paint. Your call.
-I rushed through mine a bit, but i would take it slow with multible light coats, eveness is the key.
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=43948
Thanks for the compliment. Here's a thread when I did mine. I just used some duplicolor bumper black or somethign like that. I wanted matte black to match the mclaren center:
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=42462
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=42462
Here are a few pics. The really close-up is done on the macro setting. I didn't prep the area very well. I was in a hurry and just wanted to see if how well this would look. I also wanted a matte finish.
WishyouhadaLS?
LVC Member
Once again LVC AT ITS FINEST...thanks for the pics and write up. Im starting mine in a couple hours. ..ill take pics of the steps
When I did mine, all the prep I did was clean the surface and tape. After a couple coats of black gloss paint and then a coat of clear, I was pretty happy with it. And its held up quite well, but it could be better.
View attachment 66722
View attachment 66722