ragin_cajuns

i have a graphite shadow g37s and i want to paint the chrome a darker color and also the wheels. i'm thinking of a dark charcoal or graphite color for the grill, chrome trim around the windows and wheels. oh and back badges too.

i'm not that familiar with powder coating - is that what i would want to do to the wheels or just regular painting?

anyone have pics of a graphite shadow g with all the chrome painted dark?

anyone recommend and good place in the N DFW area to do this?

GoFightNguyen

iTrader: (14)

Idk if you can powder coat plastic, metal wheels yes, but I think it has to be baked, doesn't it?

ragin_cajuns

powder coating i assume would just be for the wheels but would i want to powder coat or paint them?

GoFightNguyen

iTrader: (14)

Oh! In that case, definitely powder coat. It's more durable and the color options are more brilliant.

ragin_cajuns

yeah i assumed powder coating for wheels.

anyone balck out or grey out all their chrome?

GoFightNguyen

iTrader: (14)

BLnewt (Brad) on the forums here has a DIY for covering chrome with vinyl. It's a pretty good semi-permanent way of blacking out the chrome, and there are lots of options as far as color. If you want to paint it, most auto body shops should be able to sand, paint, and clear coat your chrome to give it either that glossy finish or a stealth matte look.

connoisseurr

iTrader: (5)

Definitely powdercoat for the wheels - it'll be worth every penny you spend. When you get them powdercoated, you can get some form of high-strength sealant on them so nothing will stick to them (brake dust, road grime, etc). I've done this in the past on a few sets of Ultraleggeras and related one-piece wheels and it's worth every penny.

As for the trim, I'd go with what was stated above about using vinyl. It's cheaper and you can do it yourself with ease.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Yep, just vinyl the trim, I even vinyl wrapped my grill and I'm sure you could wrap the bigger emblems but not the small letters. Here's my trim DIY and they have vinyl in many colors now including a bronze, gunmetal and machined silver among many others.
https://www.myg37.com/forums/d-i-y-i...-g-sedans.html

ragin_cajuns

thanks
how long have you had the vinyl installed now? how does it hold up over time?

color fade? edges peel up?

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

As long as you don't get it near Isopropyl Alcohol it's all good. Keep in mind your side door pillars are vinyl'd from the factory and they hold up for seemingly the life of the car.

ragin_cajuns

didn't know they were vinyl - thanks for the info.

took care of -
wheels - powedr coat
chrome trim around windows - vinyl wrap
grill - probably cheaper to paint than buy the one from infiniti right?
badges? don't want to plastidip them, don't really like the look or texture. options?

GoFightNguyen

iTrader: (14)

The grille is probably cheaper to paint, I got quoted 100 bucks to sand, paint, and clear coat the grille black.

Badges- you can always debadge the car, have them painted at the same time as your grille, and reattach them with some industrial adhesive, or you could take a crazy amount of time and smoke them out with VHT niteshade. It's the same stuff that people use to darken their head/tail lights.

ragin_cajuns

looks like you went with black vinyl - no brainer since your car is black and the pillars are already black.

like i said when i started the post i want to darkern all chrome trime prefrabley with a charcoal grey color. think charcoal vinyl window trim would look good against the already black pillars or go with black there even though all other trim will be charcoal?

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

I think I'd just get a bit more vinyl and do the pillars the same shade, would flow a bit better IMO. There's also quite a few that wrap their grills so that would be an option if you want to keep it the same color, it's a pretty easy wrap job, just get a 3x5 or 4x5' sheet and that should be enough for a couple do-overs if you don't get it right the first time and like I said you should be able to wrap the emblems too (the letters could be done but not having done that I can't say how they'd turn out).

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

My trim is black but I used carbon vinyl for my grill, I may go back to black there though as the carbon vinyl faded w/ some alcohol that I used to try a clear-bra install (that was an Epic fail all around ) The carbon vinyl seems to get a bit brittle over time whereas the regular vinyl seems a bit more durable.
I think I'd just get a bit more vinyl and do the pillars the same shade, would flow a bit better IMO. There's also quite a few that wrap their grills so that would be an option if you want to keep it the same color, it's a pretty easy wrap job, just get a 3x5 or 4x5' sheet and that should be enough for a couple do-overs if you don't get it right the first time and like I said you should be able to wrap the emblems too (the letters could be done but not having done that I can't say how they'd turn out).