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If all goes well this week I'll be getting the trim piece that I've been missing for a couple months for my grille. But it's silver so I'll need to paint it black. I've never painted anything before (especially something that needs to hold up to the weather) so I'm wondering how to do it step by step. I'm guessing I need to do a few coats of black and then a clear coat? Do I need to sand it first?

 
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I havn't painted before, but I'm sure you can find some sick DIYs on Youtube. I do know, however, that you will need to sand so that the paint has something to grip to. How to sand properly, no clue lol. But like I said, youtube is great for DIY's on ANYTHING you can think of.

 
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It depends on what ur doing and what kinda paint ur using but it usually goes:

Sand, clean, prime, base coat, clear coat.

 
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Hmm ok. I don't know what prime is and I'm guessing the base coat is black paint lol. I'll need to find out how to sand properly... last thing I need is a bumpy exterior piece

 
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i could have sworn i have seen a DIY on here about painting emblems black but i cant find it anywhere. im assuming it would be the same process for what you are wanting to paint.. i found this thread though:

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/4...e-emblems.html

it would give it more of a tint i think rather than black.. but ill see if i can find the other one..

 
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^ Like sleepy said...but if you want really good results,

Sand, clean, prime, sand, clean, base, sand, clean, base, clear sand, clean clear, wet sand, polish

 
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found this too.. http://youtu.be/fFsXgpGnY6U

its a vid on youtube talkin about ghost logo's instead of just flat black, or glossy black.. it looks black, but u get closer and its still got that shiny finish.. very different, but cool..

 
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prime = primer. its the coat that is inbetween ur paint and the surface. it promotes adhesion and uniformity.

its usually that "gray" paint you see people use.

however, USUALLY the trim peice comes primed already. so all u really need to do is to clean it well, sand it with 1000 grit (for some adhesion) and then put the base coat (ur paint color) then the clear coat

 
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Yeah since it's from Honda and been painted it's got the primer under the silver paint so I guess I'll just sand it a bit and paint it black then clear coat.

 
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I have painted many a thing on my car already, basically rough it up, start with around 200P sand paper, on a piece like that I wouldn't even worry about primer, throw a first coat down that looks pathetic, you are going to think you should cover all the silver, but don't, and go from there, let dry, light coat, let dry light coat. You will get the hang of it. Always spray something else to get the paint coming out nice before hitting your object (aka i put the object on a box, spray the side of the box first) and clear coat it a couple times, good to go!

 
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ahh i posted this about 2 hours ago, but forgot to hit post reply.. sorry for the lateness.

 
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If you prefer a matte look, Plasti-Dip is the way to go. I painted my front emblem with paint and clear, countless times before, only to have a pebble or rock hit it... Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Plasti-Dip is pretty much impervious to everything. It's not a smooth look, more like rubber. Google it. People Plasti-Dip grills, wheels, emblems, etc. Good stuff! I've never had to repaint my emblem for over 3 years now. And you don't have to be perfect with your painting technique either. Very Forgiving.

 
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Thats pretty cool, I like that idea

 
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There are even a couple of guys who have painted their whole cars with Plasti-Dip.

 
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I would imagine a vinyl wrap kind of texture and matte look
Not my cup of tea :3

 
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you need to fully strip off that silver or your project will chip away. one way is to let it sit in bleach and it will remove it all.or sand it really good but be careful with the sand paper u use because u dont want to scratch the plastic.then u want to apply your primer (LET IT DRY).then base coat.(up to you but after my first base coat i use really fine sand paper and sand it again then add another base). finaly you wanna add a clear coat to finish it off and add protection. if you are spray painting i would recommend using krylon paint for plastic. it bonds pretty good. and make sure u do clean it up good before each step like said ^^. and dont put the can rite on the peice u wanna stay like 10 inches from it (so u dont get any drips) and spay evenly. you should be fine i paint everything on my car and it comes out reall good.

