getafewliv

Hey guys,

I just ordered the F sport grille for my 2006 Lexus IS350 Smokey Granite.

I saw in a thread, that I can no longer find, that a lot of people were painting their grilles a gun metal sort of grey before installation.

I am curious what your opinions are on what I should do when the grille comes.

My options:

Lexus emblem or no emblem
Paint mesh gun metal gray or keep as black plastic
Black out chrome trim, attempt to colour match chrome trim with rattle can or plastidip, or leave chrome.

Because my wheels are shiney and I still have all the chrome trim, I am leaning towards a badgeless grille with chrome surround and possibly painting the mesh gun metal gray. What do you guys think?

Car as it sits now:





Here's a few quick photoshop pics.

Now:




F sport with badge:



F sport no badge:

NikonGuy

iTrader: (1)

You can always plastidip them. I did it on my grill and it looks great. Second it protects the grill from rock dings. And third, it can always be removed later.

getafewliv

So, are you thinking a metallic gray plastidip on the grille mesh and leave the chrome trim exposed?

Normally, I am not a fan of removing front emblems, but I think on my car it would look good and give it an aggressive look. And if all else fails, I can add it later. I made sure to get the grille where the badge can be removed or placed back on.

NikonGuy

iTrader: (1)

I plastids piped the chrome trim. Just taped up the surrounding area without removing it

MikeFoxx

iTrader: (8)

I'd leave the chrome and put in the grill without the L.

deestyle28

iTrader: (3)

Plasti dip is a great alternative but it will be a pain in the butt to remove from the mesh grill as it's hard to get in between the holes. If you keep the grill black it will look a hollow from far away. I painted my mesh grill phantom gray pearl based on the other threads and I have no regrets. Removing plasti dip from the chrome surround is easier than the mesh grill. At the end of the day, do what you think looks good to you because it's subjective.

Kd0t

iTrader: (17)

I took my grill off, removed the mesh, and plastidipped the surround.

getafewliv

I agree with you there.

Would you be able to post a pic of yours with the phantom gray pearl?

Is that a rattle can colour?

Kd0t

iTrader: (17)

Prior to that, I had the L plastidipped.

06350F

iTrader: (4)

I removed my chrome grill and painted it the factory color. I have access to color matched paint in a spray can. It's not paint shop quality but unless yoir super OCD like I am it looks factory. Plasti dip and wraps just seem cheap

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

I say leave the chrome surround if your headlight housing stays chrome. Leave the emblem off, I didn't have one on my LX Mode grille.

getafewliv

It's settled, I will leave the chrome and no badge.

Hmm tough choice on whether or not I should paint the mesh part a dark gun metal gray, or leave it black... May have to test fit it before trying to paint and see if I like it.

So many choices for such a simple piece.

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

I would paint it, even just a gloss black. If it's bare plastic, it can eventually fade, and has the potential to look bad. Then again, you can always paint it at that point.

I have the same grill, chrome grill surround and smokehoused headlights. I think I'm going to paint the grill surround the same color as my headlights and see how it turns out.

getafewliv

Picked up my grille yesterday. I love how it looks, but now I am unsure if I should paint match the bottom mesh part, or if that would be a bit much...

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

Looks better but that license plate has to go the way you have it. I had the hide away plate if you NEED it.