Painting Limited Grille

[RandomNerd2000]

So, I've found, but haven't purchased yet, a 95 Explorer Limited grille, with the corners etc. Main question is, I want to paint it to match the 01, which I believe to be Sage Green, what's the best way to do that? I'm new at painting and I've been hunting one for a solid six months.

 

[96Green]

A quick google reveals a number of places where one might obtain Ford colormatched paint in a rattle can. Once you have obtained a couple cans of the desired shade, I would follow standard painting practices.

Clicky Clicky!

Remember:
- Preparation is key! A poorly prepared surface will make your paint look like butt. And not a nice butt, either.
- Clear yourself a good workspace, in a wide open well ventilated area.
- Nobody wants the runs! Several light coats are better than few heavy ones.
- Wait for the recommended interval between coats.
- Let the paint get good and dry before you install it.

 

[toypaseo]

^^^ that's decent advice. I recently painted my junkyard Barney purple Limited grill matte black.

Mine had lots of rock chips. Most of my prep was with a red Scotchbrite scuff pad, with some minor sanding with sandpaper. Lots of the rock chips are still visible, but that's fine with me for now. I did most of my prep and sanding in my driveway, wiped down with tack cloth, and spray painted in my front yard on sawhorses. Lots of light coats. Waited five days until installation.

One thing to possibly consider is painting the grille while in one piece, and not separated into the center piece and two end pieces. I painted mine as three pieces. My end pieces have slightly different paint appearance and texture, due to different prep/sanding and painting. Close enough for me, for the time being.

I considered painting mine to match my body color. I figured trying to match my 1996 green color via spray can might be difficult, and the color difference might look weird. Might try it in the future though. My junkyard grill was $17, so no big loss if I have to junk it for some reason.

 

[96Green]

^^^ that's decent advice. I recently painted my junkyard Barney purple Limited grill matte black.

I considered painting mine to match my body color. I figured trying to match my 1996 green color via spray can might be difficult, and the color difference might look weird. Might try it in the future though. My junkyard grill was $17, so no big loss if I have to junk it for some reason.

Thanks! You have some good advise as well. RandomNerd2000, you might want to go black, instead of body colored. Even a 100% correct to the color code spray can might not match your body paint, due to age, oxidation, and sun fade.

Both of my Explorers have had black grills, and on the right color Explorer, I think it looks great. Here's my current '96 XLT, with green paint and a black grill.

(And yes, I know I still need to get off my lay hide and paint the lower front bumper chin thing.)

 

[koda2000]

Experiment with the primer/undercoating color. i found that a bright silver color as the primer/undercoating made the Toreador Red match my body color perfectly, while using black or gray made the red too dark.

Do not try too paint of it's below 70 degrees outside and don't paint if it's humid out (or raining). If the paint cans are cold, warm them in some hot/warm water in your sink.

On large pieces the hardest part to do is the clear coat with a rattle can. This is because it easy to make it run and it's nearly impossible to get it to come out shiny on a large piece, because it dries too quickly. You can use a cutting/rubbing compound to get some shine out of the clear coat, but be careful not to go through it.

I painted an exterior door handle and the usually gray plastic tailgate grab handle on my '00 XLT (because I had the paint from another project) and got them match perfectly using a Chrysler bright silver underneath the Toreador Red.

Before:

After:

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Good advice, gotta agree with @96Green, nobody likes a bad butt. On another note, it's probably gonna be sometime next spring before I get the painting done since the days it's warm enough to paint, I'm busy, I'm glad I finally found one though. As for my paint fading, it's actually not as bad as some I've seen, which it's been polished, and waxed, and garaged at some point. I am gonna try to restore the crystal lights I snagged before winter gets here once and for all, because the stock ones just suck and I've been told the crystal clear lights will be something I like.