 
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Thanks for all the tips. The only thing I'm still unsure of is how hard to sand it down. I guess I'll remove all the silver like mentioned by floyd, but after that, do I sand it until it'd really rough or just a little bit. I don't wanna ruin it by sanding it too much... took me a month to locate this piece lol.

maxtierny, the pasti dip thing is sweet but I think I'm gonna paint my emblems with the weird tint thing posted way above by civicchick. More unique and gives a nicer finish imo

 
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Prep is key.
You should be spending about 3x the amount of time on prep as you do on actually painting.
Also dont forget to clean with a good degreaser.

 
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Another important rattle canning trick is only using 2/3 of the can, beyond that is when the paint quality starts to fade and come out uneven.

 
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Obviously u didn't do it properly or weren't taught properly. 200 grit is way to corse and is only used to really clean things off. Like rust. For painting, starting out with 600 is about right.

And You ALWAYS use primer before a base coat to Promote adhesion.

So clean, sand with 600grit, clean, primer a few light coats, wet sand with 800 grit, prime, wet sand again with 800 grit. Let it flash dry and spray light layers of base coat. Let it flash dry. Then spray light layers of cleAr.


You should have a nice finish now. If u want to go even further, wet sand the clear with 1000 then 2000 grit. Then polish it with a rubbing compound

 
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I know exactly how to paint, and was taught correctly, I was speaking about this specific apllication, started with a 200 grit on my emblem to get all the silver off, it was not too course at all. You can see in my build thread when I prepped it, and see the outcome. I did not use a primer because he can easily being using plastic paint, Which is usually primer free paint. Just letting you know that it does not have to be treated like a Hood, or bumper.

 
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That is A LOT of work for a small piece of plastic

 
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Its also unnecessary

 
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you want to do it right or do you want to half *** it?

i defiantly dont believe in giving members half *** directions to do their work. if they want to take the short cut, then thats fine. but my suggestions still stands and correct.

small piece of plastic or not, ask any painter's forum and they'll tell u the same thing.... everything from a hood to a piece of trim... it gets painted that way so it'll last and have uniformity.

why do u think the "cheaper" paint jobs out there dont prime? they just put one coat (base+clear combined) on the car...where as the higher end paint jobs put prime, Base coat then clear coat.

 
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remember that a base coat (the color paint u plan on) doesnt always stick well and thats one of the reasons primer is needed.

ive been painting for a while now (mostly bikes) and i can tell you the value of prep work. ive used everthing from a gun to rattle cans.

example rattle can on my bike (of of them). just to see how it'd turn out.

 
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I totally understand where you're coming from and I appreciate the time you take to explain the correct way to do it.. which is what I asked for (hence the title of the thread). Trust me, I'm not one to do a half assed job when it comes to my car. All I was saying is that it's a lot of work lol. I'm gonna do it the right way because of my experiences with cheap products and wasting my money (two shift ***** to be exact). In no way was I trying to patronize you, if that's how you feel. When I ask for help on civicforums.com I've always gotten high quality answers, and I'd expect no less.

ANYWAYS.

Now that I know how to do it properly, it's just a matter of deciding what's satisfactory while actually doing it.

 
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And I was not trying to give you a half *** way to do, nor was i trying to step on anyone's toes about how to paint something. I think you will do a great a job, you just need to go for it.

 
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if you wanted to do the bleach thing like I said above you need to let it sit in the bleach for a litttle while and sand it down then start the priming.but i think it will come out good. everyones advice on this thread is really good and will work.just sum everything up and go for it if worse comes to worse its homestyle painting so i will come off with some paint thinner.

 
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yeah for sure. if it doesn't come out right then I just try again

 
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If you're using a gun and not rattle can, you can scuff the surface with a 3M scuff pad. It is the equivalent to a 320 grit sand paper but doesn't leave the sand marks. Then clean it and use a sealer. If the part isn't damaged, there is no need to prime other than adhesion purposes, in which case a sealer is more appropriate. A sealer is basically a diluted primer. You can turn a primer into a sealer by mixing it in a 4:1:3 ratio. Sealer is will fill in the scuffed surface. Once sealed, then time for your base coat. The rule for base coat is one coat past coverage. Meaning this, when you have achieved the color desired, do one more coat. For clear, 2-4 coats depending on how thick you spray it.
Using a scuff pad will quicken the whole process and make it easier. This is what we do at the body shop I work at.