2010-2014 GT500 - How can I paint the Heat Extractor, Hood Insert?

[stang910]

I do plan to sand it, but it was mainly for scuffing up the surface to help with adhesion. I was planning on scuffing, applying adhesion promoter, spraying with 1 step paint (with flex additive if possible, without flex additive if I can't find any locally in a rattle can).

I don't have any expensive spray equipment, and I can't find a shop to do this. I physically went to 2 more shops today, and they both turned me down. With that in mind, I can only use products available to me in a spray can.

Yes... I want the best outcome, but no one around here wants to do the job, so I have to do this the best that I can.

I may consider sanding it smooth on the flat surfaces, can't I do that without the 2k primer, and just use the adhesion promoter and the 1 step paint coat?

Also, I'm not sure what you mean by looking like Toyota Tacoma bumpers/flares. I've never really payed them any attention.

You really shouldn't sand raw plastic even though you can if done correctly. Raw plastic gets deep scratches pretty easy and will require you to prime it before painting. Even a red or gray scotch brite can put scratches in raw plastic deep enough to need priming. If your gentle with it a gray scotch brite will work, but gold is actually what your supposed to use.

Now if your going to prime it with 2k primer you can sand the part as best as you can, but it's a lot easier to scuff it, spray adhesion promoter and then sand the primer smooth and reprime if needed.

It's crazy to me that no shop will do this for you. Collision shops paint raw plastic parts regularly. I'm sure it wouldn't be cheap though.

 

[crjackson]

Yeah, it’s pretty stupid. I’m tired of begging these people. 4 shops have turned me away so far.

So...

1 - scuff the plastic
2 - spray adhesion promoter
3 - primer it
4 - sand smooth
5 - paint

 

[stang910]

Yeah, it’s pretty stupid. I’m tired of begging these people. 4 shops have turned me away so far.

So...

1 - scuff the plastic
2 - spray adhesion promoter
3 - primer it
4 - sand smooth
5 - paint

You got it.

 

[biminiLX]

Flex additive is a product that is added to paint and primer which you wouldn't be able to do if you were using spray cans. You only need it for flexible parts so there's no reason for you to worry about that. Just grab some bulldog, follow the directions and you'll be good.

If your looking to make the part look new again I'd get some One Choice trim black, the color and finish are great. Here is a pic of my car. The rear bumper assembly is off a totaled car and the license plate insert and lower valance were damaged some and sun faded badly. View attachment 1625375

Man that trunk panel looks killer!
Great CF touch and the snake is much better than the faux cap!
Is that the snake from the side fenders?
Who makes the CF panel?
I may steal this look on my Sterling Grey snake.
Just need some quad tips

Sorry OP have no advice just wanted to say good luck.
-J

 

[stang910]

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Man that trunk panel looks killer!
Great CF touch and the snake is much better than the faux cap!
Is that the snake from the side fenders?
Who makes the CF panel?
I may steal this look on my Sterling Grey snake.
Just need some quad tips

Sorry OP have no advice just wanted to say good luck.
-J

Thanks! It's a Trufiber panel, the newer one that has the curve in it. The old one is just a flat panel. For the snake I got a metal one off ebay. I bent it to the shape I needed and painted it black. If you decide to you want to do it I have a couple extra snakes.

 

[crjackson]

So I picked up some DupliColor adhesion promoter, and some high fill primer with flex agent. Now I’m trying to fins a single stage UA black with flex agent. I did find some on eBay but I need to find it locally (no way I’m paying that ridiculous shipping charge.

I wasn’t happy with all the body work from the original damage, so it goes back to the shop tomorrow morning to have the roof reworked and then refinished again.

I asked one mor time about painting the new insert, and it was shot down one more time too.

 

[crjackson]

Okay, so today I spent some time scuffing up the entire surface to be painted (except the inside holes of the honeycomb). I washed it with liquid detergent and hot water. Rinsed thoroughly and dried with compressed air.

Next I cleaned all surfaces to be painted using IPA, and let that air dry.

Then I sprayed 3 coats of adhesion promoter with 3 minutes between coats.

I then applied 3 coats of primer with a flex agent, with 10 minutes between coats.

Here comes the question....

I "THOUGHT" the primer was a "High Fill" type meant for sanding. I couldn't read the can (small print) when I purchased it at AZ. They guy told me it was, but I used a magnifying glass when I got home, and it doesn't mention anything about "Hight Fill" or sanding.

Question:
Should I sand it anyway after it completely dried (if yes, what grit), or should I leave it alone. The finish on it looks like a Glossy White right now.

 

[crjackson]

At this point I’m probably speaking only to myself, but I’ll update this anyway...

After prepping the part and getting ready for the final painting. I found a custom auto paint supplier locally. I asked for aerosol spray can of Acrylic Enamel single stage paint. The guy at the store brought me a can matching UA paint and said it was single stage... See where this is going ...?

