Hey guys, iv been waiting for the weather to warm up and been saving up all winter to start work on my TL this spring and times coming up! The first thing I wanna do is paint the front grill and emblem black..... first things first taking it off the car is not an option, so heres the question/idea. Can I carefully tape around it and anything else that I dont want black paint on and then sand everything im going to paint down so its nice and rough and then hit it with grey primer and then black high heat paint? Now I dont think id be able to spray it so could I use a brush? What options do I have.... thanks a ton for any advice, I envy most of you guys on here with white TL's like mine. I really wanna contrast the white with black so this is my first mod.

 

do it the right way or it's gonna peel and look like sh*t

 

+1

idk what your reason is for not beign able to take it off, you really need to do it to get a good paintjob
but thats a obstacle you can actually work with

PAINT WITH A BRUSH!?!!? ARE YOU CRAZY

 

Taking the front end of that car apart is NOT an option lol and i know a brush is bad, hence y im asking how to pull this off lol and trust me id take my time, i will use adhesion promoter to.

 

adhesive promoter? Let me take back my previous post.

Take your car to a body shop. You should not be attempting this on your own. What is your next mod gonna be...a carbon fiber wing held on with duct tape?

 

Dude, is it necessary to be a dick? Obviously im 18 and asking for help on a forum that is here to help out members.... is their anyone else that can help?

 

um first mod will be a failure if you dont want to take it off.

lesson you should learn about modding car is do it first once and then you dont have to deal with it again.

plus taping up the emblem???? um imagine the overspray and if you didnt taped it carefully. say hello to messed up bumper...repaint for bumper 250...

 

dude im 17 if your in my sitatuion you spent whole shit of money just to get the car no money to spend on mods thats prolly why your trying to do everything the cheap way

but trust me, jsut spend the money and get it done at a body shop or paint shop, you wont regret it, if you do it yoru way your going to regret it, plus it is only like 100-200 dollars to get it done, not a hefty amt

 

Im making the emblem black to, and im looking for an alternative to spraying. Does anyone have any helpful advise? Instead of telling me I cant do something can someone help me figure out how to do it

 

Taking the front bumper off and the grill apart sounds terribly hard, but it isn't. It's worth it to get the job done. You are going to pay out of your ass to have it professionally painted.

I did my grill about 2 months ago in my garage. Flat black with gloss black emblem. It took me most of the day because of drying time and such. I spent $25 on supplies.

 

PLZ SAVE YOUR TIME MONEY AND GRILLE use some common sense you cant possibly paint smoothly w/o spraying

 

Do it right or dont do it at all. Its not a civic ya know. If it messes up, you're left with a messed up grill/bumper and eventually paying more to fix the problem.

Care to tell us why removing the grill of the car is not an option?

 

Crestwood,
These guys have a valid point, in that if you are not totally and completely prepared to do the job and do it right, then you should consult a professional.
With that said, proper research is essential to any mod when you are at your level of experience. That's why you are on this forum. However, by posting up without showing you have made a reasonable effort to search and find information, you set yourself up for some of the responses you get.
Do the research first. Removing the front bumper is one of the easiest things you can do to the car. Take a look at this:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169101
This DIY is a sticky at the very front of the 3G Garage here:
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/3g-tl-service-department-aka-garage-questions-answers-check-here-first-553557/
Lots of guys have painted their grills (including me). In fact, the latest is to wrap the grille pieces in vinyl. A thorough search will bring up all of these posts.
Then, you can post more specific questions and get more helpful responses.
I hope this helps.

 

Because my dad just bought me this car as a grad present, paid cash, and he is not ok with me taking the grill off. And i respect that considering he just bought me this car. Can someone get a link to a good guide to take the grill off and getting the grill out?

 

i understand my parents arent really fond of the idea of me taking a $30k car apart either

but if you do the grille removal correctly, its literally like taking apart knex. and i think you should find a local vinyl shop to wrap your grille, for you its a better idea cuz its completely reversable and i got mine done for only $40

 

Im all about trying to take the bumper off. But honestly, not being able to get it back on scares the shit outta me lol. And I try to search but the search function on here is so weird and brings up completely irrelevant stuff, idk if its only me.

 

I respect that but he also has to understand that it's a few clips and screws, you aren't rebuilding the engine.

The bumper is going to come off regardless if you do it or a shop does it.

 

Trust me bro, your dad will be more pissed off if you messed up the DIY compared to taking the car apart(pretty easy actually) and do it properly.

Paint Shop screwed up my 'new' TL - Check it out - Comments welcome

^^^ Just to convince you why you shouldnt paint anything on the car without taking the part off.

 

AHHHHHHHHHH alright F it why not, when it gets warmer out ill try it and have him help. Next up, how do I get the grill out of the bumper...

 

And spicy im digging the white engine cover, I know I can do that iv had the cover off plenty of times. Is that just white paint with a clear coat? What kind of prep work did you do?

 

He wouldn't want you taking the front bumper off, but doesn't mind if you paint the grill?!

 

Yea he dosent care about painting it, he worries about the bumper being damaged

 

hood trim is just a few screws, very very easy

the others you can get it out from beneath the car, get a mirror and a flashlight and look around, you can get the whole thing done w/o taking your bumper off its really just a few clips abnd screws

 

I kinda wanna paint the silver trim black to, whats ur opinions on that?

 

definitely take it to a body shop to get it right. i thought i knew everything i needed to know about my first mod, clearing my headlights 2 or 3 years ago. ended up melting it in the oven....

 

I wanna try it myself first man. Its much more satisfying that way.

 

whatever sits you. if your fine with painting your own grille and think you know how too go ahead. I knew i couldn't paint it myself and didnt want to pay to paint it so just ordered this about a week ago.
http://www.ioffer.com/i/Acura-TL-04-...rille-89896661

 

Hey man thats really nice and all but 180+$ is alot for an 18 year old to be dropping. Theres alot of things I wanna spend money on but right now gas and school come first, im a major in criminal justice and im minoring in automotive tech.

 

ya i mean im 18 too. im tight on money also but somehow i save a little bit for my car

 

it says painting is required, but you seem like you didnt paint it? so did you paint it?

 

You realize you're going to have to cut portions of the front grille to make this work, right? The front grille is NON-REMOVABLE for 2004-2006 model years.

You're going to be doing something like this now:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=grill

 

You can do this for $30 in the spring.

 

how bout for a 07 type s?

 

If 180 is a lot you should not own such a car.

 

I'm 18 too, and I find the money to keep this car lookin classy. If you don't like how expensive it is, maybe the TL isn't the best choice for you. Get a job and put some time and effort into your baby. Remember Quality>Quantity

 

Well sorry that as an 18 year old paying for school i dont have money to drop on that stuff

 

If you dont have much money, 1) dont mod your TL, 2) stay off this forum, it will not end well for your wallet or car from what I'm seeing in this thread.

I've learned, if you are going to do something, measure twice, cut once. do it right the first time and you wont have to cry to yourself about how you messed up your car or how you have to redo an entire paint job.

 

Im not saying im broke as hell and cant afford to do things to my car, i can and i will. I just wanna have as much money saved up for when i graduate highschool so that i can get my own place and be independant. Iv got money, i just prioritize it

 

Some of you guys are making it sound like something that is impossible to do well, i feel that if i take my time and keep everything clean I can do it well. Just because I wanna do it myself dosnt mean im poor or cant afford to have a pro do it, I wanna mod this car myself.

 

^Then wait to do it when your dad approves and when you are moved out.