Anyone painted their W203 grill black !!

[blueserenity777]

Has anyone painted their front grill black..thinking of doing it on mine W203..if so, can you share photos..
car is black..so any opinions out there..should i..

 

[kjay]

I think (?) Tudu painted his first, before he covered it in carbon fibre.

Try searching his earlier threads on his C200.

.

 

[Smatt]

Yes, recently had my cl203 done. IMHO tonnes better & even think I prefer to the holy grill.
Planning to wash & photograph this weekend

 

[blueserenity777]

I dont like the centre grill star either..looks better on CLK and C55 but not quite nice on the W203..

 

[Smatt]

Here is my 203 coupe with grey grille & chrome bits painted in Obsidian black
Before & after shots- spot the difference

 

[R129mine]

i think the black looks nice

 

[tudu]

I think (?) Tudu painted his first, before he covered it in carbon fibre.

Try searching his earlier threads on his C200.

.

Yep i have painted a couple of grills black and covered one in CF vinyl. Only problem is stone chips no matter how careful you are you will be forever covering them up weekends. The CF vinyl was good though and due to its thickness solved this problem but its not to everyone's taste.

 

[kop-al-74]

Tudu,is the car on the left in your picture a w203?If so,where did you get the grill?

 

[Pug]

Only problem is stone chips no matter how careful you are you will be forever covering them up weekends.

You need to make sure you scuff-sand it properly first. This gives a key for the paint/primer to stick to.
Then use either vinyl dye or plastic primer and normal paint for a true colour match.

Clearcoat properly after and say goodbye to stone chips.

 

[tudu]

Tudu,is the car on the left in your picture a w203?If so,where did you get the grill?

Yes, its my C200K Sport, and the grille was brought off ebay plus it matches CLK grille on C55. Just fancied a change from CF grille.

 

[tudu]

You need to make sure you scuff-sand it properly first. This gives a key for the paint/primer to stick to.
Then use either vinyl dye or plastic primer and normal paint for a true colour match.

Clearcoat properly after and say goodbye to stone chips.

That was all done plus 3 coats of clearcoat. You will still get stone chips. Ask a good bodyshop to do it for you and they will probably say the same thing no guarantee against stone chips, that's if they even accept the job.

If like me you do a lot of motorway driving the whole of the front of the car suffers from stone chips, hence the grille placed right at the front will suffer the worst, which is why i went down the CF vinyl route no more chips just minute dents.

 

[Pug]

That was all done plus 3 coats of clearcoat. You will still get stone chips. Ask a good bodyshop to do it for you and they will probably say the same thing no guarantee against stone chips, that's if they even accept the job.

If like me you do a lot of motorway driving the whole of the front of the car suffers from stone chips, hence the grille placed right at the front will suffer the worst, which is why i went down the CF vinyl route no more chips just minute dents.

Fair enough, I'll defer to your experience of it.
Had good results from that technique myself though and seen what you describe from improper treatment, so I was just aiming at a heads up in case you weren't aware.

 

[blueserenity777]

my journey to work is motorway driving..50miles round trip..and like tudu, front area does suffer from stone chips..my worry is paiting it all black will look good for a shorttime untill the stonechips get ore visible and then with touchups , it will just get worse and worse..the slats are due for paint again very soon..will ask if they do vinyls..

 

[tudu]

my journey to work is motorway driving..50miles round trip..and like tudu, front area does suffer from stone chips..my worry is paiting it all black will look good for a shorttime untill the stonechips get ore visible and then with touchups , it will just get worse and worse..the slats are due for paint again very soon..will ask if they do vinyls..

I have a local art student working on a project for me at the mo. I have asked him to wrap a w203 grille in black vinyl. He reckons he can do it, so i will post the result once he has finished. Given that my CF grille took some 9 and 1/2 hours, he should be a lot quicker although it was 4 days ago he started on it so i am not holding my breath.

 

[blueserenity777]

you are definately well connected tudu..

 

[crockers]

May come back wrapped in clingfilm ...

 

[tudu]

May come back wrapped in clingfilm ...

I asked him to do black vinyl, given that he is an art student i am wondering if he might bring back a fablon type design with roses or some other flowery design on - nice.

 

[bobby]

Here is my 203 coupe with grey grille & chrome bits painted in Obsidian black
Before & after shots- spot the difference

Smatt - you've transformed the car! Well done. Did you do the spray or bodyshop?

 

[Smatt]

Smatt - you've transformed the car! Well done. Did you do the spray or bodyshop?

Thanks.
Was done by a bodyshop whilst having some insurance work and one or two other things done. As per other posters above, the chap used a plastic etch first to 'key' the surface prior to painting. No chips so far, but I drive mainly on A/B roads ( although I would have thought this would cause more stone chips than M-ways- certainly have a fair few on my bonnet). Also I believe that using an oven on the paint makes it a little more resilient?