Was thinking about purchasing a matte black grille for my '05 but wanted to know first if any of you had success painting your factory grille matte black instead of buying a new one.
If so...which paint did you use? Pics would be great too! Thanks
I thought about blacking out the chrome in my after market grills that are already mostly blacked except the grill molding and each side of the many grill slats. It's half and half. One would have to sand all of the grill by hand or light bead blast for any semi-gloss or flat black to stay adhered over time. Any paint will blow off a chroamed substrate if not sanded. The time and effort to prep and paint grills may approach a point called 'cost prohibitive' meaning that the labor time and materials costs exceed any reasonable attempt to approach...............There are after market blacked-out grills available...Google...that in the end will give you what you want and for far le$$.
My wife got me a set of the ECS matte black grills for my birthday. Fit and finish is top notch. They are a bit more pricey, but I think they were money well spent.
I installed the Matte grill with the BMW M stripes as a tester. While I gave ECS Turning 4 stars, it was only because the rubber on the back side was missing. The grills are designed to push air thru the radiator and the cold air intake.
Here are a couple of pictures as a reference.
Darin
Current:
16 220i Active Tourer Platinsilver MET (C08)/Dakota Black (PDSW), P7ACA, P7LDA, P7LHA, P9BDA, 6sp Manual - Wife's new toy!
05 325it Electric Red(438)/Gray(N6TT) ZCW, ZSP 5sp Manual Back set cover, trunk mat, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield, and mud flaps! Mr. Wagon My new Winter car.
05 M3 Imolarot II(405)/Gray(N5TT) ZCW, ZPP 6sp Manual C.F. Lip, CSL diffuser, SSK, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield and a trunk liner! Mr. Go_Fast Stored for the Winter
Past:
95 318is Montreal Blue Met (297)/Beige(K1SN) RIP, killed by an Idiot.
84 M535i gray market Burgandy Rot Met/Black Leather Lowered by Intrax on bilies, poly everywhere, B&B cat back system, K&N, and a hitch! Da Beast - Still running w/400k+!
91 316i euro Tizianrot/Gray cloth - E-36 w/M-40 RIP, but great on gas! Best was 38 MPG
82 528i euro Saphire Blue Met/Blue Leather RIP
79 525 euro Green/Green RIP
79 318 Silver/Black - The first one that got it all started
M-Flight Member
ECS Turning .....I've ordered and received varied parts for when I had my A6 from 2006...They are a friend!
Darin
Current:
16 220i Active Tourer Platinsilver MET (C08)/Dakota Black (PDSW), P7ACA, P7LDA, P7LHA, P9BDA, 6sp Manual - Wife's new toy!
05 325it Electric Red(438)/Gray(N6TT) ZCW, ZSP 5sp Manual Back set cover, trunk mat, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield, and mud flaps! Mr. Wagon My new Winter car.
05 M3 Imolarot II(405)/Gray(N5TT) ZCW, ZPP 6sp Manual C.F. Lip, CSL diffuser, SSK, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield and a trunk liner! Mr. Go_Fast Stored for the Winter
Past:
95 318is Montreal Blue Met (297)/Beige(K1SN) RIP, killed by an Idiot.
84 M535i gray market Burgandy Rot Met/Black Leather Lowered by Intrax on bilies, poly everywhere, B&B cat back system, K&N, and a hitch! Da Beast - Still running w/400k+!
91 316i euro Tizianrot/Gray cloth - E-36 w/M-40 RIP, but great on gas! Best was 38 MPG
82 528i euro Saphire Blue Met/Blue Leather RIP
79 525 euro Green/Green RIP
79 318 Silver/Black - The first one that got it all started
M-Flight Member
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