I know there have been several posted already, but I thought I'd chip in with my 10p worth.

Being a cheapskate, I went down the DIY route, instead of paying someone else £50-£60 for the privilege.

Pics below show the various stages. I initially made the mistake of using a 'normal' plastic primer, hence the crazy paving on the first attempt, so started again from square one using etching primer from Halfords.

I haven't laquered it so far as it's come up as a pretty good match with the rest of the car, so I'm hoping the paint hardens up reasonably quickly. I'm going for the debadged look at the moment, so am in no rush to replace the vRS logo.

Now for the dark tints and anthracite 18"ers !

And before anyone mentions it, I know it needs a damn good clean

1. chrome rubbed down to give a decent surface for the primer to adhere to

2. grey pimer

3. first aborted attempt after using wrong primer

4. sprayed and ready to put together

5. finished article

Good effort. I can never quite make my mind up whether I like these colour coded grilles. I'm considering doing just the outer two bits of my lower grille.

Nice, Im tempted to go DIY but just know Id bodge it. If I could get a spare already done in black........

nice one, looks good.

After my diy attempt and geting four bloody big stone chips in a month im going to take mine off, repair the chips, wet sand it and get my dads mate to put a proper clearcoat over the top. The laquer out of the can that I did just wasnt as "glossy" as the rest of the car so dont know what I did wrong.

nice one, looks good.

After my diy attempt and geting four bloody big stone chips in a month im going to take mine off, repair the chips, wet sand it and get my dads mate to put a proper clearcoat over the top. The laquer out of the can that I did just wasnt as "glossy" as the rest of the car so dont know what I did wrong.

Cheers.

When I did my MFD surround I put Halfords clear laquer over the top and it just went cloudy and totally ruined it, so I had to start again. No idea why.

As you say, if it chips I'll take it off and redo it. I kept the original chrome set up intact so can refit that at any time. Might just need to see if I can order some of the fasteners from my local dealer, as they tend to squash a bit removing the grille from the bonnet (well they did using the pliers that I used).

Good job!

Nice, Im tempted to go DIY but just know Id bodge it. If I could get a spare already done in black........

Go for it - if I can do it with my lack of practical ability, anyone can !

Just make sure you get etching primer, even though it might be a bit dearer than normal primers.

Really suits the black models. good job

I think this looks great on a black car but not fussed on any other colour. Good effort on the DIY job. I tried several times but couldn't get the right finish so paid a bodyshop to do it in the end (on my black vRS).

Anyone done this on a Race Blue?

Anyone done this on a Race Blue?

yes... the search is your friend

http://briskoda.net/photography-photoshop/vrs-estate-snow-ish/130553/2/

http://briskoda.net/octavia-ii/another-colour-coded-grille/143642/

http://briskoda.net/octavia-ii/anyone-got-pic-race-blue-modified-grill-surround/131141/

Better quality pic

nice one, see you been busy.

how much are the grills from the Dealer?

how much are the grills from the Dealer?

About £40 - £50 if I remember correctly.

Looks good.They should have all been like this from production i think.Well maybe just the VRS

Looks good.They should have all been like this from production i think.Well maybe just the VRS

I agree, whilst I like the colour matched grills (and I'm impressed with the DIY paint job) I think it particularly suits the VRS but I'll stick to the chrome on my Elegance.

I think I've gotta do this, i did it to my last Octy but wasn't sure about this one but i like. Do you find it's very susceptible to stone chips?

I think I've gotta do this, i did it to my last Octy but wasn't sure about this one but i like. Do you find it's very susceptible to stone chips?

It probably will need redoing in the future. I might invest in a professional job next time as it will likely be a lot more hardwearing.

I painted it originally when the outside temperature was too cold to laquer it, so it's just paint at the moment.

I got an excellent finish on my last one but it required abut 6 coats of lacquer and got stone chipped quite easily. Like you say maybe a pro job is the way to go.