K, Damn. The front end is gonna cost me $1.8k to fix from the accident, which means my insurance will go up.

Anyways, I have the option to paint the grill area the same color as my car. Islandic(sp) pearl white. Should I? I'm already getting the lights replaced with teh AE bronze. The repair shop he'll do that for me if I pay him the xtra $40.

But do you think the grill would look better white?

 

ive always wanted to do that, but never got around to doing it...id say go for it and let me see how it looks, haha
atw

 

Are you getting an aftermarket front end, or just stock? How come insurance wouldn't cover? It wasn't your fault...right?

 

i'm kinda curious to see the painted grill myself. i've seen a pic of it done on a like a silver or black max, and it looked good. don't know about the pearl tho. it's gonna be a b!tch trying to match the tone tho. definitely post pics if you do it.

 

yes.. definitly paint it... I saw a white 5th gen before that is painted.. looks really nice... since it's so different... it caught my eye right away.. He is on this forum... go ask for pic in the west coast forum.. forgot his name.. he is from Roland Height CA...

 

let us know how it goes. i'm assuming you're going to use the factory nissan paint. if the color matches up well, i'd like to paint my bumper since it looks so bad. i'll have em use like 50 coats

 

Well, they have to repaint the top of my hood (yay, you know how good the paint job was. chip chip) And the only reason they are painting the grill is he says its not painted when it comes. If it is, then I dunno, he might not do it.
I can't beleive how much it came out to do. The insurance said anything over $1000 will make the insurance go up. While I think I should pay for the guy who I bumped, I don't think this should've caused my rates to go up. The accident happend two cars infront, and its not like I could see that. Hows this, if I bumped the car harder, and he hit the car infront, then it wouldn't have been my fault. Hows that for bad.

 

i think the grill is just dark plastic. not dark paint.

 

Well that's what I thought too. I'm not gonna tell him not. As long as I have the option to do it.

I have about 4 days to decide. Let me know guys. Or someone with a photoshop, do a front end for me and let me see what it might look like.

He won't be doing a custom kit front end. he said insurance won't let him do it (he's paid by the insurance company to do the estimates) even if its cheaper. Oh hows this too. I can not, out of pocket pay the difference to keep the price under $1k for the insurance. They want him to tell then the exact cost.

 

it is not hard to match the pearl white at all
but the only problem i am having is that the paint doesnt really stay on
due to the material of the grill
my bodyshop told me that b4 but i insisted in the white grill.....
it looks really nice
go do it
as long as you are not in toronto

 

you can try and have the grill lightly sanded prior to painting it. may help

 

it is the material of the grill that makes it easy to chip
so far my grill is fine.... not much of the white paint chippin off...

 

You have any pictures?

 

check my profile...

 

thanks. It does give it a different look. But I dunno... Do you remember if it was already painted?

 

what do you mean by already painted?????
i dont know how it looks before it is painted cuz the first time i saw the car the front bumper was painted already.....

by the way in case you dont know
the grill and bumper is one piece...

 

Haha. Yeah that's what the repair shop said when I asked if I could just drop the grill and add a mesh. He said its one unpainted piece.

 

Oh yeah, is the front bumper different on a AE? Or is it the same, just with a chin effects kit on it?

Wait a minute? Is the 2002 front end nose the same fittings as the 2000? The grill looks so much better. maybe I can change it to that one.

 

No, Yes, OK, YES....

You'd be the first to swap the 2K2 front clip.

 

I hope it does work. I faxed the repair shop this morning on doing it. but I don't know if he'll do it. I see no reason why he wouldn't unless for some reason, Nissan jacked up the price.

 

Nope. Not gonna change the front end to a '02. When I called the shop, he did a check and said that there was too much parts that would need replacing. Something about new clips and the foam backing would also need to be replaced. He also said the front grill is now a seperate piece unlike the original one piece bumper/grill of the '00. So he did not want to do it.

 

Ok, since I cannot change it, I saw A33's car with the painted grill.
I'm borrowing HIS picture and I edited out the smaller grill lines. Those would be left black or whatever color they come in as I dunno if its important to the fram of the car to just cut out.

how do you think this looks?:
http://home.hawaii.rr.com/starstreak/maxima2mod.jpg

 

must...paint...grill...white..........thats sum hott ****tttt i must say...and is that the stillen on the 2k2? maybe im juss smoking sumthing but that max looks hottt...esp w/ the fogs in there...niceeeee
atw

 

PAINT THE GRILL PEARL WHITE. I HAVE IT ON MY 2001
ANNIVERSARY EDITION AND IT LOOKS GOOD. I LIVE IN NEW
JERSEY. I'LL BE IN ENGLISHTOWN FOR THE FIRST SHOW.
I THINK IT'S MARCH 9TH.

 

i didnt really read all the posts on this thread. i just wanted to add my opinion.
YES, paint it pearl white.

 

Ok, went to the dealership, besides the foam bumper behind AND different foglights, it would fit. But that adds over $200 more to the cost, so I can't do it. ;(

I'm gonna paint it white.

 

While I'm at it, my fogs are still that factory dim yellow lights. What bulb should I put into it? The shop said he'll put in the new bulbs for me.

 

PIAA Xtreme Whites.

I have the Super Whites, but they still look yellow.

 

I really like the touched up picture with the smaller pieces removed. I've thought about doing that to mine. I also had my bumper replaced and had the grill painted. However, my Max is black. I really like the look. The shop said it was easier to do becuz they didn't have to use 2 colors (black bumper, gray grill). I would paint your grill. IMO