JSW with Plasti-Dip Grille

Been a while since I've put pics up...and I've been meaning to do it since I got tinted anyway, but I wanted to post up what the front end looks like w/ Plasti-Dip.

Personally, at least with a lighter color, the chrome grille was killing me. This stuff is about $8 a can @ Lowes, and I used about 2 cans. The finish comes out looking a lot like the rest of the black plastic on the front end, and I think it matched up pretty well. From about 2-3 ft away, you can definitely see a little inconsistency in the finish on the main grille, but the smaller pieces are great, and I still think it looks better.

So here she is, fresh off a waxing, and w/ about 12k on her.








Later!
~ J

Looks nice... very nice.

Yes, looks great. Your tint looks pretty dark -- what light transmission percentage did you get? Is it at all hard to see out of it at night?

That does look really good. I wonder if it would still look as good with a front plate on there. (Which I am required to have).

Next step: window chrome

Well, the front bracket is the same ABS plastic, and would look the same...it'd probably look more in-place than it would on chrome. However, it may be less of an overall impact that it would be without the plate.

Edit: You posted while I was writing, Maloosheck. That's SWEET...I need to get some well lit glamour shots sometime soon. That light makes the Salsa look like the old red they put on the '99.5 Jettas, and I loved that color. If I had anything other than silver, I'd have gone through the effort to do the window trim already, I think, but I've seen the disassembly procedure (YIKES) and I'm not convinced that I could do it well via masking...

The VLT on the tint is 20% in the back and 35% on the driver/passenger windows. It's hard for me to say, because this is the 4th car I've had the same tint package on, so I'm used to it, but it's a little on the dark side. I think it helps to have it lighter in the front, and you can't really tell the difference from the outside unless you really look.

It's funny, the tint doesn't look nearly as dark on my wife's Prius, which is black with beige interior...the silver exterior on the JSW makes the windows look extreme. Then again, when it's clean and waxed I have a hard time capturing that point in a pic.

maloosheck said:

Next step: window chrome

Click to expand...

Thanks for the Pic! Looks great! I might just have to tackle this!

I say go for it! Two words of warning...

1) Be very careful when you separate the chrome trim piece from the lower grille. You'll do this after you have the lower grille off. I was being impatient and I snapped the trim piece. I had it fixed (krazy glue before I sprayed it) but broke it again putting it back. Barely noticable, but I have to go fix it one of these days. The chrome trim on the side lowers is a little tricky too, but not as bad.

2) I suggest letting everything dry overnight if possible. Once again being impatient, I wrinkled the finish on one fin of the grille as I was reassembling because I had to press it harder than the others and it wasn't really cured yet.

The cool thing is that this stuff just peels right off( it's rubberized). So refinishing, if necessary, isn't a big deal.

Maloosheck: That looks just a touch glossy on yours, or at least a little less 'flat' than mine. Do you use anything specific to detail the plasti-dip? I was considering using a back-to-black or something, but I've been a little apprehensive.

I used flat black 2-component epoxy paint on the Euro GT (no chrome) grill. I let it cure for few days before I even installed it. And I used acrylic sealant for winterizing the car, which could make it look a bit glossy, but it is flat black:

Ahh, so you did it all the 'real' way rather than the $18 way. That's why it looks so good.

I really want to go for the HIDs, too...someday!

FYI: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4623694

Well now, isn't that sweet! $120 is a steal for that, too. Not sure it's worth it for me (now) unless I start having plasti-dip issues, or unless I'm going to order the r-line fog grilles anyway (they're on the list).