Blacking out my grill with Plasti Dip.

[Snap65]

I've been researching for a while on how to black out my grill. The two options I found was to sand it down and paint it or buy an Ironman grill. Due to $$ I kept looking for other options. Then I found Plasti Dip, a rubberized coating. Home Depot has Plasti Dip so I decided to give it try. Approximate cost for 3 cans and 1 roll of masking tape $25.

Uhh Chrome!

I think I went a little overboard but you can never be too careful.

1st Coat (wet) - 50% transparent and wait 20 minutes to allow to dry between coats.

2nd Coat (wet)

3rd Coat (dry)

I then applied two more coats. I waited 40 minutes for the last coat to dry before removing the masking tape and cardboard I placed behind the grill.

After removing the masking tape and cardboard. Looks sweet.

Plasti Dip is amazing and dry's off with a nice even texture. I'm a noob and this was first time painting something. I didn't even practice before "dipping" my grill.

I got tips from dipyourcar.com. They also have some good tutorial videos on Youtube.

 

[celly]

Very cool. Nice mod.

 

[racer_x_one]

Good job, looks great snap. How did you apply it?

 

[Snap65]

I sprayed it on like spray paint.

 

[racer_x_one]

Wow, nice. I didn't know they had it as a spray. I've only used/seen the liquid kind.

 

[Machine783]

Well done!! I like it. Thanks for the pics. :

 

[jupiterak]

I've seen this done to rims on several car forum sites and believe it or not, it holds up pretty well in the enviroment.

 

[Snap65]

I've seen this done to rims on several car forum sites and believe it or not, it holds up pretty well in the enviroment.

That's one reason why I decided to go this route. Plus cans cost $5 or so.

 

[FLOffroad]

Looks really good.
I've seen lots of stuff plastidipped before, but this is amongst my favorites.

 

[ncranchero]

Agreed, looks great! Keep up updated with how it holds up in the real world out there.

 

[X6StringerX]

It turned out great! Are you considering doing the step bars too? If it were mine, I'd do the bars, throw some matte black wheels on it, smoke the tail lights, and maybe look into aftermarket smoked headlight housings.

 

[Snap65]

It turned out great! Are you considering doing the step bars too? If it were mine, I'd do the bars, throw some matte black wheels on it, smoke the tail lights, and maybe look into aftermarket smoked headlight housings.

I was thinking about "dipping" the step bars this spring, I might even dip the wheels too. I've been looking for some good deals on smoked headlight housings so if you find any let me know. This will probably be a spring project.

In the meantime here's some more pics. I went to the car wash today and the plasti dip held up very well against the power wash. I made sure to keep the nozzle at least 10 in away. No damage from what I can see.

Thanks all for the comments!

 

[wood1]

Dude, I have to admit that I make a "yikes" face when I read the title but it looks amazing! Now that you have tried it on your 2007 maybe I will do it to my Ex!

 

[Snap65]

Dude, I have to admit that I make a "yikes" face when I read the title but it looks amazing! Now that you have tried it on your 2007 maybe I will do it to my Ex!

Go for it!

 

[calebg]

Am I mistaking or did some of the Explorers come from the factory like this? I've seen like 2 in town with the black grill like this. They also appear to have other factory mods.

Looks awesome BTW - would love to see pics of it done to a black ST (so I can decide if I want to do it to mine)

Thanks!

 

[Snap65]

Am I mistaking or did some of the Explorers come from the factory like this? I've seen like 2 in town with the black grill like this. They also appear to have other factory mods.

Looks awesome BTW - would love to see pics of it done to a black ST (so I can decide if I want to do it to mine)

Thanks!

There was the Ironman Edition that came with the black grill. I've see it on a black ST and it looks awesome.

 

[Brainded]

I wish I had been able to trade grilles with you first! Mine has peeling chrome, yours looked pretty good from the "before" photos. Perhaps it's time for a blackout....

 

[Bronco5]

It looks great. I want to do something to restore the running boards on my 08 Limited, do think the plastic dip would hold up?

 

[JohnnyO]

Looks great!

 

[Tech By Trade]

Just a heads up, instead of masking the front of your truck, that grill is 4 screws, 4 keepers, and a dozen tabs to pull off. It shouldn't take more then 10 min to take off to paint. Then you don't have to worry about over-spray, and you can get the paint around the inside of the grill.