scarylarry1

I want to change the color of the grill bar, hood trim, etc. to gunmetal. Would you paint them or vinyl wrap. I read here of paint chip problems, but how would it be if you used adhesion promoter. I live in northern PA when the winters are tough on paint.

Thanks,
Scary

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

vinyl wrap.

BEFORE



AFTER

scarylarry1

Looks Awesome! Any problems with stone chips?

Dino81

+1 for vinyl..its cheap and easily reversable. Plus it will hold up better with chips...etc

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

no, so far so good. it's been on for almost 6 months.

paz840

iTrader: (2)

I had my grill painted and got a ton of chips from highway driving. I had to have it repainted within 6 months.

I vinyled it, and have had no issues in over a year.

BigPZ

Aaron,

What kind of vinyl did you use on your grill man?...I'm thinking of wrapping mine soon. Also, how close is the color match to the NBP paint in person? In pics it looks legit.

LasVegasTL

Looks good.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

i got it from http://www.stickercity.com

it's the glossy black vinyl and the match is VERY good on NBP...you can't even tell, most people think it is NBP paint.

scarylarry1

Shark, what did you use for the mesh on your grill? Did you paint that?

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^i left the mesh alone...can't do much with that. the only thing i didn't wrap in vinyl was the "A". otherwise, i took every piece apart one by one and then wrapped each piece, then put it all back together.

BigPZ

Last question...how much should I order?

60" x 1 Foot, 60" x 2 Feet etc. Last thing I wanna do is order too little.

Thank you sir

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

i ordered 60x1 and had plenty left over.

scarylarry1

What and where did you get the mesh?

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

^the mesh comes stock with the car.

erdoc48

The cars in the pics look great! Did you take the grille apart to wrap it, or were you able to do it with the grille on the car?

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

FiBS-TLS

Looks great... so yeah whats the deal, gotta take the grill off ey?

FiBS-TLS

just saw that, thanks

BigPZ

So I contacted StickerCity, tried to place my order as per Aaron's advice, and here's what happened. The order itself was just under $25, and below are the shipping options offered to me in Toronto:

UPS Worldwide Express Plus - $198.86
UPS Worldwide Express - $154.46
UPS Worldwide Expedited - $133.71
UPS Worldwide Saver - $149.30

Hmmmm....which should I choose???

I contacted them via email and asked whether a cheaper USPS shipping is possible, but I doubt it.

I gotta figure something else out.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

wow man...another option for you is to PM AckTL05...he can get you vinyl and probably won't bend you over on the charges.

or see if anywhere in your area can get some 3M vinyl?

Evolution22

Does Vinyl c ome in Green for my DGP

vladkarnafel

iTrader: (7)

I am thinking of wrapping my grill also...
What you guys think go with all black or carbon fiber vinyl by 3M??

iloveTL

i was wondering can you just take out the front 'A' logo in the front grille?

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

i doubt it, but PM AckTL05 and see if he can get you anything. he's a vendor here.

what color is your car?

take it out? yeah it has 2 screws holding it in place.

vladkarnafel

iTrader: (7)

what color is your car?


Its same as yours...

LostSol

I wonder if vinyl could be color matched....

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

i would do it glossy black if it were me, so that everything sort of flows together nicely.
but if you have/or want to do other CF accents...then the CF grill would look nice.

i'm sure it's possible with the right equipment.

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

If you don't find another way, I could purchase these for you and ship it with my FedEx account, all you would do is pay me whatever it cost to buy it and the shipping cost which shouldn't be that much.

BigPZ

^ Thats really cool of you champ!!(Unless this is you being all April Fools LOL) I may just take you up on the offer! If anything I'll PM you. Thanks!

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

hey shark, i ask you this because you seem to be the only one in this thread that's done it before

when you purchased the vinyl, did you select any installation tools? i see it comes with three options

which one did you buy? if you stuck with the free one, what additional tools did you use for installation?

i'm coming into this thread to learn about vinyling my front grill without any prior knowledge nor experience. so when it comes to tools i am unsure what i will need for the installation process.

