For those of you that have painted your stock sport grill...how has it held up...especially for those that do alot of highway driving?

I have a C63 grill on now but I must've gotten a cheap version b/c it feels like it's going ot fall apart any day now. The chrome horizontal pieces are loose and feel like they are going to fall off. I'm thinking of just painting my stock sport grill...but I do alot of highway driving and am concerned about the paint chipping. I think I read somebody on here painted theirs every week b/c of chips...definitely not worth the trouble if that's the case.

Thanks in advance

 

If you're worried about chipping, get it painted gloss black with heavy heavy layer of clear. You won't be able to get by with flat black and avoid chipping. Alternatively you can also use black vinyl which will be more resistant to chips and if any piece does chip, you can just tear off that section and put on a new one.

 

I like the vinyl idea...do they sell pre-cut vinyl strips?

 

I know my vinyl guy made a cutout once. But you could really do it yourself fairly easily. Just take some paper and make a mold cutout of your grille slats. Then get a sheet of vinyl and cut it yourself.

 

how hard do you think it would be to vinyl the star?

 

After a 2 weeks of highway driving my flat black grill looked pretty bad.. So I went with the cf vinyl that azn c300 hooked me up with

 

pretty tough. For the star, you might as well just paint that part yourself. Chances are that part won't get chipped.

 

maybe those heavy-duty oven paints would work?

 

That oven will ruin the grill, but you can use a lamp to dry the paint and it will dry a little harder.

 

I used a matte black bumper paint. Yeah its got its wee chips and such in it and Ive only had on a wek or two but I do plenty of driving on the higghway. jsut keep your distance from vehicles in front of you. Im oredering a c63 grill soon anyways

 

You didnt by chance order your grill off of formymercedes.com did you

 

what is some good vinyl to use?

http://www.stickercity.com/51-x-line...nyl-sheet.html
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http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MATTE...Q5fAccessories
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http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Matte...Q5fAccessories
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http://cgi.ebay.com/15-x-50yd-MATTE-...3286.m20.l1116
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or u could go another route, u could have it professionaly painted at a body shop, yeah might cost more but i would bet it lasts longer than if u did it urself, of course just a thought.

 

It would still get chipped up if you wanted flat/satin cause you can't protect it with layers of clear. For gloss black, yeah, get it professionally done.

 

true, i was assuming he didnt want flat black and ive found out its not that expensive, i hear body shops doing it for about 50 bucks.

 

I used hood and bumper paint for muscle cars. I don't have any chips at all.

 

What is the Heavy Duty Paint? VHT? I dont remember the specific type. Does anyone know? I want to paint mine gloss black to match my exterior. I do much highway driving and want to prevent chipping as much as possible. How many coats and what clear coat should I buy?

 

i still think the coolest was azn's with the flat black and the chrome part gloss black... looked very nice

 

what do you all think about a black glossy grille on steel grey? anyone have piks? =)

 

you could clear bra the slats of the grill.