1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Chrome grill is now black. And I like it! :0)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by yunebug, Feb 5, 2010.

  1. yunebug

    yunebug Gas Guzzler

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2007
    162
    10
    0
    Location:
    Long Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    When I had my Audi A4, the silver bezels in front of the car, around the Audi logo bothered me. So I searched for a solution on the forum and found Plasti-Dip.

    This is not my car - but I did the same thing:

    [​IMG]

    Following Rokeby's how to remove the grill (http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-modifications/54784-removing-upper-grill-smile.html), I was able to easily remove the chrome grill and paint it with plasti-dip.

    [​IMG]

    More at the link below:

    Home - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing & Video Hosting
     
    #1 yunebug, Feb 5, 2010
  2. talonts

    talonts VFAQman

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2004
    448
    69
    1
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Nice, thanks for the pic. I've considered doing this on my 06 for a very long time, was just going to cover it with electrical tape to get the visuals down, but your pic shows that it will do quite nicely, so I guess I'd better get it painted up.

    I was just going to use black paint, OR strip the chrome off. Plasti-dip looks like it might work well. I just don't want brush strokes showing - how well does it level out when dried?
     
    #2 talonts, Feb 5, 2010
  3. bino

    bino JDM ZVW30

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2008
    1,348
    706
    0
    Location:
    SoCal 91739
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    also did that on mine..

    [​IMG]
     
    #3 bino, Feb 5, 2010
  4. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2008
    2,927
    782
    0
    Location:
    IL
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Spraying mine down this summer.
     
    #4 a_gray_prius, Feb 5, 2010
  5. yunebug

    yunebug Gas Guzzler

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2007
    162
    10
    0
    Location:
    Long Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I think it's more pronounced on lighter colored cars, lol. Not so much on the gray prius. I'll take some pictures in daylight and upload them. I liked the way it looked in the dark and I have a feeling that I'll like it even more in the light. :0)

    I gotta put the BT Tech plate on next. :0)
     
    #5 yunebug, Feb 5, 2010
  6. markderail

    markderail I do 45 mins @ 3200 PSI

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2006
    2,260
    163
    18
    Location:
    Pierrefonds (Montreal) Quebec Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    All black, with an red LED bar, the Cylon back & forth.

    Cooler - have the LED Cylon bar only turn on when you're braking - so the sinister look helps pedestrians. I'd add an outdoor speaker with the Cylon sound, and I would now have a Passive / Agressive system for pedestrians, blind and the non-blind.

    // Caprica fan
     
    #6 markderail, Feb 5, 2010
    1 person likes this.
  7. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2008
    4,003
    944
    118
    Location:
    Los Angeles Foothills
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A

    I like the Black Out idea, would love to see a pic with the light bar.

    A little update here, I went to a Plasti-Dip website.
    Black Aerosol 11 oz | U.S. Plastic Corp.
    I did a litte reading, oh oh, fine print time.
    "Not UV resistant. UV formula available by special order; contact us for quote."
    I hope you bought the UV resistant varient of this paint..if not its going grey out way too soon and look, well, bad!!!
    The UV version is a special order. I sent a price request for the UV version, it can't be that much more than the $7.15 they want for a 11 oz. spray can!!

    The also make it in RED.....That just might blend in quite nice on the "Bacelona Red Baby"!!!
     
    #7 KK6PD, Feb 5, 2010
  8. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2008
    4,003
    944
    118
    Location:
    Los Angeles Foothills
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A

    Yeah, Daylight pics. Did you have to rough up the surface for good adhesion? Cool idea!!
     
    #8 KK6PD, Feb 5, 2010
  9. yunebug

    yunebug Gas Guzzler

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2007
    162
    10
    0
    Location:
    Long Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I scratched up the surface with sandpaper before I began. Plasti-dip can just be sprayed. I put on 12 coats - giving it 20 minutes between coats to dry. The end result can be seen in the gallery. It gives the grill a black plastic layer that is quite tough and waterproof. Mu Audi that got the treatment survived automatic car washes. Granted, they were touchless, the water jets pounded on the grill - no problem.

    Ideally, you should scratch off the chrome paint first, then apply black plastic paint. Plasti-dip is a faster, easier, and reliable solution.
     
    #9 yunebug, Feb 5, 2010
  10. yunebug

    yunebug Gas Guzzler

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2007
    162
    10
    0
    Location:
    Long Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    [​IMG]
     
    #10 yunebug, Feb 7, 2010
  11. talonts

    talonts VFAQman

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2004
    448
    69
    1
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    It looks like the dip is already scratched off in a couple of areas - or is that just white gunk on the leading edge?
     
    #11 talonts, Feb 7, 2010
  12. yunebug

    yunebug Gas Guzzler

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2007
    162
    10
    0
    Location:
    Long Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Nope - scratched off. I found the reason why though:

    [​IMG]

    As I was painting it, I was spraying from the top and didn't spray the FRONT of the grill, resulting in spotty coverage (no pun intended). You can see how the bottom of the grill was not painted - any contact around that area would result in peeling of the paint. So I detached the grill again and sprayed the front and bottom of the grill:

    [​IMG]

    And put it back:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Now that the top layer of plasti-dip has joined the front and the bottom layer of plasti-dip, no more chips! :0)

    (...unless something huge hits the grill from the road, I guess). <:0)
     
    #12 yunebug, Feb 8, 2010
  13. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2008
    4,003
    944
    118
    Location:
    Los Angeles Foothills
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Hey you'all I contacted the vendor for this paint. Here are the part numbers for the UV resistant version paint...

    "38046 is the part number for the red and 38057 is the part number for the black. You can order this online or over the phone with one of our sale agents. The phone number is 800 537 9724. "

    I have 2 cans on order!!!
     
    #13 KK6PD, Feb 12, 2010
  14. natch77

    natch77 New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2011
    6
    0
    0
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    yunebug- now just plastidip the badge up there too! I have a white one and plastidipped the grill like you did, as well as all badges around the car. No more chrome for me. Got limo tint... and about to plastidip the wheels (sans the rings). Going to be SWEEEETTT.
     
    #14 natch77, Mar 2, 2012
  15. yunebug

    yunebug Gas Guzzler

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2007
    162
    10
    0
    Location:
    Long Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Haha yeah eventually I'll get to the badges. :0) Thanks for the reminder!
     
    #15 yunebug, Mar 2, 2012
  16. ncmm87507

    ncmm87507 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2009
    37
    3
    0
    Location:
    Beaumont, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    did that to mine at first and then noticed it was getting too chipped up., and look like crapola! so i bought one from Toyota for around $30 bucks, and no chipping at all!!
     
    #16 ncmm87507, Mar 3, 2012
  17. Daves09prius

    Daves09prius Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2010
    680
    161
    0
    Location:
    Gettysburg, PA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    One
    Looks awesome, can't wait for warmer weather so I can do this too!
     
    #17 Daves09prius, Mar 5, 2012
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)