So, some a$$hole backed into my car today and obviously took off like a bat out of hell..

so i assesed the damage, and had a buddy @ a local body shop look at it. he told $150 to fill in, and paint the whole bumper..

but my grille is all f*ed up... so i was gonna get the chrome grille from the 07 TL-S

will it fit? also, there are two seperate parts right? the piece on the hood and the piece on the bumper. i know im gonna have to remove the bumper to get it off... grrr....

so i want to ask. should i bother fixing and repainting the bumper? is it going to look bad (color match, etc,etc ?) also, what do you guys think? same grille or chrome grill?





too bad my grille is banged up, the top picture looks kinda cool

 

ahhh man that sucks. the typeS grill doesnt fit on the 04-06's, only the top part fits that goes on the hood. Good luck with everything though man!

 

OEM grille it is !! i think i found it for $26 from OEMAcuraParts.com

 

should i paint it black???

 

<~~~~~ yes!

 

yessss def! I'm planning on doing that when i get bak to VA (in NY right now). XjoenX's and Acurasghosts' pictures with there blacked out grill looks HOTTT and more aggresive IMO

 

The 07 grills (both type S and non type S) are larger than the 04-06 grills. they won't fit right unless you cut and dremel them. I read some post in this forum, someone did this before and they came out looking great but if you don't have the patience and time. buy the original and repaint the bumper.

 

hey joe, can i see some pics of yours up close? i like yours the best. Darksom1 is cool, but looks like lots of work.

 

ahhhh allon sorry bro!
i pictured a guy like you, would never get his car damaged cause you take such good care of it.. but it's other idiots who don't know how to reverse/park/drive. hope you get it fixed nicely, and yes, paint it black i really wanna do that to mine. I think im gonna be coming home next weekend to pick up rims.. I'm getting a switch!

 

well i ordered the OEM 04-06 molding trim. $36 + 11 S&H. the body shop i am bringing it to is also repainting the ass of my car, as i had an accident a year ago and the paint didnt look right + it had a lil bit of "bond-o cracking"

so Blackura will be out of commision for a week or two. hope i get her back in time for HIN NY

 

Hahaha...front and back man? Damn! If you do paint the back, paint that bottom black instead of that grey, and paint that license...dammit, just do it like this (except without the Redskins cuz you a Giant's fan and that shit is against the law...you could get locked up for impersonating the team that kicks ya'll ass all the time!) :

 

BLACKURA_NY, I think you should have that OEM trim you just bought sent out to be chromed. That is the only way you're going to be able to get chrome trim on that grill. The hood trim molding from the TL-S will fit, but if you're getting the other piece custom chromed, it will not match.

My verdict, in a nutshell:
Buy a hood trim molding in OEM finish (just get one from 2006)
Buy a v-shaped bumper trim molding in OEM finish (just get one from 2006)
Send that stuff out to a shop that will do the chrome job

Of course, I am a little biased to the chrome thing, but I think black and chrome look hot together if done right.

 

on that thought. There is nothing like some nice chrome to add to the look.

 

darksom. that back bumper is looking sexy as hell. might consider that too !! got any pics of your front bumper painted too?

 

hmmm what do we think guys?

 

orrrr

 

last but not least

 

Man that blows!

Accidents bring the chance for a bit of change...but it's never pretty to find new damage.

How about leaving the floating /\ with the surrounding grill chrome? just a thought.

u beat me to it...nice work with the photoshop

 

Sucks man, right after you get your spot in Import Tuner (that is the right Magazine right?). Black it out except for the A in my opinion. I see your camera in the first post. Sony DSC-W5? I got one of those a few years ago, I love it. I dropped it in the snow one time two winters ago on the side of the road... the next morning it was caked in ice (-22 celcius), warmed it up and worked like new still, hardy little thing.

Hopefully you can turn this assholes mistake into something nice.

 

DSC-W7. great camera, but i really want an SLR. problem is, if i've got a $1g to waste, its going into the car. I am putting her in Hot Import Nights in 2 weeks !! so im getting the whole thing fixed on monday.

dont know what to do about the grille. gotta make up a mind in like 2 days. i've been meaning to get it done, and maybe this lil accident is a blessing in disguise.

need some more feedback from fellow a-z'ers. I think the top all blacked out. (if you noticed i blacked out the kit in the top one, i will probably do that no matter what on any choice i make)


oh, and im a photoshop maniac. ill have to post a thread with some of my work.

 

Hard to say....all three look good. I think I prefer option #1 and #2. Either way you're coming out OK, and #3 isn't that bad either.

What about blacking out all of the grill, including the "A"?

 

i am leaning more towards option #1.. however, there has always been something about the shiny alloy on my black car that just stuck out. like a pair of bright teeth in the dark night...


tough decision.... either way, i think i am painting the kit no matter what

 

Sorry Allon, I didn't see this until now, but in all of the recent pics, the bottom of the lip is black. Definitely go with Option #1:




The reason why I added THIS pic is to show you the advantage of not having that damn ugly grey bottom if you want the true "Blackura" effect:


That grey would have stuck out like a sore thumb! Would have ruined the pic!

 

sorry just came back home here are some pics (non recent)
avatar pic:



also had rear trim colormatched a while ago like darksom (pictured) but have since put on the 07 black chrome piece (OT, i miss my CT, i wish i never sold it)

 

Yo dark, Is that rear trim on stella body color?

 

Yup, she's all NBP including the front!

 

Thanks! Can you give me some guidance on removing the trim? I'll have to drop this off at the body shop, It probably won't cost too much. Thanks for the idea!

On another note.. My '04 ENVOY is in the shop getting brand spanking new NBP paint job. Looks like sometimes good things come out of headaches...(for those of you who don't know, I was parked near a construction site on a windy day and cement blew all over my trunk) I'm just happy it wasn't the TL... I would have gone ballistic!

I'm heading down to Virginia tonight and heading back home on sunday... Would love to stella in person but time will be tight... hmmm maybe next time we can plan something.

 

^ I sent you a PM Evader.

Hey Allon, what did you decide to do? Not rocket science bro...hook it up!!!

 

time to black that baby out.

 

EVader. in order to remove the trim, the bumper must come off. not too hard. couple screws, body clips and bolts. should take about 30-40 minutes to remove the bumper.

then the trim just "snaps" out of the bumper from behind.

good luck!

 

when you painted the center grill bar, did you have to sand it down first ?

or what were the steps?

 

when you painted the center grill bar, will you have to sand it down first ?

or what were the steps?

 

Evader - Hey bud, got your PM and sent you some help on removing that rear trim piece..... good luck man - come find me if you have a question....

 

He's talking about the rear license plate trim.....LOL. Evader - you don't have to take off the front bumper to get at the rear license plate trim....LOL

<just having fun with your post Blacky>

 

He's talking about the rear license plate trim.....LOL. Evader - you don't have to take off the front bumper to get at the rear license plate trim....LOL

<just having fun with your post Blacky>

 

ohhhhh. i thought he meant the grille!

 

LOL !!!!! I hope he didn't do it yet...... <just messing with ya....>

 

I think this looks pretty sick:



This is tlster04's car.

 

^ Not bad for those of you who want to be able to revert back to stock later. I actually thought of going this route before, but Imma go-getter! Ride now...pay later...tho I don't anticipate Stella's grille being a problem!

 

Cant go wrong w/ black on black. Looks good