I am removing my front bumper this weekend to clear out my headlights, I also wanted to black out the front grill. I have some glossy black vinyl and some black plastidip, I cant decide if I should vinyl it or paint it with plastidip... need some input.

 

If you use the vinyl, you can peel it off if you don't like it.

 

Try the vinyl first. It has a nicer glossier finish which will match the NBP better. The only problem is that it is kind of a bitch to work with, so be patient and try not to get frustrated.

Oh and post pics when you're done!!

 

Yeh I can tell its gonna be a bitch with that center piece....
I was told that plastidip comes off too... or not true?

 

It does come off, just make sure you apply 3+ coats. I used plasti-dip on my grill

 

is one can of that spray enough for that many coats??

 

oh yea, I did 5 coats have plenty left in the can

 

whats the finish texture? flat black, or greyish finish? and how does it withstand rocks and road debris?

 

its like a matte black finish...idk how to really describe the texture. rocks and debris havent messed with my grill

 

+1, mine has held up well.

 

just spray on about 5 coats, no primer needed on those chrome pieces?

 

if you have a nbp i would say do VINYL instead of plastidip. vinyl is somewhat glossy and shiny and will match your NBP.

if you get it done with plastidip instead your whole car will look shiny NBP but your grill will look plain dull and matte / flat black in color. its your choice, but on my nbp i chose to do vinyl even though the center piece took me like 2 hours to do

 

both are good. I'm pretty sure both are going to get a little messed up from road debris. I would go vinyl.

 

so I have decided to go with plastidip... first time using it and I love the product!!! ended up with what Ive always wanted for my grill. I tried vinyl and it just blends too well with paint, I wanted something black but can be distinguished between the paint and the grill, also painted the rear chrome line above the plate and the two chrome pieces by the fogs. Replaced my 60mcd amber bulbs with 60smd switchbacks. Next week will complete the headlight clearing and blacking them out here are the results... and yes it rained in july!!!!

 

Hey I'm planning to do this as well, does anybody have a pic of it with vinyl instead so I can compare the differences? Plasti dip already looks good to me!

 

I went the plastidip route too. Really like the look of it. Not to shiny and gives it that distinguished look.

 

how has yours been holding up?? any cracks? chips?

 

Looks good , I need to do the rear silver piece on mine

 

So, did you guys take out the grill and spray painted it or did you just used newspaper and taped it all around the parts that you didnt want to spray paint and then just spray painted the grill? lol

 

dont rush it and dont tape things off... just take off the bumper which will take you like 10 min take apart the grill and do it properly.. I dont know how it would turn out by taping off the edges it wouldnt fill the pastidip all the way. your doing it once might as well do it properly...

 

+1, i took off the grill

 

So far so good, did the same as you. Went with about 5 coats. Honestly this stuff should hold up better then vinyl imo. Its more of a rubberized coating that should really be able to take some hits.

I agree with Vlad on this one. Take everything off that way you can make sure you hit every nook and cranny. There is some spots you won't be able to hit with it all attached, even if those may be spots you'll never see. the only thing I taped off was the V section that is part of the bumper. Mine was a charcoal color and wanted it black too.

 

Oh, and make sure you clean everything your painting really well. Wipe it all down with rubbing alcohol or mineral spirits.

 

ok thanks for the advice, so take off bumper and then take off the grill, wipe it with rubbing alcohol and then plasti dip it. BTW when you guys say coats is that just like spray it and then let it dry for 30mins then spray it again, and just do this 5 times?

 

just tape off the V part of the bumper (charcoal color area) i didnt do that on mine cause I repainted my bumper before, my dad paints so I asked to paint that part gloss black. when painting the parts make sure you over spray behind the part dont just paint the face of the piece... that way the plastidip is covering the whole part and will be more durable against peeling or cracking off the edges. Wait at least 20-30 min between coats (5 coats), dont spray with direct sun or wind.
Also when taking off the top piece of the hood, dont break off the clip thats attached to the middle, its held by 4 nuts/bolts and one clip in the middle...

 

nice job on the plastidip OP. you did a clean job

 

I personally think vinyl looks better on NBP, though most people get frustrated after about 30 mins. My grill took several hours to get right. In fact, after this pic was taken the vinyl started to come loose of the indents in the center bar, and on another day, I redid that part (another 2 hours). The end result though, is almost a perfect match to the NBP paint, and is holding up very well.

 

+1 for gloss black vinyl

 

Love what u did to ur's..thinking of doing to mine
can u tell me which product u used? Thank s

 

You asking about vinyl or plastidip? Vinyl takes longer and more frustrating and matches the NBP paint, plastidip spray is flat black, way easier to apply and id say very durable with 5 coats of spray. Plastidip can be purchased in any hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, ACE Hardware) its about $5-7 a can.
Here is the link:
http://www.homedepot.com/buy/paint-s...ay-192848.html

 

That came out looking really good. Almost looks painted.

 

As Vlad already received the plastidip answer, I'll provide the vinyl one. I used the high gloss black vinyl from Sticker City. The default size 60"x1 Foot will be enough. And as far as tools go, all you'll need is a hairdryer, a small sharp knife, only your fingers to stretch and press down the vinyl into position, and LOTS of patience.

Link: http://www.stickercity.com/48-black-...for-hoods.html


If you're referring to my grill, THANKS!!
If not, Sorry Vlad

 

^haha its all good.. I like the way yours looks too... just dont have patience with vinyl sometimes tried it once with the grill and got frustrated.. it started coming off from the heat inside those dented lines... so had to take off the bumper again remove the vinyl and use lots of goo off for the left over sticky stuff and than painted with plastidip

 

Thank you to vlad and bigpz..i think im gonna go for the plasti dip first since this will be the first time im doing sth like this..which means i will choose sth easier hahaa
but still thanks to bigpz for the answer