Reputable seller/site for quality black grill assembly?

Amazon might be shite at knowing if a part will fit your vehicle or not (it never seems to know with my 02DC), but there are some amazing deals to be had on amazon, oem parts included. i dont buy all, or even most of my parts there, but when i do im getting a better deal than anywhere else.

 

Here is a post I did recently about the black grill/surround that I bought on Ebay. The item I bought came with headlights and corner lights, but they also sell just the grill. Lots of details here https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/show-me-your-1st-gen-grill.193850/page-24#post-20959116
I was also wanting to replace my chrome grill/surround. I am not a chrome hater, but not a big fan of plastic chrome.

 

Thanks man! Looks good, especially for the price. I'll probably go this route if I find I can't abide the chrome once the new bumper's on.

 

So..... plasti dip. Always a option. That's what I did to mine. I think it took 2 cans. Can always go back to chrome if you dont like it. . When you have the bumper off paint the area below the grill black. Itll look better. I didn't and I wish that I had.

 

There is a new dip called autodip which lasts a little longer and offers gloss spray. It’s a sprayable vinyl

 

I’d probably get on carid.com and buy one from Replace for $50-60 or something like that. I can’t speak whether fitment is going to be absolute OEM perfect, but even OEM parts aren’t always perfectly snug when it comes to these things.

If you want one that’s higher quality/paint matched/raptor mesh etc. HomerTaco on the forums here does excellent work. SRQ Fab out of Florida also makes them, but it’s super hot down there right now so he’s having some issues with paint. Should have it cleared up soon.

 

Little bit of travel time but...

https://goldcountry.craigslist.org/pts/d/jackson-2004-tacoma-parts/6972990811.html

 

lol that’s the chrome setup I already have. I wanted to swap it out for black to match my black aftermarket wheels & bumper.
I already went ahead and bought the grill and corner lights from an Amazon seller. Delivery arrives next week. Thanks though!

 

no worries - figured you could take a stab at painting (easy to do with the rattle can). Cool on the new grille. Post up pics once its on.

 

I bought mine on ebay from newamauto, has a 99.4% rep. (anything above 98.1 is recommended for ebay sellers) although I also cut some brackets and half the faceplate to make a grille like @jdmstuff (FYI: It is a black grille I just plasti dipped mine, and also the ebay seller, for some reason, lists 1 item per post so if it "sold out" just wait a day or two so they relist)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/AM-New-Front-GRILLE-For-Toyota-Tacoma-TO1200250-5310004250C0/262775337747



@Area51Runner Hey nice truck, were did you get that devil horn toyota emblem, I feel like making another grille with that in the center.

 

Thanks - take a look here, he does two batches a year I believe...

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/devil-horns-emblems.15462/

 

Hey all, the grill showed up and surprisingly it's not broken*. Hurray!

Anyhow, the color is kind of a gunmetal grayish black. I'd like to paint it satin black. Any advice on not screwing this up? It seems like a fairly paintable surface. I bet I could just hit it with some spray paint and be fine, or do I need to lightly sand it first and all that?

*After several days of tracking saying it was "Out for Delivery" only to then be updated with "Delayed due to conditions", I called and asked wtf. They admitted the package had been accidentally left at the warehouse two days in a row.
When it finally did arrive it was just floating around inside a giant box that looked like someone sat on it. I'm shocked it was all in one piece.

 

You want to be sure you prep the grille before painting. Trust me on this. Prep is needed or it'll come out horrible.

You don't need to sand it - basically the finish should be ready for painting anyway. Just use a good cleaner on the plastic to remove any oils.

I used:
Dupli-Color Flat Black Premium Acrylic Enamel Spray Paint (Pae102, 12 Oz), 12. Fluid_Ounces,

$29 Dupli-Color EPAE102 Premium Acrylic Enamel Spray Paint - Flat Black - 12 oz. Aerosol Can

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CZB9KZN

For prep, I'd go with this -
Dupli-Color PW100 Prep Grease and Wax Remover Prep Wipe

$7 Dupli-Color PW100 Prep Grease and Wax Remover Prep Wipe

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002965BWK

For the PAE102 rattle can, expect results similar to this -

It's definitely a flat/matte black. Grille paint was a rush and will be touched up before going on the truck. it's been sitting in the garage forever since I've been procrastinating removing the ARB to install it

 

same paint choice for the flares - sharing this one since the grille looks gunmetal a little I guess.

 

Hmm yeah the grill pic you posted was a little bit gray/flat, but those fenders look great. I was about ready to buy the regular "Black" but maybe I will do flat black as you suggest. The only thing is the corner lights I bought with black edges are semi-gloss, so I kinda want it to match that somewhat.

 

just the lighting on the grille pic - both are the same. paint the corner lights. I too ordered the black - have only had a chance to tape one off and spray it but it came out the same.

take your time... start with a very light coat. wait a couple of mins and then another. final coat is a little heavier. i think I did 4 or 5 coats total on the flares. the grille was a rush job, it was windy lol.

 

Nice. Don't forget an adhesion promoter aerosol spray before paint since it's plastic, the panel going to flex in the wind and the paint will crack without it. Learn from my mistakes.

 

I tried the adhesion promoter spray from dupli-color on the first fender flare. Came out horrible. Ended up sanding it down and starting all over. Perhaps it was an incompatibility between their premium acrylic enamel spray - I don't know. YMMV I guess.

 

Dang it, lol. Just when I think I have my plan of attack!

 

You can still give it a try... maybe test in a smaller area - one of the inserts perhaps. You know the part that sticks out and locks into the frame clips....

You might have better results than I did. I'm not the best painter.