SharksBreath

iTrader: (33)

i didn't purchase any install tools.

the only things you'll need for this are...

-hair dryer
-razor/exacto knife
-your fingers
-patience

- take apart grill
- wrap each piece individually
- measure & cut vinyl for each piece (fit to size)
- heat vinyl, it becomes pliable...lay vinyl out onto selected piece. i usually work from the middle outwards towards the edges. heat, stick, and use fingers to press it onto piece. if you don't like how it lays down, heat it back up and pull it off and try again. flat surfaces are simple, curved spots are more difficult and time consuming. your fingers are the best tool here, and they will be tired when you're all finished. after you get once piece done, cut off the excess and discard. the vinyl will cut like butter when its hot, so keep using that hairdryer. this stuff will also stretch a good amount, but when you're cutting your pieces...make sure you have plenty of overlap. nothing worse than cutting a piece too small and realizing it won't fit when you're almost done...don't ask me how i know.

after it's all wrapped, retrace steps and put it all back together. this was my first time working with vinyl and it took me a while, probably 3-4 hours to get it right. i usually take longer to do things than most people anyway. just be patient, and remember...if you don't like it, just peel it off and try again.

barnautski

Hey guys, how the vinyl wrap stands on when the car is being washed with pressure washers? Is the vinyl easy to peal off?

Sorry for this question, but I really don't know!

Thanks

rico651

is there a DIY to take apart the grill? someone link me plz

paz840

iTrader: (2)

you have to first remove the front bumper...

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/diy-video-updated-removing-front-bumper-3g-garage-e-080-a-628363/

...and then there are just a few screws and clips holding the grill components in place.

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

finally got around to vinyling my grill. after realizing the vinyl pricing was gonna be ~$45 from stickercity, i decided to google and found someone on some bimmer forums selling a roll of black glossy vinyl.

i managed to get a 1'x4' for $27 shipped to my door.. stickercity wanted $25 for the 1'x5' vinyl and ~$20 for shipping.

first time i took on a project of this sort, and man was it a pain in the ASS. the middle front grill was the most hardest to do, taking me 2+ hours alone. took me about 5 hours all together.

middle front grill didn't come out perfect at all. but you really can't tell til your up close.

my clear coat is starting to peel at the top of my hood now. i think when i popped off the silver trimming it pulled some clearcoat with it.. you can see it at the left of the hood trim.

than today i did the rear trunk, took about an hour.

pics enjoy

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

also the lower "V" shaped trim i had to cut 3 different lengths of vinyl and overlapped it where the other ended to be able to cover the whole "V" trim...

i don't see how sharksbreath did everything so perfectly, there was no way i was gonna be able to stretch one long piece of vinyl to cover the whole "v" trim but he did it somehow.. props to him

NAMco

iTrader: (3)

LOL, holy shit..

taker777

I painted mine, and used lacquer. Holds up against scratching, and chipping just fine

BigPZ

I did it too...and like you I had problems with the middle bar. I had some imperfections or bubbles like yours too - it pissed me off, so after a week I took everything apart again and redid that piece. What you have to do is wrap the round middle part which surrounds the A first. I cut a square out in the backing to accommodate the big round piece, and peeled it off. I then stuck this part to the round A surround, leaving the backing on the vinyl which would cover the bar on either side of it. I did this so that the vinyl didn't stick to anything else as I worked on the middle (this happened the first time around). I then peeled off one side, and immediately worked the vinyl into the groove in the bar on one side of the A surround. I used my wife's latex spatula (HAHA) to press it snugly into the gap and ensure it stuck properly. Then I worked from this groove outwards to complete one side. After one side was done perfectly, I removed the backing from the vinyl on the other side and repeated the process. It took a while, but my patience paid off.


Before


After

For the big V I used one wide strip just like SharksBreath did. I started in the middle and went up one side (leaving the backing on the side I wasnt working on) then did the same on the other.


This is a pic of the finished product the first time around. If you zoom in you'll see the little bubbles which bothered me inside the groove on either side of the A. I'm picky about my car, and even though 99% of people wouldn't notice, I saw it every day and it drove me nuts!!