Renovating 182 upper and lower front grills

[AndyPembs182]

The upper and lower front grills on my 182 have faded to a grey/blue colour and I’d like to renovate them. Ideally, whatever I do I’d like a permanent solution.

If you’ve tried spray painting I’d be interested to hear your advice! Preparation, products etc. All help gratefully received!

 

[Krarl]

I painted mine satin black, quick clean with some fairy, a rub back with Scotch-Brite, plastic primer, satin black and then matt lacquer over the top. Has been fine for over a year now, some has chipped off from driving up peoples arse and stones hitting it but that's my fault for being an arsehole

 

[AndyPembs182]

Haha yeah I pick up the stone chips as well, for the same reason. I mean, that’s what happens when you’re driving it like you stole it, right?!

 

[Krarl]

Haha yeah I pick up the stone chips as well, for the same reason. I mean, that’s what happens when you’re driving it like you stole it, right?!

Clio's only behave when you boot their f**king head in 😂

 

[JJ55]

I’m doing mine this month & going to use g technic to try & restore the colour.

 

[plenty]

As bove - try some plastic restorer like C4 before you paint.

The issue with rattle-canning is that the paint will chip very easily.

 

[andy_coops]

Lower grill I’ve just coated with Gyeon Trim - turd of a job. Old one was painted badly. By me and as the bumper’s being painted I wanted it to look smart so bought a good replacement.

Upper grill painted similarly to @Yorkshire Pudding above and about to redo as it’s picked up a few chips.

 

[VenomUK]

Depending I either used a filler primer or normal primer. Then used Matt black on all parts except the diamond which is gloss black.

very pleased with the results

 

[Bankrupt_drunk]

Looks good. The bodywork on my 172 is generally a bit tatty and I've been trying to avoid the temptation to spend bundles of cash sorting it out, but this looks really effective. How hard is it to remove the grill? Is it a bumper off job?

 

[VenomUK]

Looks good. The bodywork on my 172 is generally a bit tatty and I've been trying to avoid the temptation to spend bundles of cash sorting it out, but this looks really effective. How hard is it to remove the grill? Is it a bumper off job?

Its a doddle, once the bumper is off the car its just a case of laying it face down on something soft and using a large flat head screwdriver to push the tabs and push the grills out. Once around the back of the bumper, it all becomes clear

 

[197.]

Rather than start a new thread, how long do you leave the grills off the car when painted?

I've done my using halfords satin black and the can says to let the paint cure for 2 weeks.

Is there any risk putting the grills on the car after 2/3 days, especially with the rain we'll be getting as opposed to having them sit inside with no airflow?

 

[Krarl]

I usually leave mine for about 5 hours so you dont leave fingerprints

I've baked mine in 25⁰C sunlight and put it back on the car less than an hour later tho

 

[197.]

I usually leave mine for about 5 hours so you dont leave fingerprints

I've baked mine in 25⁰C sunlight and put it back on the car less than an hour later tho

Cheers!

I did the fingernail test and it didn't leave any imprints so I guess it should be ok to put them on the car.

The last time I painted a set I did them in decent weather like yourself, but this time round I had to rush to get them done yesterday as it was the last day of summer! I'll probably put them on the car tomorrow as the forecast for the next few days is clear/no rain.