Black grilles

[Ignitor]

I'm not sure if this should be in the General Discussion forum or not so I apologise if this is in the wrong place .

OK, I should have my Black Sapphire coloured Z4 back from the BMW bodyshop in the next few days and am eager to see what it would look like with these blacked out grille surrounds: http://www.motormec.co.uk/grille.html

I've seen a few posts on here about masking and spraying the grilles but has anyone ever used these aftermarket covers? They're only £40 so i'm willing to give them a go, i just wondered if anyone here has experience of them and can vouch for the fit, finish and quality.
Cheers!

[JackB1]

Hello - maybe this will help -

These are 2.5 black plastic with chrome surround grills. I removed chrome surround, sanded chrome with 800 sand paper, painted with KMart flat black. No chipping, no problems.

I mounted my original 3.0 grills in the garage as decoration!

The "Black Out" look is finished out with Black & White Roundels, Black front reflectors, tinted headlights 30%, tinted windows 30%, Black Hard Top, Black mudflaps.
Just having fun with my car!

Best!
Jack

[Ignitor]

Jack B1,
thanks for your reply. The look of your car is exactly what i am hoping to achieve. I have ordered some replacement grilles as I was concerned about any chipping or peeling and thought it would look damn ugly with little bits of chrome showing through, plus if/when i come to sell the car i can replace the black-out grilles with the originals if needs be. Next on the list will be the window and headlight tints followed by replacing the roundels. Your car looks awesome, i really hope mine will look just as good. Thanks again!

[JackB1]

Thanks!

I would invest in a better can of spray paint. Mine was a 99c can from KMart that been in the garage for a while. I think the what I did right was putting some sandpaper to the chrome to give the paint something to hold on to. I wanted to give you an alternative to spending some big bucks - "pounds or euros"!

Nice list of mods you have planned! Post some pics -

Best!
Jack

[20ducks]

I got the Bavarian Autosport grill covers. I tried painting the grill surrounds...they only chipped and chipped and chipped. Bavarian Grill covers

[20ducks]

Graci...

[WaZZZZman]

Let me through a monkey wrench into the discussion. If it were me, I would opt for the replacement black grills over painting your originals. My reasoning. There are a lot of people like me, who when I buy a vehicle want it to be as close to factory fresh as possible.

There are a bunch of other people who’s hobby is restoring vehicles to factory condition and keeping that way. Sometimes not even driving them but putting them on a trailer and transporting them to places for shows.

Also guys like me that see mods think it has had in an accident and just look for another no matter what the current owner says. I am doing mods on my Zed, but I keep the old parts and when I sell it, I will restore it and sell the mods separately. Just something to think about if you ever plan on selling and getting a better price. Modes may make the car drive and look better but unless you are into Zeds already you would not know that and may be suspicious. And yes I know you could go get original equipment again, if it is still available.

[20ducks]

I get better MPG with my grill mods.

[20ducks]

No red meat...no swine for me.

[Wondermike]

Looking good

Are they clip over the existing then?

[20ducks]

Looking good

Are they clip over the existing then?

They supply a glue like windshield/windscreen/weatherstripping adhesive. It is semi-permanent. I used several clamps per unit to make sure they stayed on evenly.

[ovrkll]

No red meat...no swine for me.

How 'bout a Tofu burger?