Colour code fog light grilles

**conman** · 11th February 2013, 23:48

Hey all, as title says. Has anyone done this? I was thinking of doing mine but not sure how it will look on the pre facelift Vec.

**Z80** · 12th February 2013, 05:23

I think they would look just dull, except they might help showing the fog lights (at least for the SRi, otherwise I'm not sure it would be a good idea with non-SRi square ones...)

**conman** · 12th February 2013, 10:20

I was thinking that myself mate. I think I just needed someone else to say it. I'll maybe just bring out the black on them, not to fond of the chrome type ones so will stick to black for now.

Cheers for the reply

**Z80** · 12th February 2013, 12:47

I agree about the preface chrome strips. They just cancel the grille effect (they're actually all plain, but the louvered effect is enough to have them look like grilles if not looking too close

). They still can look good (as all chrome trim) on a plain black car, though, as all the grilles then become almost invisible otherwise.

Also notice how the black grilles show well on my white car... Contrast is the idea here, IMHO.

In your case, it's quite uneasy to decide, because of the (lovely, BTW) lunar grey tone.

Maybe you could solve all this by painting the grilles shiny gloss black instead of that dull flat black (that's prone to becoming dirty greyish over time, BTW). Actually, ALL the front grilles and the back diffuser would probably benefit from a gloss back painting IMHO.

Quite a lot of work, maybe, but probably rewarding. What do you think ?

On the other hand, the two ABS plastic bumper grilles are the only parts that will stay really black over time, so painting only the flat soft plastic parts (fog grilles and back bumper diffuser) should most probably be enough. They should then be painted satin black to match the bumper grilles, if you can achieve that.

Actually, after having written that, I think I'll seriously consider doing it on my own car...

**conman** · 12th February 2013, 15:42

I think your right mate, I was actually thinking about a gloss black but was in two minds whether or not to do it and then thought it might be a bit cheap looking plus if I did go down that route then I would maybe have to do the black door strips as well. I'm still open to ideas though and the satin black might be the better choice. As you say a lot of work but like most people on here we don't mind putting in the effort as the end results look great. I can't wait for some good weather to get a good clean and polish at the car and I'll probably strip a lot of parts down for a decent clean. At the minute it's desperate for a good clay bar as the surface is really rough and to be honest I don't think the car knows what polish is but the paintwork is in really good condition with a few minor scratches so should easily buff out with the polisher and although the car still looks good it just needs some love and attention

The other half keeps passing remarks that the car gets more attention than her, wait until the summer and see how much attention she gets....lol

although she doesn't do much yapping when it's her car I'm polishing and waxing.

**Z80** · 12th February 2013, 22:54

Oh, jealousy, eh ?

LMAO

About the door strips, are talking about the B pillar black coverings ? Gloss black definitely looks better there, because they better match the windows glass gloss. Mines are dented on the edges and I'll probably have them patched and painted gloss black. Another possibility would be real carbon fiber covering with clear coating. I insist on the real carbon : vinyl just doesn't look real. And I can't either cover the strips right away without patching them first, or the dents will show under the vinyl... They have to be correctly prepared first whatever the choosen solution.

**conman** · 13th February 2013, 01:02

Originally Posted by Z80

Oh, jealousy, eh ?

LMAO

About the door strips, are talking about the B pillar black coverings ? Gloss black definitely looks better there, because they better match the windows glass gloss. Mines are dented on the edges and I'll probably have them patched and painted gloss black. Another possibility would be real carbon fiber covering with clear coating. I insist on the real carbon : vinyl just doesn't look real. And I can't either cover the strips right away without patching them first, or the dents will show under the vinyl... They have to be correctly prepared first whatever the choosen solution.

Yeah mate, the b pillars, not too bright when it comes to the actual name of the parts

I was having a good look around the car and would actually need to do the trim around the wing mirrors and a few other parts if I go for the gloss look. What about a Matt finish? I know it's more or less putting it back to the factory look as my pillars are in pretty good nik and just need and good buff and I could Matt the V and bumper grilles along with fog grilles. Head is starting to melt now as a few whacky ideas are popping in there

Not too sure about the carbon route as I don't know how to apply it although Youtube is your friend when it comes to some how 2's...lol. I know a guy who is pretty good at that sort of thing as he tinted my rear windows and done a great job and as far as I know you don't even need to take the parts off or is that just being lazy?

**Z80** · 13th February 2013, 01:43

Well, It would probably be a better idea to take the parts off if you're intending to wrap them, whatever you wrap them with.

The point is it's better to completely cover the edges and overlap the back of each part, or your covering won't probably last too long before wearing or unsticking from the edges. Great job needs patience and some effort...

Now you can find ready-to-stick precut covering kits for the Veccy on eBay, including the B pillars, mirrors surrounds and rear windows parts. These ones are intended to be stuck without unmounting, so you'll have to be careful and stick them correctly to the edges. A heat gun will probably help a lot there.

The guy used to sell gloss black and 3M Di-Noc "carbon" vinyl, but now only offers the latter. Maybe I should have jumped on the bargain while he still offered the gloss black kind... But I've always thought the local windows tint guy could do it from scratch, without having to precut anything. This kit is only useful as a stick-and-play solution, though proper alignment could prove difficult, actually, as you'll have no margin left for errors. That's why didn't care buying it online. I think I'll do the pillars and windows tinting at the same time and by the same guy anyway. ^^

**conman** · 13th February 2013, 12:25

I'll maybe sit on it for a few days and have a good think on what to do. Don't want to go for a look that I'm only halfhearted on and end up changing it a few weeks later. I'm heading to Halfords later on and I'll walk around the shop for a while and maybe get some inspiration..lol

Still swaying towards the black gloss look as I have a mental image of what it will look like and I have spare fog light grilles so if I spray them up gloss and stick them on it will give me an idea of how the whole lot will look. I was even thinking of going for one of the other models black colour range as there is some nice pearlescent paint which would look well when the light reflects off them. Also might go to the scrapyard and get the pillars and a few other bits and get them well prepared and spay them up so that I can leave them for a few weeks to dry before swapping them over, that way I won't have to take much off my own car and have it off road for long periods of time as I need it for work.

On another note, I was looking at your car and it looks really well, reminds me of the Astra G I used to own a while back. Loved that car until the engine packed in so I sold it on and the guy that bought it had a low blow engine for it and it's now back on the road, still see it from time to time and give it a little wave