CaptainHenreh Wrote:DAFUQ

WRXtranceformed Wrote:Car all fixed, will make sure to post up some pics and a vid if I can after the exhaust install

Quote:Travel is about to ramp up for work again and we just got back from traveling for the holidays to see family so I figured I should squeeze this in while I had time. I love the black pak grille and overall scheme and although I have bought several items already from Mina Gallery I didn't think it was necessary to spend $300+ on a grille I can "dip" myself. Having successfully tackled Plastidipping the chrome grille, trim and badges on my Cadillac this was going to be relatively easy.

How it sat before in all of it's dirty glory:






On to the grille:

Step 1: Mask off everything you don't want overspray on. Leave about a 1/4 to 1/2" gap when taping off the trim around what you want dipped so that you can peel it off later. Fortunately I don't paint for a living as you can tell from my masking skills but it works haha


Step 2: Clean up your grille and apply coat 1. Wait half an hour for it to dry. It's not going to look super great on the first pass so don't stress out. Unfortunately the weather is cold right now and my can of Plastidip was sitting in the garage so I had to swap it in and out of a warm part of my house to keep it spraying correctly.


Step 3-6ish: Apply several more coats, in my opinion 5-6 is the sweet spot because it will be less vulnerable to rock "chips" and protect the grille better. On our particular grille make sure to be deliberate about spraying at diagonal angles and upward angles to get inside all of the crevaces. It is a pretty busy grille design so you don't want to miss any spots.



If it starts to look a little chunky that is fairly normal and it's made probably a little worse by it being cold. Just spray another layer over that area and the dip tends to settle out and smooth a little. Again I'm not the best painter so others can probably get a smoother final coat but the texture isn't noticeable unless you're 6" away

Step 7: Unmask and begin to peel off the excess from what you don't want the dip on. I chose to remove it from the R badge I had on the front as well as the growler. Wherever there is a "threshold" of trim to trim it should peel right up fairly easily leaving what is next to it intact.




I left just the chrome growler peeking through mostly because I was impressed that it came off of him that cleanly ha. I may end up pulling the "JAGUAR" ring off around him but for right now I'm going to let him stand out:




If you get any overspray, you can pretty easily rub it off with your finger or a clay bar will get it up pretty quick. This stuff is pretty awesome, it can ultimately be peeled off or redone again if you don't like it. Although it would be pretty hard to get it off all of the crevaces in your grille. I even did a TV stand for my wife since I had plenty left over with 1 can:

WRXtranceformed Wrote:Three bent wheels in less than 2 months. I swear if they don't finish the highway work around here soon I am going to rampage. I got a letter from the state kindly saying that they would *not* be reimbursing me for the damage to my car. Apparently you have to name a specific state employee who was negligent to have allowed the pot hole to continue to exist. :lol: Ironically my wife drove me home from the airport and that pothole was now fixed. Funny how that works.

Anyway I am not going to bother going after the state for this one, so it is in the shop getting that fixed as well as getting some more cosmetic surgery done. Pics to come at the end of the week when I get her back

Jake Wrote:Eep, that sucks Can't believe the bad luck! We have had a ton of potholes around here lately as well, and I've hit 3 or 4 where it sounded like the strut came through the mount/tower. Thankfully, everything is fine so far, but I could probably use an alignment in the spring.

What a BS policy for getting reimbursed.