I thought I’d explain how I’m doing it, just in case it helps someone.
I bought a spare set of T6.1 upper and lower front grilles from a highline, from eBay at a reasonable cost. There are plenty for sale from converters who replace them with aftermarket ones. ( I didn’t want to go aftermarket due to poor quality and fit).
Lower grilles- completely strip all parts including parking sensor housings which are held on with adhesive. Rub down each piece all over with grit 320 to achieve a flat surface, and remove the ‘dimpled’ surface. This will take a good few hours so be patient.
Then have these items primed, I elected to get this done by a body shop and asked them to use dark primer (to make any stone chip less obvious in the future). But you could do it with cans if you wanted.
The photo attached shows what they look like having been primered.
The next step is to spray a light mist coat of contrasting colour, so I can ensure I’ve flatted the primer and not missed anywhere.
I’ll add to this post when that stage is done.
Upper grille (main part) - The factory finish on this is quite smooth to start with, which is good as it would be a time consuming job rubbing it down. This just needs a light ‘scotchbrite’ and the body shop can use plastic primer followed by base coat and lacquer. So I’ve left that with them.
The reason I’m posting this is to show you can get your grilles painted at a reasonable cost by doing the ‘donkey work’ yourself.
Regarding fitting, there is plenty of info on this forum, so I’ll leave that.
When all finished and installed you can of course sell your originals on to someone who wants to do the same process.
I bought a spare set of T6.1 upper and lower front grilles from a highline, from eBay at a reasonable cost. There are plenty for sale from converters who replace them with aftermarket ones. ( I didn’t want to go aftermarket due to poor quality and fit).
Lower grilles- completely strip all parts including parking sensor housings which are held on with adhesive. Rub down each piece all over with grit 320 to achieve a flat surface, and remove the ‘dimpled’ surface. This will take a good few hours so be patient.
Then have these items primed, I elected to get this done by a body shop and asked them to use dark primer (to make any stone chip less obvious in the future). But you could do it with cans if you wanted.
The photo attached shows what they look like having been primered.
The next step is to spray a light mist coat of contrasting colour, so I can ensure I’ve flatted the primer and not missed anywhere.
I’ll add to this post when that stage is done.
Upper grille (main part) - The factory finish on this is quite smooth to start with, which is good as it would be a time consuming job rubbing it down. This just needs a light ‘scotchbrite’ and the body shop can use plastic primer followed by base coat and lacquer. So I’ve left that with them.
The reason I’m posting this is to show you can get your grilles painted at a reasonable cost by doing the ‘donkey work’ yourself.
Regarding fitting, there is plenty of info on this forum, so I’ll leave that.
When all finished and installed you can of course sell your originals on to someone who wants to do the same process.
