Painting base model grille...EPIC FAIL.

Does that partsgeek stuff fit good?

 

i just got a parts geek tacoma grille for about 30 bucks and paint from automotivepaint.com. the grille comes in two pieces so no masking is required to paint. just run dish soap and water on the part to be painted to clean. sand with 600 grit. clean with water and tack rag. spray 2 coats of plastic adhesion promoter. prime. paint. clearcoat. 1500 wet sand to smooth it out. buff with rubbing compound to bring back dull shine. buff with polish for brilliant shine. the hardest part is waiting enough time between coats 5-10min and waiting enough time between primer/ paint/ and clear coat...which is 30 min minimum and then wait a day before the 1500 wet sand. don't paint in the sun but it should be 70-100 degrees with minimal humididty. once your done you mate the two pieces of the grille together and melt the tabs with a solder iron to lock them in place.

 

I'm not going to go through and read all the posts, but a few tips.

Extremely light coats... they dry much quicker. You don't want a thick coat that doesn't get a chance to flash off, and then add another coat on top of it.

After you paint it, don't touch it for days. Anything rattle can (despite what the directions say) seems to take days to cure. If you're out in the super hot sun then it might cure within a day or two. Mine sat for a week before I finally put it on. Its just not worth the risk.

 

something you might want to try is bed liner it, it will look crisp i know it sounds crazy but thats the thing to do easy to do i bough a can of it at walmart for 8 bucks and some sand paper and wash it off put about 2 coats on and let it try it will stick great and dry even. i bed lined my emblim in the grill and the caps on the rims but taped off the silver part it looks nice

 

Use a spray gun.

 

I want to colour-match, not paint is black. I'd just use Plasti-dip on it if I wanted it black.