Did something a bit different w/my grille

[1TSXer]

Got board with the carbon fiber mugen style so I decided to sand and paint the bottom chrome trim around the grille. I sanded using 800 and 1000 grit paper before primering. Then painted w/custom spray can of stock CGP mixed by www.paintscratch.com and followed up with clear coat. Let me know what you guys/gals think :woot:

[VorteC]

looks great man. a nice touch actually.

[code85]

wow thats really really nice. good job man.

[LannyMCS]

Yeah, looks great! Much better than stock, plus you get to keep the A symbol, so you don't have to rebadge everything else.

[MemphisRheins]

Nice Job!!! looks real good man... If I still had A's on my car I would do something like that!

[aeon]

i was thinking about doing something like that to my 06, but i was going to paint the center chrome black and leave the A emblem alone.

[BlueTSX05]

looks great, very well done from what I can see in the picture, great idea

[1TSXer]

thanks for all the positive feedback! I was thinking of doing the chrome strip in the center and leaving the "A" alone. Asked my wife her opinion and she said she liked it as it is in the pic.

[Drunkenbuda]

damn, nice!

[TSXDude]

How hard was it to paint over chrome? Did you use any primer or adhesion promoter? I want to paint over some chrome parts too but too afraid it will eventually chip away.

[aeon]

anyone good with photoshop? can you please black out the chrome strip in the middle and leave the A emblem?

[1TSXer]

How hard was it to paint over chrome? Did you use any primer or adhesion promoter? I want to paint over some chrome parts too but too afraid it will eventually chip away.
I didn't paint over the chrome. I sanded it down to bare black plastic first w/800 grit sand paper and followed up w/2000 grit. After that I washed it w/soap and water followed by alcohol. I didn't need adhesion promoter as the primer stuck on well. I applied one lite coat of primer followed by two heavy ones. After letting it dry for a day I hit it again w/2000 grit sand paper. Washed and cleaned w/alcohol again and then applied the color using the same technique as the primer. I let it sit for another day and applied the clear coat. One lite coat followed by two heavy. Let it sit for another day and lightly applied rubbing compound. Remounted it and, Boom your done!

[code85]

wow so much work, but it was worth it.

[TSXDude]

I didn't paint over the chrome. I sanded it down to bare black plastic first w/800 grit sand paper and followed up w/2000 grit. After that I washed it w/soap and water followed by alcohol. I didn't need adhesion promoter as the primer stuck on well. I applied one lite coat of primer followed by two heavy ones. After letting it dry for a day I hit it again w/2000 grit sand paper. Washed and cleaned w/alcohol again and then applied the color using the same technique as the primer. I let it sit for another day and applied the clear coat. One lite coat followed by two heavy. Let it sit for another day and lightly applied rubbing compound. Remounted it and, Boom your done!

Thanks. Did it take long to sand down the chrome? Also did you wetsand the clearcoat before polish/compound? I find that clearcoat doesn't 'finish' well by aerosol (assuming that's what you used).

[ians]

You should wet sand it before every layer of paint/clearcoat to put in but not on the final layer. If want prefect result then apply multi-layer of thin clearcoat and wet sand it in between.

[TSXDude]

^Is that right? i find that the layer of paints goes on pretty smooth, but whenever it comes time for the clearcoat, it just doesn't finish as well. This is all using aerosol btw.

[1TSXer]

Thanks. Did it take long to sand down the chrome? Also did you wetsand the clearcoat before polish/compound? I find that clearcoat doesn't 'finish' well by aerosol (assuming that's what you used).
It did take a while to get all the chrome stuff off. And yes, it was all wet sanded. Suprisingly enough the clear coat went on really well and smooth. I didn't wet sand it, just used the rubbing compound. If it was a bigger, flatter piece surface I would have though.

[1TSXer]

Make sure you use paint that is specifically for painting what ever it is you are painting. I highly recommend getting your supplies from: paintscratch.com It takes awhile to get your colors mixed and put in the aerisol can, but it's totally worth the wait. The :bowdown1: paint was an exact match

[Tsx536]

That looks great man! You should start selling those painted grills.

[1TSXer]

That looks great man! You should start selling those painted grills.
That sounds like too much work :rolling_e Plus, then mine wouldn't be as unique :laugh:

[Ishakir]

How much paint / primer / clearcoat did you end up using? 12.5oz enough for the job?

[1TSXer]

How much paint / primer / clearcoat did you end up using? 12.5oz enough for the job?
Way more than enough.

[Ishakir]

Way more than enough.

Besides that, should I get anything else from paintscratch or any place else?? Absolutely loving the way it looks!!

[1TSXer]

Besides that, should I get anything else from paintscratch or any place else?? Absolutely loving the way it looks!!
You will definately need several different grit sand paper (600 up to 2000), pre-wipe cloth or rag soaked in alcohol to remove oil and debri, and a light rubbing compound. You can't get everything else at any autopart store, I just recommend getting the paint from paintscratch.com.

[Chiqui<^_^>28]

grill looks great!

[si2tsx]

Turned out pretty nice! any other plans for the tsx?

heres how it looks with the center peice painted...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/sapinoso483/CL9/8.jpg

[1TSXer]

Turned out pretty nice! any other plans for the tsx?

heres how it looks with the center peice painted...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/sapinoso483/CL9/8.jpg
Thanks, I've got a Hondata heatshield gasket sitting in front of me waiting to be installed. I plan on installing it Friday. As for what's next? I'm unsure :donno: