Chrome Grille Painted Gloss Black

[IWRBB]

So everyone says you can't paint the chrome without sandblasting it, but I'm a stubborn SOB so I went ahead and did it anyways.

 

I first tried plastidip. I didn't like the finish. I did like the black grille though.

 

I asked a vinyl guy about wrapping it and he said it'd need seams to get it right, and vinyl will get rock chips exposing the chrome.

 

Onto the paint. I scuffed it with a red 3M pad first. Next came 3 coats of SEM ecthing primer. Next was about 4 coats of SEM sandable primer. I sanded the primer with 220 wet, dry, then wet a few more times. Next came Spraymax 1K gloss black, 3 color coats. I sanded that down with 220 until it was evenly dull with no glossy spots. Next came 3 coats of Spraymax 1K satin black. I sanded that down with 320 until it was even, then went over it with a scuff pad prior to the clear. Last came 4 coats of Spraymax 2K. Sanded the clear with 1000 grit, 1500 grit, 2000 grit, 2500 grit, rubbing compound, polish to a shine. The 2K clear has a hardener you release into it and should be much more durable than any other spray can clears. We'll see, she's going to have 1200 miles put on her in the next 4 days.

 

In hindsight I should have just paid the $200 for the primed grille and had someone do it in a shop, but we'll see how it holds up. My paint buildup is pretty thick, but I'm hoping it'll help any chrome from showing if the clear takes a rock chip. I did it all outside hanging the grille from a fence with a tarp behind it for all the base work, and off my wife's shepard hook from her garden for the clear. I cleared the hook too with the extra

 

I've only done the polishing one step past the rubbing compound stage as of now. I'll wait a month or so to polish it all the way. Pictures to follow.

Edited July 22, 2015 by IWRBB

[IWRBB]

I didn't get pics of every step, but you get the idea.

Primer:

Sanded Primer:

Color Coat:

Sanded Color Coat:

 

Cleared, sanded, up to rubbing compound stage. Still hazy.

Before:

After:

The plastidip I peeled off:

 

 

 

 

[fishx65]

Seems like ya did it right and it should hold up pretty good. I might have to do the same thing to my 2011 chrome grill eventually cuz it's getting really chipped up. I'll probably try to match the body color if I do mine.

[style]

Wow that looks incredible. This is definitely on my to do list now.

[kkreit01]

Great job, and outcome. I too am not a fan of plastidip. Your process was quite lengthy. I plan to purchase the primed inserts, and have a shop do mine.

[Redbow]

Plasti-dip worked great on mine and has held up well to the eliments and car washes.

 

Don't understand why it turn the pics on their side?

[IWRBB]

Plastidip is OK if you can get the finish right. You need a heavy coat to get a smooth finish, but it's easy to get runs with that wet of a coat.

 

My wife just got back from a 1500 mile trip to NC and back. Took the Edge up to spray the bugs off at the spray bay and the grille looks perfect. No chips, cracks, or flaking.

[Redbow]

As I recall, I did 5/6 coats of plasti-dip. Allowed about 10 minutes between each very light coat. Have no runs and a very smooth surface. You just need to be parient and not try to make one thick coat do. I didn't want the shiny look. Perferred the matt finish of the plasti-dip. But to each their own.

 

Burke

[IWRBB]

I didn't want the shiny look. Perferred the matt finish of the plasti-dip. But to each their own.

 

Burke

 

Everything that's not red on this thing is gloss black. Door trim, all the tinted windows, the entire roof. I saw what the matte/flat black grille looked like when I did have the Plastidip on there, and it just wasn't right for this particular vehicle color combo. The matte/flat black matched nothing on the car.

 

In your case, a matte black grill in the middle of a bunch of gloss black paint works, it's an accent that helps break up all that surrounding gloss black.

 

The pictures really don't do it justice,they are from my cell phone and have been re-sized/processed by the forum. If you saw it in person, you'd know the gloss black is the right choice for this particular setup since it ties all the other gloss black together.