Wow, that would suck. I hope you're not too close to any hot spots.

 

Does look alot better. I did that on my xB about a year ago, cause it drove me nuts seeing silver back there. Looking good though.

 

No not too close, just enough to get a little smokey, not too bad today though.

 

Looks great. I did the same thing to my RS 5.0 last year.

 

Finally got around to doing mine today. Of course, the masking takes way longer than the actual painting. Since I spent quite a bit of time (~45 minutes) carefully masking, I figured I'd give it three coats of paint so I don't have to redo it some time down the road. I also used the high heat "grill" paint. The final coat is drying now. Then, I'll peel off the tape and news paper to see how it turned out.

Here's a "before" shot.

Masked and ready for paint:



More later, after it's dried and after I remove the tape and newspaper.

PDX_xB

 

You should cover the radiator too.

 

Why? It's already black, so over spray isn't an issue. And, I used the high heat paint - withstands heat up to 1200 degrees - according to the can.

Is there something else I may have overlooked that would cause a problem?

PDX_xB

 

Why would you put another layer of material to cover the heat?

 

I didn't repaint the radiator, but I don't think a little over spray will have any detrimental effect on the heat transfer characteristics of the radiator.

PDX_xB

 

Went ahead and painted this afternoon. The "see-through" grill has bothered me from day one but now it's vastly better! Thanks OP for the idea!

 

Yes, thanks for bringing it up. I'm in the process of replacing my SW upper grill (if I ever receive one that isn't damaged -- grrr!) and I'll probably also need to do that.

Question, is it better to use satin black instead of flat black? It appears to me the grill itself is flat black -- or am I wrong on that?

 

x's 2

 

I chose the satin over high gloss, to reduce gloss.
I chose it over flat, because I thought it would shed dirt a little better.
I could be wrong, but it seems like flat paint gets dirty easier.
I could be wrong. Oh yeah, the grill is satin.

 

I went with satin as it seemed the best match to the factory black paint that was used under the hood - including the horns. I dropped my horns down before I painted behind the grill. I was paranoid that if I got paint inside the horns it would damage them.

The satin paint does reflect a little when a bright light shines on it (like a camera flash). Of course, flat black would be less reflective than satin, but it would not match the factory paint. As it is, my horns, with the factory paint are the "brightest" most reflective objects visible behind the grill.

PDX_xB

 

Oh, the RS grill is satin is it -- didn't realize that. I was guessing it was the same "gloss" level as the standard grill -- unless I'm wrong on the standard grill as well !

 

BTW, here's a couple "after" photos for my behind-the-grill paint job:





The on-camera flash, used in a dark garage, makes the black paint look shinier than it really is. The brightest hot spots in the last photo are horns with the factory black paint.

PDX_xB

 

that mod does look sick. This is one of the reasons why I never wanted the red one hehehehehe. Stupid me =(

 

It's looking like my replacement grill will be here tomorrow, and if it's in good shape, it'll be off for a powdercoat and I'll have the OE grill off to evaluate the painting situation.

I'd call my standard molded xB2 grill essentially flat black. The level of gloss on it is really minimal, and way less than any black satin I've seen. Still, that doesn't mean satin wouldn't be good for covering the SW behind it !

 

A couple days ago I painted the upper cross member and brackets behind my SW upper grill. I didn't do the side frame members or horns, and I masked off the aluminum radiator and black plastic immidiately above it. Still, it may not "perfect", but with the hood closed, it works darned well in my view. Here're a couple photos !





Thanks for the idea !