AntsE63S

i thinking about painting the grill on my car, but i dont know what color to paint it. I was thinking flat black, but then my father said to paint it the 040 paintcolor (Mercedes Black) with the clear coat. He owns a autobody shop so i could really repaint it if i didnt like it, but i want it to be a 1 time deal. Also will i have to buy a new grill when i bring it back to the dealer when my lease is up??

AMGTTV8

paint it whatever color YOU want it to be...

as to lease return, you will not be charged anything... rules dictate so - only way they can charge you is if something lowers the vehicle's value!

AntsE63S

i just want other peoples thoughts on it. I might just go flat black.

AMGTTV8

that will probably help with the appearance of rock chips...

fyi i painted mine and all it took was one trip on the highway for bad chips to form - i dont know if this will be any different for you as you will be spraying it professionally, whereas i spray painted it..

AntsE63S

im going to have it spraye have in the spraybooth and then we are going to bake it. could you send me some pics of your grill??

AMGTTV8

search for posts by me...posted pics a while back of my car.

hemptation88

After a few weeks of driving on the highway to work everyday the chips started to build up where it was pretty noticable.. I like the flat black look better but don't do it if you drive often on highways.. Also if you go flat you should use the vht paint, should be less prone to chips

Azn_C300

you can always vinyl it for a while to see if you like the look. Added bonus, the vinyl doesn't chip easily.

AntsE63S

i was thinking about doing that. i found the black matte on ebay but its like $50. I might see if i can talk to my decal guy about it, if i dont paint it this week. Im suppose to be seeing him wensday or thursday this week so i will see..

Azn_C300

$50 for vinyl? You better be getting a decent sized roll. It's more than you'll need in any case.

AMGTTV8

I'm with AZN on this one...Put your effort into vinyl, paint is just going to be problematic on the front of the car.

cvkatigbak

i painted mine, and a semi spit a rock about the size of a quarter at my grille. its a bit** stripping the paint just to repaint it. put it aside for a while and threw on my lux grille. do the vinyl, otherwise paint it and get a clear vinyl over it.

kaku

speaking of chips, how's your matte black grille? has it scratched/chipped much? and how long have you had it on?

_c350_

where can i get a black vinyl to put on my grill?

Azn_C300

My matte black grille is only for shows. I use my vinyl grille for daily driving.

Robbio204

Are chips that common with aftermarket painting? How can I prevent this? Will a body shop be my best option?

tanktube67

Chips are very common, your best option is to paint it with simi gloss finish or go vinyl

bigigg

vynil is usually $1 a foot.. paint it gloss black 040.. go with 3 coats of clear and ur good.. pm me if u wanna see pics, thats how i have my car..looks alot better than stock

vic viper

Wont be easy to to a decent job with vinyl as you would need to cover the sides of the grille as well, not just the horizontal bars.

Painted mine 040 glossy, loving it!

TB5...

painted my cousins mazda 6 grille + chrome top

got some krylon matte black and satin clear coat... set up a area in the garage... got a fan.... placed it backwards to pull air out...

sanded with a fine sandpaper... then i went

black...dry
black...dry
clear coat...dry
black...dry
clear coat...dry
clear coat...dry

he drives on the hwy a lot and no chips pretty strong.


here is the paint i used...

http://www.krylon.com/products/categories/plastic/

Camouflage Paint with Fusion Technology

and the clear coat

http://www.krylon.com/products/categ...lear_coatings/

Satin Finish

JoeVal

There are two processes I'd recommend:

a) Wurth has a line of high temperature European spray paints that sprayed over their primer and sealed with their clear coat spray gives excellent results on wheels. It should do as great on grills.

b) I would replace their clear coat with PPG's ceramic clear, which is what MB uses on the factory paint line. As you can see on the car, is mighty tough.

Cheers, JV.

alexlev

Exactly my thoughts . . How did you guys go around corners with the vinyl?