My 8 slat front grille has been looking pretty tired with a few bad rock chips and I was looking to replace it with the new 6 slat until KarlFranz made the suggestion to paint it matte black!

I am interested in hearing your opinions. Wife said it looks less special but is more aggressive. I am starting to think it compliments the loud (200 cell cats and QS Super Sport) car and aggressive N420 rear diffuser I just put on.

Or should I get the new 6 slat grille. Thoughts?

 

Personally, I'd go with the 6 slat as it looks more sporting. If you wanted to add some menace, you could wrap that one. I think KF said it was less than $700. Not bad as far as Aston prices go.

 

Nope, not bad at all! Im assuming you had the 8 slat on your old V8? Do you feel the 6 looks more sporting than the blacked out grille or the older 8 slat?

 

Tough call. However, I'm thinking if you change the grille, you may need to change other aspects to match. Kinda like when you change the carpet you may need to change the curtains, etc. So, blacking out the grille could just be the start.

 

Yep, I was already eyeing the trim around the door windows as they really stand out....then there was the chrome side strakes. You are right, they would all need to be darkened or replaced with CF. Looks like I will be ordering the 6 slat.

KF had the 8 previous, and liked the 6 better after changing it out and it seems you do as well. I was not certain if I liked the origional 8 better (perhaps more classic proportions?) but the wider slats is where of a up to date look IMO (all AM's, Ferraris, etc)

 

Yes, more modern, more agressive, and less classic IMO.

 

Hi Eric,

Since your grille was all beaten up, I'm glad you tried my suggestion before buying the new grille. I think it does look very menacing, but the picture you have is so dark that you really can't see the slats at all. Could you take another one for us to see? I do like what I can see so far.

Also, I wouldn't go to overboard with the whole "blacked-out thing" necessarily. Maybe you could just look into getting the chrome window wrapped in matte black vinyl. That way, you can always revert back at a later date if you change your mind. In fact, look in Youtube for videos of people doing this with PlastiDip spray. There are a ton of videos on doing this very same thing. It is a rubberized coating that can be peeled off when you get tired of it, but is very resilient. I have seen videos where people have used a pressure washer on "dipped" wheels and it didn't peel off. In fact, I'm seriously considering dipping the inside of my wheels black so they hide dirt and brake dust and make the front surface stand out more. Like I said, I can always peel it off if I'm not happy with the result.

You can buy a spray can of PlastiDip from Lowes or Home depot for under $8.

 

Here's a sample video:

 

Karl, too funny. I was searching google Saturday on how to paint grilles when I came across several threads followed by you tube videos for Plastidip. I went to lowes Saturday and I ended up putting about 4 coats of black plastidip on mine! It has a little bit of a granular appearance though as I did not do it 100% proper. From 3+ feet away it looks good though.

All in all, great recommendation and I did it because it was a cheap. non permanent way to see what a black grille would look like!

*EDIT* After your stellar pictures, mine does look like crap. Here is a slightly better close up. In the upcoming days, I will grab the wifes good camera and ensure the grille in in the light as opposed to the light in the background!

 

I think the trick is to shake the heck out of the paint can first and when you're done, shake it some more to fully blend it. Then apply many thin coats to prevent too much build up at once and the granular look you mentioned. I think overall it looks pretty good. I would consider doing the window trim to tie it in, and maybe the side strakes. Just make sure you mark out the mesh properly first.

I had an idea to plastidip some stripes on my car similar to what Dave did on his car. They would be matte black instead of his cool silver of course. The beauty being that if I screw up or don't like the look, I can just peel it right off and I'm only out a few bucks.

 

I believe that I did not shake it near enough to your point. I also only bought 1 can and ran out in the end. Oh well, I am starting to lean towards the 6 slat you moved to. Any before/after pictures with the new grille?

I would be interested to see how the stripes would come out....I was considering trying it on my sport pack wheels.

 

I just bought a can to try and specifically do this in the next few days.

 

Plasti-Dip is magic, I have used it extensivelly on my other cat (FJ-Cruiser) and it has worked great. I got my neighbor hooked on the stuff too.

I was thinking of blacking out the trim on the mirrors and the chrome window trim on the V8V ... maybe even the wheels, hmmmmm.

 

What does the 6 slat grill cost? My grill is a bit odd looking, think the holders behind arent really holding the slats in place anymore...

 

As an avid feline lover, I really would advise against PlastiiDipping your cat.