Has anyone painted their plastic grill?

[Yardbrew]

The last time I drove I40 between Nashville and Memphis, they were working on the road and a light rain was falling causing a murky mist to spew up onto the front of my van in the heavy traffic.

The next morning I discovered that whatever was coating the front of my van had taken the finish off of the plastic grill parts and the front bumper. Instead of a nice shiny gray grill and bumper that blended well with the silver gray color of my van, I now have a dull charcoal color that looks like crap. The clear coat enamel of the body parts was unaffected.

Has anyone had experience painting the grill and bumper the same color as the rest of their van? The hood of my van is some kind of resin material (fiberglass?) and, of course, it is painted the same color as the rest of the van with clearcoat. The paint seems to adhere well and flexes with the hood.

It would seem to be a simple task to remove the grill pieces and paint them in my shop. The bumper could be masked off without any problem. I'm wondering if it would require some kind of special primer or other preparation.

We all know that painting fiberglass is not a problem, but I sure would hate to melt my grill. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

Yardbrew

[Aceman]

Yardbrew,
Try asking a paint shop before you paint anything.
I believe you would need a primer first for the paint to bond to.
Then,you can possibly use some good spray paint in a can (Krylon) or use a paint spraying gun (recommended). Then,apply a clear coat.

I believe Bob Riley painted his grill in this thread:
http://forums.ford-diesel.com/ubbthr...art=1&vc=1

[bobinyelm]

Easy to do. I would NOT recommend spray can paint under any circumstances, though, as it is much inferior to modern 2-part paints (urethanes).

Clean the grille and bumper with a pre cleaning solvent (Such as DuPont "Prep Solve"), then scuff the plastic with Scotch Brite or similar, and the bumper with the same (unless it is pitted, in which case you might want to sand it smooth, possibly down to the metal).

Prime both with a good epoxy primer (2 part type from auto bodyshop supply house. NASON, made by DuPont is economical for both primers and topcoats), then paint. If your vehicle is metallic, you can use a single stage urethane (still 2-part mix) or basecoat/clearcoat. The baase is usually one part, but some are two, and the urethane clear is always a 2-part.

The hardener in urethanes contain isocynates, so don't breathe it or paint yourself with it. For occasional use, a GOOD, NEW, well fitting characol canister respirator (about $25 at Home Depot) is sufficient. The canisters are only good for 40 hours exposure to air, so discard 'em afer use, or seal them in a ZIP lock bag.

Bob

Bob