Blacked Out Grills And Roundels

[BLACKBMW]

If you have a black BMW and want to know what it will look like with blacked out grills then look no further!

I have also just recently blacked out the hood and trunk roundels and it looks STEALTHY - pics of the roundels to come!

Sorry about the piccies they were taken at dusk and the flash hated my license plate - I will redo the piccies when I take some roundel shots

J...

[BLACKBMW]

Lol - just seen the article that was on that newspaper

"How the "make my day law" cut epidemic of violent burglary" - thank god we dont have the same gun problems you Americans have!

[Linds]

The grills are hot. I'd been wanting to get roundels but was afriad since they're stick-ons that they'd l ook too fake, so I'm looking forward to those pics.

[Slvr e39]

So do you have to worry about chipping? I was told that I cannot paint my chrome window liner because it would crack off eventually...

[Kevin325i]

If you scuff it up and prime it then use very very very very thin coats applied at 15-20 minute intervals you'll be good for many years. But don't get happy with the paint, just keep going light coats. To do it right it will take you a solid afternoon, maybe more depending on how much you've got to paint.

[BLACKBMW]

Kevin is right - I spent over 4-5 hours just painting the roundels

Step 1:

Remove roundels by prying them off the car with a flat head screwdriver -to avoid damaging the car use a rag around the screwdriver head

Step 2:

Roll up a large one - this is optional

Step 3:

Using 250 grade wet/dry sandpaper remove all the shine from the roundel - pay special attention to the chrome edges

Step 4:

Using 600 grade wet/dry sandpaper go over the roundel until it's completely keyed - keying is just the expression used for taking off the shine - if you dont remove the shine your primer wont stick properly and you'll end up with a bad finish

Step 5:

Roll another large one - this step is also optional

Step 6:

Spray the roundel with short, sharp bursts about 12" from the surface - the primer dries VERY quickly and youshould be able to apply 3/4 coats in 15 - 20 mins

Step 7:

Once the last application of primer is completely dry apply a VERY light first coat of paint using the same technique as the primer

Step 8:

Once the first application of paint is dry apply another very thin coat

Step 9:

Repeat step 8 until you have the desired finish

Step 10:

Allow to dry COMPLETELY for at least 12 hours before refitting

Step 11:

Re-fit roundels

Step 12:

Admire your new roundels

Step 13:

Roll another large one - this step is optional

Hints and tips:

Keying the item is the most important process - do this badly and you will get a bad job

When applying the primer and paint always use thin layers - too much and especially the paint will pool and run and spoil your job

Using your old sheets of sandpaper roll them up into 3" wide cylinders using some tape and use them to support your item to be sprayed - lifting up the item will stop paint pooling around the edges on the surface you are spraying on - you will also be able to spray more evenly

Always warm your paint and primer - room temperature is fine - but cold paint wont apply as evenly because the cold affects the spray of the solvent which "carries" the paint or primer - warm your cans on a radiator to get them up to temp

Always spray in a well ventilated area - even a small can of paint has enough solvent in to seriously wig you out

Be patient between layers of paint - the more thin layers that dry COMPLETELY the better - so spray - let dry - then spray again - the thin layers take minutes to dry - if you rush you will be re-sanding and starting again!

If you do a good job you wont be able to tell the difference between factory and DIY

My next project is to black out my chrome door handles - i'm doing this on the car as it will take much less time than having to remove them!

Then I'm going to buy some scrap roundels and experiment with some custom designs - i'll let you know how it goes



J...