phongn

Hi All,
I'm currently stuck on a problem. I have a Black 2010 TL with the ugly factory silver trim and grill so I had a local motosport shop paint my front grill and rear trim black using automotive aerosol paint that I ordered from automotivetouchup.com and before they painted it, they sanded it down but failed to put any primer or bonding agent down first. So now after just 3 days the paint has flaked off and it looks horrible. I took to a very reputable body shop who does really good work and they said that they've had so many of these come through their shop over the last year and when they painted them they'd all flake off just like mine so they no longer do it because they haven't found any way to make the paint stick to the trim pieces which they said are not plastic but a special metalic coated piece. They told me I pretty much have to buy new pieces! Aaaargggh! Not what I wanted to hear.

Has anyone here had success in painting these pieces without the paint flaking off? I've seen several black TL's with no problems so there's got to be a way to make the paint stick and not chip off??

Type-ES

Sand it down more. Clean it with a oil/wax remover. Use a adheasion promoter, use quality paint and clear coat it.

Nexson

In the beginning, I tried a few methods to paint these grilles, but found the best method is to prep them like metal. So I sand with 80 grit, then use epoxy primer and a urthane sealer. Rock chips are a part of the game but peeling like that should not be.

potmilkz

dude, whatever they told you is bs.. they didnt use primer, so paint didnt stick. that is all.

you should call and get your money back due to that they didnt not properly prep your grill and trim.

they didnt even sand it down or use primer!

this is what you need to do.

get 800 grit sand paper, sand all the paint down, and make sure its leveled.

get duplicolor primer, spray 2 coats, and make sure its even. get some 1200 grit sand paper and sand down the primer, make sure its leveled.

then clean it off, make sure all dust and everything is not on it. and hit it with OEM paint, do 3 light coats, wait 10 mins in between coats.

do a last 4th coat, but make sure its thick. make sure to get all areas on the grill.

let it dry for about a day, clean it off, then hit it with some duplicolor clear coat. same process, 3 light coats, wait 10 mins in between, then a heavy 4th coat.

let it dry for 24 hours, then hit wet sand with 1500 grit. look up on the web how to wetsand.

once done, buff it out with some polish that you can get from autozone.

meguiars scratch remover works. but i recommend that you get a porter cable 7424 with pads.

btw where are you located at?

Nexson

The grille needs to be chemically stripped, with 800 grit you will be there all day and nothing will stick to 800 grit sand scratch. Also sanding with 1200 will leave way too smooth a surface for paint to stick, it will peel right off. Without tooth nothing will stick. I wouldn't recommend anything that is a 1k product. None of those duplicolors are 2k. 2k meaning requiring a hardener. A harderner will lock down the substrate so no issues of peeling will occur.

Also, this grille does not need primer, primer is for repairing something. Primer is thick, so the first chip you have, the bigger your chip. The grille needs to be sealeed. I would recommended sealing with omni epoxy, when mixed 4:1:2, it shoots nice as a sealer and doesn't dieback either. Further more a 1k clear will not stand up to UV rays, nor will it give the gloss you want.

The mil build on 3 coats of clear is barely .5, recommended mil build on a high solids clear is at least 2.0 and 1.5 after shrinking. Most quality solids clear do not require a reducer and rather mix 4:1, meaning 4 parts clear and one part hardener. All a reducer will do is will reduce the amount of solids in the clear. This sort of mimics an aersol can, do you think you could ever spray that thick of a clear through a spray can, probably not, which is why the paint is thinned down so far. Sure the paint might look decent after cut and buffed but not much longer will it hold out.

Also rememeber when painting something, your not only trying to color match but you need to match the OEM clearcoat Orange peel finish. So shooting out of a paint gun, you can dial in your pressure so that your gun can shoot bigger droplets. Bigger droplets will not mesh together as small droplets. Small droplets will leave a smoother finish, whereas the bigger droplets will leave more of that OEM finish.

potmilkz

well its just for people that want to go with spray can way..

it worked for me.

but if your going to go with the whole route of going semi-professional paint job, then yea, you will have to go get the equipment. compressor, paint gun, booth, etc..

but personally, i wouldnt try this on my grill, i already know its going to chip, but ill try it on my rear trim tho.

Nexson

Rattle cans have their place, but when painting the focal part of the car, it needs to be treated like any other panel. Everything has its place

phongn

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm in the Seattle area. I think I'll leave it up to someone who really knows what they're doing rather than experimenting. Brian it sounds like you have some experience doing several of these. I'm PM you.

kkirk2

Why don't you wrap it in vinyl? Simple.

eazy

iTrader: (8)

Doesn't look sanded at all

KarKraze

Nexon does amazing work,i used a similar process to do my grille and i will see how it stands up over time.Imo rattle cans is not for a job like this since the paint in it does not have the same amount of hardeners as automotive paint and the clear coat is pretty much the same,before i painted mine i tried the rattle can process on a scrap piece of metal, after a week i passed my nail on it and it scratched easily.If you want a durable job have it professionally done or take the right steps and you will be happy with the results.

Shellyduchsk8s

Nexson did an amazing job on my grille - even the dealership commented on the quality

Nexson

phongn


Clear your inbox





Please.