DIY Installation + Paint Chrome Trim on CL9 CL7 Grill. Warning Lots of Pictures!!
There is several ways to paint match on your car. One of the most common mods is to make your grille the color of your car, which gives you a new look to your front end. Here is a helpful guide to help you along your way when attempting this task.
Materials Needed:
1 can of primer
1 can of Paint matched spray can (Bought at $50 from Paint Spot Footscray)
1 can of clear coat
1 can of grease and wax remover
Paper Towels
Tools Needed:
10mm socket
Rachet
Flat blade screw driver
PH.C phillips screw driver (for smaller screws)
Step One: Using hood release, pop the hood and use prop rod to keep it up.
Step Two: Locate the retaining clips for the radiator cover and remove the clips.
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Step Three: Locate and remove the retaining clips for the grille. (Should look like clips from above)
Step Four: Using a outward motion, pull the grille toward you to remove from the car.
Step Five : Go to the hood. Look toward the front of the hood on the underside and locate the 4 black plastic nuts which hold the hood chrome piece on. Using your 10mm socket and rachet, use a counter-clockwise rotation to remove the nuts. Pull the chome piece towards you after the retaining nuts are removed.
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Step Six : Locate and remove the 8 screws holding the lower "V looking" chrome piece on, using your screw driver in a counter-clockwise rotation. Pull chrome piece towards you.
Step Seven : Lay down all the parts on piece of paper, and start by cleaning it with the grease and wax remover
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Step Eight : Once clean, sand the chrome grill until the gloss faded
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Step Nine : Then start applying primer. Shake primer can for minimum of 1 minute, then apply 2-3 coats of primer. Please allow 30 minutes between coatings. Doing this step will give the paint something to adhere better on the surface.
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Step Ten : Shake paint mix can for minimum of 1 minute. After 30-45 minutes of last primer coating, apply a coating of the paint mix to the pieces. Allow 30 minutes between coatings. You need to apply 3 coatings of paint. (Picture shows PWP, yes it looks like white until in sunlight)
Step Eleven: Shake Clear coat can for minimum of 1 minute. After 30-45 minutes of last paint coating, apply an even coating to the pieces. Apply 3 coatings of clear coat, allowing 30 minutes in between coatings. Doing this step, will help seal the paint you just sprayed.
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Step Twelve: After drying is complete, reassembly is the reverse of removal.
Before :
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After :
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/1...0619131727.jpg
At this final step, I realized that the new color didn't match well with the rest of body paint. Following a member's suggestion here, I re-sand it twice with P400, buff it with Meguairs Cutting Compound, Respray with Pearl coat and clear coat. This is how it turns out :
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7...0622132115.jpg
PS : 1. When installing the CL7/ Euro-R Grill, you might need to cut small trim on the radiator cover to fit it perfectly or just install it without the radiator cover.
2. You might notice that the new paint looks darker than the hood and bumper. That's always being the case. Fresh paint versus paint that's been faded over time
Hope this DIY helps anyone who want to attempt doing this mod.