Painting front grill - spray paint??

[bsteab0yz]

Hi all -

Currently have a black front grill and a red bronco. The entire grill, including the part around the headlights and sides is black.

It appears as if it wasn’t actually painting with a finish coat, if that makes sense. Almost like the black is a primer.

Anyway, any thoughts to spray painting this? Is that a bad idea? Is there a really good black spray paint that could be used off the shelf?

 

[DirtDonk]

Hey there. It’s probably a replacement grill.
So it probably is a primer.
A lot of the parts come with an E-coat, or a powder coat as a protective barrier while it’s being shipped from overseas.
Some like to remove it, but it can act as a primer if you scuff it up and spray over it.
There’s maybe a little more prep work involved but I’m not sure.
Even though spray can paint isn’t usually the best, at this point since it’s just basically primer (and the wrong color anyway), I say it can’t really hurt anything to give it a try.

 

[DirtDonk]

We actually have a few members here that are professional painters. Some too, that aren’t actually professional, but have done so much painting that they are as good as a professional.
Hopefully some of them will see this and put in their two cents worth.

 

[LUBr LuvR]

What year is your Bronco? Any possibility it’s a Special Decor model (76-77)? Those came with blacked out grills. Many SD’s were red......

 

[wsager]

I’ve heard a lot of people swear by this 2k clear coat in a can. The 2k would give you much better protection. You could spray it over a can of base or single stage in the color that you want.
https://www.eastwood.com/ew-2k-aero...ickedid=629952193864&wickedsource=google&wv=4

 

[Shimmy]

I’ve heard a lot of people swear by this 2k clear coat in a can. The 2k would give you much better protection. You could spray it over a can of base or single stage in the color that you want.
https://www.eastwood.com/ew-2k-aero...ickedid=629952193864&wickedsource=google&wv=4

any two part clear coat will add depth and shine. there are a few good brands out there... nothing special and the eastwood brand. imo it'll look off if the rest of the car is single stage paint and then a random section of two stage on the grill

 

[Speedrdr]

If you’re gonna go with a rattle can to paint the grill, most of the auto parts sell
Spray paint that has a nozzle that sprays a fan pattern and gives you a reasonable coverage. It’s not a paint gun hooked to a compressor but if you take time you can get a decent paint job.

Randy

 

[BGBronco]

I rattle canned the grill insert on my previous bronco. Looked great and lasted a long time. Obviously, make sure you mask off everything behind the grill. I think you will be fine doing the entire grill because the surface area is pretty small and narrow. And, if you mess it up, you're not out a lot of money. If you want a good color match you can go to an auto paint store. They can color match and put it in a spray can. Otherwise, any black with the right gloss will get you pretty close.