grille painting - flat black

I would like to paint the grill on my black 3 flat black. Has anyone painted the stock grille? If so, what paint did you use, how did you prep, etc.

I have read some posts on painting the wheel, but haven't come across anything on the grille. Any help would be much appreciated!

Seems like there was some discussion on painting the grill. Someone did the Linex type finish and wasn't real happy with it.

i did mine with some cans of spray on bedliner (flat finish and a light coat doesn't add much texturing).  i scuffed up the chrome surface with some scotchbrite pads but did not add primer.  i've gotten a few chips and it's started to peel off in places and looks like crap.  i've heard that if you have it professionally done with Line-X or Rhino liner it holds up very well.  i'll be taking it off again and redoing it the same way, but with primer first.  i really like the look against the yellow.

thanks for the info shortbus. My thought was to scuff the grille down pretty rough, prime it with a few coats, wet sand it, then use a flat black paint to finish it off. I think the flat would look cool on a gloss black 3....thoughts?

i think you're on the right track with scuffing the crap out of it.  there's no good way to remove the chromed surface without possibly melting the grille.  i don't think i scuffed mine enough, and should have used primer.  i'm still going to go with the spray on bedliner though, as i think it provides a thicker, tougher surface to protect against rock chips.  and i'll use black primer, so it doesn't look as crappy when i do get chips.  here are some pics right after i put it on.

that looks awesome! especially with the brushguard on it......good luck with painting it the second time!

I like the idea of the bedliner material. For some reason I thought it would have a lot of texture, but it looks like it comes out pretty smooth from you pictures. Again, thanks for the info!

as long as you go with light coats the texture is pretty smooth.  not like paint, but not like a truck bed either.  i use it on my sliders as well after i've beat the crap out of them on boulders.  it matches the color on the stock finish perfectly and doesn't get chunky.  don't know what brand i've used, but i don't think there's much difference in the few options available.

what is that red thing on your front grill?

power connector for my winch