This weekend I'm planning on plasti dipping just the outside chrome trim on a new grille. The grille is not on the car, would it be easier to do on the car or off the car? I've never dipped anything but imagine it may be easier on the car as you would have an edge to pull off any excess dip.

Thoughts?

Easier while its off the car. that way you can turn it around and double check you have full coverage, plus you wont have to mask off the whole damn front end(over spray is a pain). Make sure you use a lot of coats. The more coats, the easier it is to peel off when you want to re-do or just remove it completely.

I did my on the car and had no problems. As stated above though overcoat that thing so that the excess will peel easily and you get that clean "cut" you want at the edges. It's really just choosing between time to tape it off or time to take it off of the car and put it back on...I think tape wins that battle!

I was wondering about this. Good advice. Knowing me, I would mess something up so I'd pull it off.

Decided to do it off the car. So far so good, I'm on my 4th coat and thinking I'm going with 6 coats total.

I bought the glossifier, not sure if I should use that or not. So far looks pretty good without it. Anyone have experience w/ the glossifier? Was thinking it might give it additional protection...

Take the grill off of the car and then take the grille surround off.



FYI, when you get a nice wash or detail and you want to shine up your matte plasti-dip, I use Perfect 10 aerosol dressing that I get from Malco. Works great

Dudemaine, I was trying for a while to figure out how to take the grille surround off. I even posted on here but got no response. I saw that there were clips but everything was super tight I couldn't figure it out.

This Perfect 10 aerosol you speak of, do you spray it on and leave it - no wiping? And did you use plasti dip glossifier on yours?

Which one do you use Dudemaine:

1) http://www.malcoautomotive.com/Perfe...y-details.aspx

2) http://www.malcoautomotive.com/VOC_P...g-details.aspx

#2

I didn't use any glossifier and when I use that aerosol dressing it's good for tires too and there's a good amount in the cans. My detail guy out me on to it and it's definitely a bargain. Just wipe off any excess spray properly with a paper or microfiber towel and you're good, just make sure you're applying it properly. It's not rocket-science, so I'm confident you'll figure it out. I really like the way it shines up nicely, isn't messy and lasts a good amount if time provided no rain and road grime being kicked-up on it.

As far as removing the front grille assembly: when you pop the hood and start removing the black plastic tabs (I want to say there's fewer than 15 of 'em to remove in total) so you can get your hands in there, I want to say that there are 8 "release points" you gotta work with your fingers while guiding the grille outwards towards yourself. These release points are parallel with each other for the top and bottom of the grille and the toughest ones to release are towards the middle of the grille around the Nissan emblem area. You'll figure it out. Being careful and focused the first time I did it took my probably 15 minutes to get off of the car; it really isn't terrible at all.

Once it's off, to remove the front emblem the release points are on the top and bottom of the Nissan logo and you can guide that thing right out, and I'd recommend using a butter knife or flat-head screwdriver with a skinny, flat head on it to pry apart the release points of the grille surround. It's better to do this on a warmer, hotter day so that the plastic is more flexible and forgiving and will work with you a little more so you do not break any tabs (I didn't).

Anyway, hope this helps and good luck.

Thank you, good information bro.

I was able to get all the top clips to come arart on the top of the grille surround but not the bottom, theyre exceptionally tiht and doesn't seem to be any wiggle room. I think I'll let it sit in the sun and warm up the plastic a little like you suggest.

Thanks again!

Now, let's see some pictures of the grill on the car!

I'm going to give your suggestion a try & give some shine to the grill.

Here is how it turned out, I like it! Unfortunately my car is not operational at the moment, was stuck in a hailstorm that shattered my rear window and I'm waiting for the insurance adjuster to still come out so I can get it in the body shop. After it's fixed, then I'll install the grille.

I'm still contemplating adding the glossifier, but the matte black dipped look looks pretty sweet too...

I just used some Meguiar's xtreme tire dressing on the grill. Looks nice! I thought about doing it before as it's rubberized paint, then just forgot about it till I read your post.

Came out nice!

Thanks!

Good to know adding some of the dressing looks good, that what makes me wonder if I should add the glossifier!?

Well done, bro Namath.

Yeah man, do what you will with the glossifier and let us know how it turns out! Snap some pics or whatnot!

I've used the glossier and it's the same as the dip. The more you use, the better. However, it DOES make the dip harder to peel. It makes it more prone to cracking then stretching like normal.

Also, the glossier honestly made the black look a little gun metal flakish? It's brighter yeah, but it doesn't look as black as it was either.

Just a heads up.

Good to know! I decided to leave it alone. I'm going to mess with the glossifier with something other than my car to see what it looks like when I have the time.

Could you use the glossifier alone on the paint of the car for added protection on the bumper or would that look noticeable and like crap?

plasti dip badge with red accent.

Looks great! The red goes well with the red brake light. How did you do it with the red?

bought touch up paint frm dealership and a detail paint brush.along with a steady hand

Cool, good work

going to do the front in a cpl days ill post pics when done

I started on the trunk chrome accent I'm working on the rest of the chrome once I get back

need to. smoke them lights it will really set it off

Looks good!

here's the front grill i did today plasti dipped with red accent

Looks great man, not gonna lie: you really got my wheels turning here for a gray accent to match my wheels. Lemme ask: how long would you say it took you for each emblem? Please let me know the times separately for each one!

Again, job well done.

i would say i spent about 10-15 mins on front just cause it's bigger but def easier. take your time tho! i put 3 coats of paint and the back took about the same it was a lot harder. i did make a cpl mistakes that you can see up close but can't tell frm 5 feet away so it's all good.

Hey, forgot to ask: what kind of paint did you use? Automotive? Base? Flat, etc?

it was automotive

Did my grill and emblems yesterday.also did chrome trim on trunk..took grill and trim off car..so easy to do and came out nice..

wheres the pics?

I'll take some when I get a minute..

In the end, flat/satin black seems to look really nice on the chrome window trim and trunk trim. Originally I had wanted a black chrome/polished gunmetal look, but it seems that's almost too hard to obtain/do. I decided I wanted something more permanent and less sticky than plastidip, and vinyl isn't my favorite either, so I ended up using SEM trim black on everything. Loving it.

what color is your max? i wanna do this also. i have a max super black

I have a winter frost white. It'd look good on yours too. I just hate the look of chrome lately. Debating getting my door handles color-matched, but I'll probably leave them for now.

I forgot how much I hated taping/masking... it's the bane of my existence. If using actual paint like I did, you have to do it well. Can't just rub overspray/etc off like Plastidip. Though you could use acetone/nail polish remover, but you have to be careful with those.

that looks nice!!

Turned out great Tony! How many coats did you do? Keep us posted how it holds up too.

Will do, hoping I don't have to redo it for a long time since I hate taping! I don't remember the exact number of coats... Probably 5 or 6, basically a full can.