Front grill bodyshop price?

P

Pupp

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Guys,

I've noticed a lot of painted grills on here. Has anyone actually had a bs do theirs? And if so could you give me a rough idea of the cost so I have a ballpark before I go in there? I just want the stock grill painted black with the emblem as is.

Thanks!
 
I own a bodyshop & I have done a few for guys, doing them the right way I charge $250 for gloss black & clearcoated, with or without the emblem also painted. there is time involved & materials too & I usually give them to my painter to do for me which also costs me. I consider the $250 to be a pretty fair price & I consider most fx'ers my friends.

I don't doubt there are going to be cheaper places out there that maybe don't use the best materials or hire highly skilled guys & may be able to do it for less, but for a proper job I think that's about the right price. this includes an epoxy primer & thouroughly sanding & preping the grille which goes a long way towards durability... if someone wanted it sprayed with a can I could do it for half the price or less even, but in the end you do kinda get what you pay for...

if you consider that most who will attempt this themselves will wind up buying a spare grille so they don't ruin theres & then spend $25+ on cheap materials & then spend hours& hours trying to make it decent, it may not be the worse thing to just have your existing one profesionally done in the end anyway...
 
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Pupp said:
Guys,

I've noticed a lot of painted grills on here. Has anyone actually had a bs do theirs? And if so could you give me a rough idea of the cost so I have a ballpark before I go in there? I just want the stock grill painted black with the emblem as is.

Thanks!
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I'd think it'll cost nothing less than $200. Why not do it yourself if you have the patience?
 
turbo if you were to do it and remove all the chrome and use epoxy primers and high grade paint do you think it would resist chipping as well as the chrome finish does?
 
gchristopher9 said:
turbo if you were to do it and remove all the chrome and use epoxy primers and high grade paint do you think it would resist chipping as well as the chrome finish does?
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well, the oe chrome doesn't really show as chips, it shows as pits.

a painted grille done right will be no more durable than lets say a painted hood... your factory painted hood will get chips eventually & so will a painted grille, but it will be no worse than any other painted hard part & the real key is that a tiny chip will just be a tiny chip, rather than a tiny chip that starts lifting & peeling. paint will chip when it gets hit by rocks, just a fact. that's why they use clear bras, ever see a car with some mileage on it without chips on the hood? best case is there tiny chips, same as a painted grille will eventually accumulate. there is no way to paint it & have it be so durable that it won't eventually get a few tiny chips, unless you do a clear bra type film on the grille.

bottom line is, my painted grille should still look as good as the rest of the car a few years later though, but yeah, it will get some chips... nothing like what you'll see out of a spray can'd grille though
 
Much cheaper than I expected. I was thinking around 1K? I can't do it myself because I have zero patience and would end up snapping the thing in half most likely. Like Turbo said I would rather have a professional do it. At least I know it's going to get done right.

Guys, thank you all for the info.
 
does anyone have a picture of the grille painted black with the chrome emblem? or the one where its painted with the red line around the grille? thanks
 
robb<35> said:
does anyone have a picture of the grille painted black with the chrome emblem? or the one where its painted with the red line around the grille? thanks
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ask and you shall receive :2smile: ....

1

Bigturk
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100_2797.jpg

:biggrin: ( I read all the threads... at least all the new ones :)) )
 

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wow , thanks merchant... i really like the look of the black with chrome emblem, i think it will look good with my blacked out fx, i think i might do this mod next week, getting my lms z-tube, and h&r's next week so do it all at once, will post some pics as soon as its done, thanks guys!!:top:
 
robb<35> said:
wow , thanks merchant... i really like the look of the black with chrome emblem, i think it will look good with my blacked out fx, i think i might do this mod next week, getting my lms z-tube, and h&r's next week so do it all at once, will post some pics as soon as its done, thanks guys!!:top:
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I agree black grill is the way to go, looks especially nice on the darker cars. It makes the grill tolerable (IMO) on the '09 FX with darker body colors...
 
I had mine done by turbo, good luck.

soonsterfront2.jpg
soonsterfront1.jpg
 

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I've been dying to get mine painted since I saw them here. I'm not a big fan of the chrome grill on my DG FX.

This looks AWESOME, btw.


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What's an OEM grill cost from the dealer?

Do they all come chrome? I'd love to order one unpainted to save the body shop a bunch of prep work. I don't have the patience, skill or inclination to try it myself. $250 seems like a bargain to have it done correctly.

Hmmm, I get down to NYC a couple of times a month for work. Maybe I ought to drive down instead of flying and drop off the car at TurboCad's shop for a few days....:bigsmile:
 
S3010015.jpg

Chrome around the outside, like the one with the red, but chrome... oh and matte black, not gloss.
 

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Mine too was done by turbo. I went all black though. After a road trip from NY to MI and back, I'm happy to report no damage whatsoever to the grill...even with all the 18-wheelers on the road.

DSC03654.JPG


This was actually before I put the black emblem back on. Looks even better now!
 
aiya said:
Mine too was done by turbo. I went all black though. After a road trip from NY to MI and back, I'm happy to report no damage whatsoever to the grill...even with all the 18-wheelers on the road.

DSC03654.JPG


This was actually before I put the black emblem back on. Looks even better now!
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Nice pic, here's a version with less distractions:
DSC03654.jpg
 

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