This afternoon i had an idea....

I had been thinking about spraying the chrome surround on my grill black but this afternoon it dawned on me.... could i not get some black vinyl made up to fit on it... or would this idea be a bit naff?

At a guess would chip/ mark more from stone hits than painting.Could be wrong though.

If you did decide to paint, one question

matt or gloss?

I've seen upteen posts and pics and can't decide myself, I've even thought of silver (same as the car) but I'm still struggling to make up my mind!

On the idea of a vinyl covering, could work I suppose! Good luck if you do go down that road!...

Dont forget that Black is Mettallic so you are gonna have to find an exact match for it to look anything like the surrounding paintwork.

IMO just go with getting it painted you wont regret it.

Dont forget that Black is Mettallic so you are gonna have to find an exact match for it to look anything like the surrounding paintwork.

IMO just go with getting it painted you wont regret it.

as its gonna be on a silver car colour match is not a problem

Ah well in that case give it a try I don't think the cost will be that high to at least try it.

Colour code it!

I'm going to try matt black vinyl on my yellow Octy's chrome grill (I would prefer satin black to more closely match the grill bars, but could''t find a good enough exterior quality satin black vinyl). If I don't like it for any reason I can always paint it later (after removing the vinyl, then the chrome).

would carbon fibre grill surround just look plain gay if it was to go on a black vrs?

Vinyl as in like....sticky back plastic?

It isn't a totally flat surface so will it not crease when it goes over the curves...?

would carbon fibre grill surround just look plain gay if it was to go on a black vrs?

Yes.

Vinyl as in like....sticky back plastic?

It isn't a totally flat surface so will it not crease when it goes over the curves...?

Yes, it has an adhesive backing.

No, this is special flexible stuff designed to go on curves of vehicles (you warm it up with a heat gun if it is cold when you are applying it). It is supposed to last at least 5 years on the exterior of vehicles. Of course it isn't cheap :(

A lot of signwriters are using it these days, as they can print it on their computers and it is a lot easier (and less skilled) than spray painting.

Ahh just saw this on Fabia II forum, sounds like the kind of thing you're on about.

http://briskoda.net/fabia-ii/matt-black-grill-my-fabia/142879/

Looks good

You can get black vinyl from B&Q its cheap. Used it on the winscreen surround of my VX. You can heat with a hair dryer and stretch to the curves. It takes time and the excess should be careful cut away with a nice sharp scaple. Occasionslly the sun can effect the glue, but on a grill it will be easy to replace. When you want to go back to chrome you can.

does anyone have a pic of the grill surround up close??

Tony