How to paint a P2 front grille in satin black - easy!

First... DON'T remove the front bumper...

Remove the black plastic rivets from the top of the bumper, under the bonnet...
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7126.jpg
Push the centre pin in till it clicks and just lever the whole rivet out.


Pull the top of the bumper toward you and look at the back of the grille, you will see 4 clips

(Sorry I forgot to take a photo!)

Wedge a screwdriver between the clip and the plastic blade on the grille (a bit fiddly).
Do this for all 4 of the top clips then pull the top of the grille away from the bumper.

Look down inside, through the gap you just opened between the grille and bumper. You will see the 3 clips holding the bottom of the grille on...
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7127.jpg
You can poke these individually and remove the the grille completely.
with the grille out, you will be confronted with something that had me scratchin' my noggin for a bit...
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7128.jpg
These little grippy washers are a pain. What i did was push the base of the blade, where it splits from the body of the washer. after buckling it it will pull off with a pair of long nose pliers (sorry, blurry pic)
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7129.jpg
Now the slash is off, give the grille a clean with carb cleaner or a 500 quid dishwasher ;)
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7130.jpg
Mask the bits you don't want painted - I wanted to leave the chrome boarder as-is... TAKE YOUR TIME! You want this to be right ;)
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7131.jpg
Hang the grill SAFELY somewhere and apply your favourite primer...
I used Metatec Cold Galv (cos I get it for free and it dries fast)
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7133.jpg

While you're waiting for the primer to dry, go put the bumper back together. If it doesn't seem to want to go back properly, look around the headlights as mine caught on the glass and had to be "manipulated" to get it back in.

Now apply the first coat of black, wait a few minutes, turn the grille 180 degrees and apply another. Make sure you have a good covering in the nooks and crannys - some bugger will spot it if you don't!
Repeat as required and allow to dry.
While you're waiting, repair the gripp washer thingys, first by hammering them flat, then jam a Phillips screwdriver through the hole to put the angle back on the blades...
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7135.jpg

When the paint has dried (I used a small fan heater) re fit the slash, using a deep 8mm-10mm socket to push the grippy washers back on.

You can then remove the masking tape.
The grille will just push back into the bumper.

Et voila! Job done.

You make it sound so easy! Are you posting a picy of the result please?

Haha, thought you'd never ask...

Here you go...

http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7139.jpg
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7138.jpg
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCF7137.jpg

The next lesson is going to be how to make a large pot of curry using a tripod over a fire. The tripod will be coloured in a nice shade of matt black with a few white bits here and there :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Porcine_Aviator

The next lesson is going to be how to make a large pot of curry using a tripod over a fire. The tripod will be coloured in a nice shade of matt black with a few white bits here and there :)

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LOL, that's my mate's fishing tripod... oops!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by martinrpeachey

LOL, that's my mate's fishing tripod... oops!

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You mean it was his fishing tripod :)

Mind you that does look nice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Porcine_Aviator

You mean it was his fishing tripod :)

Mind you that does look nice.

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Tee Hee, thanks mate.

Very, very smart! Job well done there!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by foammanmark

Very, very smart! Job well done there!

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Thanks very much (got no thanks buttons! come to think of it, smileys aren't working too)
It was actually very easy once I'd figured out how to get it all apart.

Very nice, much better.

that looks the nuts mate proper job mate

Looking Good Mart

Looks very good Martin.

Infact reminds me of my old P2 here:

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=24963

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/attachme...4&d=1254853685

Now all you need is to put a V70R spoiler on like I did with mine too ;)

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/attachme...1&d=1254853186

Looking good there Martin, nice job!

looks good mate,makes a world of difference :)

Thanks for the compliments guys, here's another pic I took waiting for Mrs. MRP to finish work...
http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/...y/IMAG0039.jpg

Et voila! Job done.[/QUOTE]

looks good mate,
but i dont wana upset you now but you dont need to remove any clips etc or pull bumper forward,
just look between the slits in the grill,
with a screw drive just push the clip/tag and the grill pops out :hidesbehi

sorry mate :)

Does Mrs.MRP drive that truck behind you? LOL

Look great - thanks for the Pic's

Quote:

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Originally Posted by t5 stealth

Et voila! Job done.

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looks good mate,
but i dont wana upset you now but you dont need to remove any clips etc or pull bumper forward,
just look between the slits in the grill,
with a screw drive just push the clip/tag and the grill pops out :hidesbehi

sorry mate :)[/QUOTE]
Tried.that mate, needed to do all 4 clips at once to get the top out on mine. Tight fit, so it was.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by foammanmark

Does Mrs.MRP drive that truck behind you? LOL

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she has, didn't like it. Not as much torque as the T5 lol.