Black front grill off of ebay

[andyboy]

Anyone here purchased a "factory style" (non oem) front grill before? I'm looking at this guy: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Land-Rover-...ack-/191609207214?hash=item2c9ccc79ae&vxp=mtr

I'm wondering how the quality is.

Edit: this is for a LR3. Sorry, didn't see that part.

 

[archit3kt]

Are you in need of a replacement...or just want a black grill? If you just want black, may I suggest Plasti Dip? Best thing about Dip is you can always easily remove it...think of it as an aesthetic protective coating.

Here's what I did with mine (could have applied a Plasti Dip glossifier as well..but really liked the Matte look). Did the grill, fog light housing, side vents, side steps, badges, handles and of course wheels.

 

[andyboy]

Are you in need of a replacement...or just want a black grill? If you just want black, may I suggest Plasti Dip? Best thing about Dip is you can always easily remove it...think of it as an aesthetic protective coating.

Here's what I did with mine (could have applied a Plasti Dip glossifier as well..but really liked the Matte look). Did the grill, fog light housing, side vents, side steps, badges, handles and of course wheels.

Looks good but I'm just worried about it chipping off and wearing out. I don't think I want to spend the time re-painting it every few months.

Also, how did you get the badging done? Did you place painters tap around it? And what about inside of the letters such as A? How did you remove the plasti dip inside of those letters??

 

[namenda]

I purchased my matte black grille and decals from lrparts.net in the UK. Decals come with a template. I used painter's tape to mark the borders on the old decal, remove each letter using dental floss, clean with alcohol, then attach the new decal.

 

[archit3kt]

In regards to the durability, I've had my S4 wheels dipped for over 3 years now, and the only wear is user error (curbed once). Otherwise Pasti Dip holds up really well. Granted, off roading will take it's toll for sure, but I wouldn't worry about it chipping, since it's rubberized.

The badges is where Plasti Dip really shines. All you do is tape off a box around the badge to avoid some overspray, give the badges a few coats, and then when you peel around the letters, it cuts itself perfectly around the letter. For inside the A, 4, R etc, I just used a toothpick to ball up the Dip and pull it out.

As a side note, all that work cost me only ~$45 (price of the PastiDip)...just a thought if you're looking to Black things out...Look up DipYourCar on Youtube if you're interested in Dipping.

 

[jhlr]

I'm thinking of doing this and came across this post. How's the plasti dip holding up on the LR4? Also did you plasti dip the whole side step or just the silver part?

 

[roverman]

I'm glad you brought this found this thread. I didn't know there was a glossifier. I did my wheels a couple days ago and was worried about doing the grill and cleaning bug guts off it. Sounds like that would make it easier.

 

[archit3kt]

I'm thinking of doing this and came across this post. How's the plasti dip holding up on the LR4? Also did you plasti dip the whole side step or just the silver part?

The plastidip is holding up perfectly fine! As for the side steps, I only did the silver potion. I will say however, it has peeled a bit where my shoe consistently rubs from getting in and out of the vehicle. I'm thinking of just painting that portion a matte black to match. Otherwise, the wheels, grills, handles and badges are in tip-top shape.

 

[jhlr]

Thanks. That's good to know its held up well for you. I'm. going to do it this weekend but will probably skip the steps for now.

roverman - On cleaning, I've read, in several places, that simple green works great at cleaning the plasti dip. I haven't tried it but may be worth a try.

 

[AxelR]

PlastiDip is easy to use but will keep the dirt if you go off-road (mud) and as far as the grille and side vents it is a gigantic pain to remove...