Alright so I'm a complete amateur when it comes to painting and everything possible to go along with it. I was wondering if anyone with experience in that department could help me out a bit. I'm planning on painting the cross hairs of my grille flat black and I'm wondering what the suggested prep work should be to get a good quality look to it. Also what would be a good brand of primer/paint/clear to use.

I have three options when it comes to getting this done but the one I'm favoring the most right now is doing it myself with spray cans because I'm really starting to find more satisfaction from doing things myself lately. My other two options are a friend who has a spray gun and is fairly experienced in automotive painting and the other is finding a good paint shop and to repaint it.

 

Let your friend do it and slip him a few bucks......... .JB.

 

X2, Let your buddy do it and buy him a case of PBR and then you sit back and watch!

 

It is all about what you like, but I think it would be better as it sits now.

If you do go for it I also agree, if you are not experienced have a pro do it. Or practice on something else first.

 

Another cheaper option would be to mask off the border of the grille and the inserts and use black spray on Plasti-Dip on the crosshair section. You can make mistakes with Plasti-Dip, it won't damage the paint underneath, it shouldn't take you but an hour to get the work done, and it will give it a nice matte black finish. I used plasti dip on my stock aluminum wheels and people have mistaken it for powder coating.

You can get plasti dip from Home Depot, Menards, Car Quest, etc... for about $6.00 a can. One can should be more than sufficient to do your grille. The best part would be that if you mess up you simply peel off the plasti dip and respray.

Here's a youtube video to show you how plasti dip works:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NorxfY7ki1U

Removing Plasti Dip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz7ZD...eature=related

Of course actually painting it is a more permanent solution but it will cost you more money, and it's more work. Thought I'd throw this idea out there though, never hurts to know all the options you have. The prep work on the grille would be similiar to the wheels in the video. Simply clean the area up and make sure it's free of anything (dust, dirt, grime), mask off what you don't want to get sprayed, and simply spray away. Since you're like me and inexperienced at actually painting this stuff is perfect because it's very forgiving.