After seeing so many people tackle this project, I decided to try it for myself. Here is a before and after shot:





Total Time Needed to Complete: 2-3 hours
Tools Needed: Plasti Dip, Glossifier, cardboard, masking tape

Pre-work
Taping properly may take a lot of time, but it's highly worth it. A common misconception with plasti dip is that you should tape right along the edge of whatever object you are trying to paint. This is definitely not what you should be doing. When taping, be sure to leave a gap (maybe a few centimeters) between the edge of the grill and the edge of the tape. Once the plasti dip dries, you will be able to peel off the excess plasti dip from your car's paint easily, leaving a clean edge. When peeling it off, plasti dip breaks at any edge, so you should be left with a clean line if done properly.





I chose to leave the Acura emblem chrome, so the same taping concept that I described applies as shown in the below image. I left a thin layer of chrome exposed, allowing me to easily peel off the plasti dip along the edge of the emblem.



Painting
As instructed, for my first coat, I attempted to leave about 50% transparency. After about 15-20 minutes, the plasti dip was dry and I was able to apply my second coat. In total, I sprayed a total of 4 coats and there were not drips. Make sure not to hold down the trigger too long in one place.



Once the plasti dip was dry, I added 3 coats of glossifier to add some shine. If you have a black Acura TL with the nighthawk black pearl paint, I highly recommend adding glossifier as well. This helps the grill match the factory paint and makes the finish look more natural.

*Be sure to also paint the hood trim as well. After 2 coats of plasti dip, I forgot about the hood trim and had to play "catch-up"...whoops!
*Also, be careful and watch for overspray on your hood. Make sure to angle the can downwards towards the grill and not upwards towards your windshield. I made this mistake during one coat and now have to do a re-polish.

 

How much HP did you gain? I see you listed this in the Performance Parts section.

 

Looks good, been wanting to do this myself same way. Question with the gloss. How hard was it to peel with that covered on it? I've read somewhere that it can cause it to come off in little pieces vs a section

 

I honestly did not have any problems peeling off the excess plasti dip/glossifier combination. I made sure to do my research as I was skeptical at first as well. I watched many YouTube videos about this, because I wanted to see actual users demonstrating that the glossifier was also capable of peeling off cleanly. As many users demonstrated it to be effective, I also went for it and I was also able to cleanly remove the excess plasti dip/glossifier without any issues.

I hope this helps!

 

The main problem with plasti dip is people not using it correctly. Numerous coats should be applied no matter how small the job is. The more coats the easier it is to peel off

Good job doing your hw first


The DYC channel is a great tool for those looking to try this

https://www.youtube.com/user/DipYourCarcom

 

thank you for the quick reply. I'll definitely look into it and see what glossifiers are safe. Where did you get your plastidip from? I've seen the black at Walmart but wasn't sure if it's the same

thanks for the link, good stuff there

 

Anxious to see the final product.

 

Sorry that they aren't in order, my iPad won't allow me to re organize them. It all went well except the glossifier added a rough texture on the bottom. Did 5 coats black and 2 clear. The hood strip came perfectly and so did the center of the grill but not sure what I did to the bottom. It looks fine though. I may end up tearing it off and trying again but I'm happy with it for now

 

Hey Gadgetmanconnor,

I'm sorry I didn't respond to your message previously. I never received an email notification.However, it looks like you found a Plasti Dip that worked well for you. Great job!

For anyone else, who is wondering where I purchased by Plasti Dip and Glossifier, I ordered both products through DipYourCar.com. The brand that they sell is Performix and you can usually find this stuff all over. It's one of the most reputable and durable brands from what I've read about and seen on the internet. I'm sure that other brands will work just as well too though.

 

No problem I needed to do some research anyway. I actually found it at my local Walmart. They have black, white, red, gray, metalizer and the glossifier in stock. Definitely gonna play around with this stuff it's pretty neat and actually comes off easily. I had some overspray up my hood (windy) and it just wiped off

 

Seems like we have the same taste in mods for the grill. I used plasti-dip on the grill also but since I was repainting my hood and bumper I had my grill completely apart and didn't have to mask anything. The piece on the hood I used plasti-dip first and then the basecoat and clearcoat that I sprayed my hood and bumper with. It's holding up fine and it's nice to know I can remove the plasti-dip whenever I want.

 

wow, The glossifier! I'm tempted to clean off and start back over to do it that way!

here's a vid of peeling off the plasti dip from the edge
[youtube]F2CB-d9bZ5k[/youtube]

 

The grill looks good.

 

thanks Steven.