I couldn’t read the tiny print on the can, and trusted that this paint specialist knew his products... It turns out (after spraying the part) that the paint is a Acrylic Lacquer and of course needs 2k clear coat to finish.

I called another paint shop’s 800 number and explained the situation and they recommended SprayMax 2k Clear Glamour 368 0061.

The original paint store refunded me for giving me the wrong paint, and had the needed 2k clear as above. So now I need to finish up with clear.

How dangerous is it to paint with this clear if done outside? I don’t have a protective mask at all.

 

[stang910]

Your gonna be fine unless your huffing the clear. It's not the best stuff to be breathing though. To answer your previous post yes you should sand the primer with 600 grit. Hope you at least scuffed the primer before painting over it or your gonna end up with peeling paint.

 

[crjackson]

Your gonna be fine unless your huffing the clear. It's not the best stuff to be breathing though. To answer your previous post yes you should sand the primer with 600 grit. Hope you at least scuffed the primer before painting over it or your gonna end up with peeling paint.

I sanded it with 400, then 800, then 1000. There was no way to sand the inside honeycomb holes. Is that likely to become a problem?

Below is a pic to show why the thing needs to be painted. Ignore the marks that look like scratches. The car wasn’t finished when I took this pic. The final product has no scratches on this vehicle anywhere. It all looks great except for the insert.

 

[stang910]

I sanded it with 400, then 800, then 1000. There was no way to sand the inside honeycomb holes. Is that likely to become a problem?

Below is a pic to show why the thing needs to be painted. Ignore the marks that look like scratches. The car wasn’t finished when I took this pic. The final product has no scratches on this vehicle anywhere. It all looks great except for the insert.

View attachment 1627667

It may end up being an issue, but it could also be fine. I wouldn’t worry about it at this point and continue on. You don’t have to sand in the honeycomb area but you should at least try your best to scuff it with a scotch brite.

 

[crjackson]

It may end up being an issue, but it could also be fine. I wouldn’t worry about it at this point and continue on. You don’t have to sand in the honeycomb area but you should at least try your best to scuff it with a scotch brite.

well, it’s already primed and base coated. I don’t really want to go backwards at this point. I knew I’d probably screw this up.

I can either start over, or push forward. I hope I haven’t wasted nearly $200 on this project. I’ll never hear the end of it.

 

[1 Alibi 2]

There was a brand new one for sale on the www.fordgt500.com site,.......$ 80 shipped..

 

[crjackson]

There was a brand new one for sale on the www.fordgt500.com site,.......$ 80 shipped..

Thanks... The one I’m painting is a brand new one. Hopefully this will workout anyway.

I’m going to paint the one that’s on there presently also. The new one looks really good, I’m just concerned it’s going to peal since I didn’t sand/scuff the inside of the honeycomb holes.

 

[crjackson]

Not really happy with my final result right now. It was looking absolutely terrific and then 2 big splotches of birdshit dropped right on top while I was finishing the clear. It was hard enough with the wind blowing (that alone put some specks in it) but then the birds crapped on it and well, I did my best to clean it up.

I suppose I could wait a few days for the clear to cure, the buy another can, but honestly, I wish a body shop would just put the final coat on to avoid the mishaps. I was really hoping for a better final result.

Even though I managed to clean it off and continue spraying, now I'm concerned about bonding and delimitation in that area.

To be honest, I've painted a few cars in my time using urethane enamels, but the last one was over 40 years ago. I used proper spray equipment and a clean spray booth. There is no comparison to painting with rattle cans on a windy day with birds lending a hand to the process. In fact, I don't recall ever painting anything with rattle cans before. Horrible spray pattern.

I guess I'm going to do a light sanding of the clear in a few days and try again, but I'm not entirely hopeful it will be any better. I just don't have a good place to work.

 

[crjackson]

Well this seems like an epic fail on my part. Was bringing the piece inside for some heat, and the wind ripped it from my carry box. I grabbed it and now I have a perfect thumb print on one of the edges.

I'm just going to throw this in the trash and abandoned the project. I'll have to live with the ash gray in the middle of my hood as it turns out.

Thanks for the help, and sorry to waste everyone's time.

 

[crjackson]

So the project is finally done ...

I’ll post a pic of the final result in a day or two. So much better looking now.

 

[biminiLX]

That should make a huge difference on your black car.
Mine is Sterling Grey so the worn piece is turning color matched
-J

 

[crjackson]

That should make a huge difference on your black car.
Mine is Sterling Grey so the worn piece is turning color matched
-J

It's not perfect, but you have to look for the imperfections to find them.

It's a 100% better looking than the grey monster. It wasn't an easy project for me to accomplish either. I even trashed it and gave up for a bit, but dug it out and started over.

 

[SFLEcoboost]

that part is supposed to be the black texture finish, right? Why not use solution finish? I know it won't be painted, but it will look new... Solution Finish is awesome stuff, clean with rubbing alcohol, apply a coat, and left it cure. Apply a second coat it needed and maintain with a solvent based trim sealant.