pawe

I am thinking of painting my stock grille matte black but Im weighing out the problem of paint chipping from road debris and rocks.
- So, for the people who painted their grilles, how do they stand up against rock chips?
- Is it worth it to paint or just DIY vinyl

Mu9enx

depends on how you prep/paint/clearcoat it. if you sand it down, the whole 9 yards, it should last a while, but it might still chip.

i think vinyl would be your best bet, but it also depends on how skilled you are at cutting and fitting.

fyi, i painted over my grille without sanding, and it chipped and looked like crap after a few months

Rick

I used epoxy paint....no chipping after 5+ years
(link)
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ped-tooth.html

pawe

Thanks for the ideas! do you have to use a spray gun for an epoxy paint or does it come in a spray can? Sorry for the noob question, Im not familiar with that. how did it hold up against rock chips on the highway?

ianho

If u dont strip off the chrome, ur gonna have a nightmare with stone chips.

Mu9enx

+1, i'd like to know about this epoxy paint because i'm going to respray my grille in auto grade paint. but he told me it was still going to chip

shivi1345

I sanded/painted mine a few months ago.....and I need to re-paint it

+1 for info on the epoxy paint

BlackLiquorish8

powercoat +

paypaboi

yeah i agree just get it powder coated and if you really don't want it to chip. get clear bra vinyl for it

pawe

Is the clear bra already pre-cut for the grille or is it professionally installed?

- It is professionally installed, I'll be calling the installers tomorrow for a quote for just the grille (Ill post the prices here). hopefully the clear bra would solve the problem of rock chips and the people who paint their grilles doesnt have to repaint it every year.

paypaboi

I am not sure if it has been done. but all it is, is vinyl I don't see why It cannot be done...It will be a pretty tedious job though. But since you aren't using much material it shouldn't cost too much..

nlpamg

mine were colormatched with OEM MB paint.

yes, there has been some slight chipping, but I have a touch-up paint pen that does the trick.

plus, when I take the car on long trips, I swap out the grill to the oem non-colormatched grill...

paypaboi

So i talked to my homie Albert from The Wheel Supply today since that is where I got my wheels powder coated and he said its impossible to powder coat plastic since the powder coating is done in intensely high temperatures of heat....in lamest terms...it will melt haha. so I think your just better off just getting painted...its not going to just instantly chip away..it will be just like the front of your hood...

pawe

I did the painting myself and it only costs 20 bucks.
the materials that I used are: coarse and fine grit sandpapers, self etching primer, black primer, acrylic enamel, clear acrylic (any recommendations for a good aerosol clear coat?).

I sanded the chrome with an 80 grit till the shine disappeared and all you can see are scratches (do the sanding in a circular motion to promote more adhesion for the primer). After scuffing, I washed it with a degreaser, air dried it and wiped a tack cloth to get the dust off.
Then, I sprayed 2 coats of self etching primer and waited 30 mins before coating it with black primer (2 coats). Then, I wet sanded the primer with a fine grit just to even out the surface. after that, I top coated it with 3 coats of acrylic enamel.

*Im still thinking of coating it with clear acrylic because I want the dull finish of the flat black enamel. I probably will when I see that it doesnt hold up well on rock chips.

** I saw an epoxy paint in an aerosol can at home depot and I think that would be more durable than acrylic enamel. If the Enamel wont hold up then Ill probably have to try the epoxy primer and epoxy top coat route.

***Im not sure which primer is best for painting over chrome, but I also saw an adhesion promoter and a self etching primer and I went with the latter.

**** Sorry I wasnt able to provide pictures of the step by step procedure, I was in a hurry to maximize the perfect day outside.

nlpamg

I think you meant layman's terms, not "lamest".

and yes, you can't powder coat it.

Mu9enx

+1 LOL

billbugger

Maybe i'm just a vinyl junkie but that's what i would use.
It's reversible, it's replaceable, it's a good protection layer, it's cheap, it's easy.

paypaboi

whoa! you learn new things everyday! I always thought it was lamest! LMAO! i guess its just how people mix up Alzheimer's for alltimers lol! thanks for stopping my misconception of the word early in my life haha

paypaboi

No not at all this is the smartest idea it would just take alot of time and the matte black vinyl doesn't look that matte black to me...but it will definately come out nice...I do custom center caps for people all the time with vinyl and stickers.

alpha.benz

can you post some pics of the finished grille?

pawe

You're not the only one who gets their words mixed up, I used to say "upmost care" instead of UTmost care, you have no idea how many people do that. The funniest Ive heard so far is "tell me who you're friends are and i will tell you mine"

Anyways, I thought about the vinyl and clear coat combination but I just didnt have the patience to heat and stretch and trim. I found painting the grille much easier.

Ill post pics tomorrow using my trusty camera phone.

FrankW

who said powder coat?? you can't powder coat plastic

paypaboi

I did and that day I asked albert at TWS about it and he was like "whaot tha hell mayon you cuant powder coat fawking plastic" haha im sure you know why i spelled those words that way frank lmao

paypaboi

did you guys take the silver part off of the black backing support of the grille? because as I was sanding just the silver part of the OEM grille im starting to wonder if this is stainless steel and not plastic because on stainless steel when you sand it you can't sand it down but it only gets scratched up like it is doing....if this is stainless steel (just the silver part) not the backing then indeed you would be able to powdercoat it no?

shivi1345

I separated the chrome part from the black part......and then painted the chrome

.....I'm pretty sure its just plastic though. Even though it just scratched, it seemed pretty weak