Originally posted by SVT Contour:
I would tend to agree with Tim on this one about doing it yourself.
Personally I haven't painted the grille on my SVT, but I did paint one years ago on my '84 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe.
Like most of you I couldn't stand having that big, chrome egg crate on the front of my 'Bird when all the other trim had a nice charcoal finish.
So I decided to do something about it as well as make my 'Bird stand out from the rest of the flock (ouch!).
I removed the grille (six screws), sanded it down with rough grit (don't remember the grade) to remove most (not necessarily all) the chrome plating. Then I went over it again with a medium grit (again no grade #) to smooth out the rough grit marks, then followed up with fine grit dry then extra fine grit wet to achieve a perfectly paintable surface.
Primed it with gray epoxy primer & finished up with a Lincoln color called Pewter Metallic, if I remember correctly. I chose this color because it was close to the OEM charcoal trim, but just different enough for it to stand out.
And it did.
Of all the modifications I made to my 'Bird over the years of ownership, this single change garnered more comments & compliments than all the others combined.
Very satisfying telling people I did it myself.
As far as chips are concerned, it is no different than repainting any other area of a vehicle. As long as you prepare the surface properly, apply the primer & paint correctly it should be just as durable as the rest of your car.
I might add I also applied a clear coat atop the Pewter.
Agreed 110%...
12 months and no problems. And I did it in one day and spend $10
