24 replies to this topic

[Mark1275GT]

Hi all..
Can someone who has restored a grill , please tell me how and what i need to restore it.
what to use to clean the little bits of rust off,
What to use to clean the crome bit with,
how to clean the black paint of, would i have to clean all the black paint off for resray.
and what black paint shall i get.. thanks

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[minimadjonesy]

you need to speak to clubman_katie_bf! he's done this very recently!

I found that white spirit got the paint of really nicely!

[Turbo Nick]

i did mine a while ago. just nitromors the whole lot, gets rid of the black paint and leaves you with a nice shiney chrome grille

[Mark1275GT]

nitromors? whats that

[Turbo Nick]

paint stripper. get it from b&q or similar. just be careful with it, its fu**ing evil stuff!

[minimadjonesy]

DO NOT get any of that stuff on anything else as it will just eat the paint right off your car!

[Mark1275GT]

ive taken the grill off ... lol

[minimadjonesy]

good, but make sure it's ALL Washed off BEFORE you go anywhere near your car! (that includes any you spill on clothes, hands etc etc!)

[Mark1275GT]

Got all the stuff i need
Thanks ..

[1984mini25]

Looks like another how 2 coming shortly

[Mini Mad James]

I have a black austin grill on my mini, if i used that stuff to take the paint off then put it back on my mini would it stay shiny or rust to bits?

If it would rust how could i keep it shiny and non rusted?

[1984mini25]

I have a black austin grill on my mini, if i used that stuff to take the paint off then put it back on my mini would it stay shiny or rust to bits?

Personally I would leave it black, as those grills are hard and expensive to get hold off

But if you did strip the paint off it would go rusty in about a week
To stop this you can apply lacquer (see Below)

Restoring a grill

U will need:
scotch pads or scourer pads
Halfords primer,Chosen colour and lacquer
800, 1200 grit wet and dry
some metal polish and a smooth cotton rag
masking tape

Rub down areas that are to be painted with scotch pads to give a sound key for the primer; this also makes sure there is no grease on the part that would stop the paint from sticking
Mask up areas that are not to be painted

Spray a light coat of primer. Leave to dry for 15 min before applying another light coat. Then repeat this process until you have four to five coats.
It important that you leave the primer to fully dry for at least 24 hours

Using 800 grit wet and dry and hot soapy water, sooth off the surface
The soapy water acts as a lubricant and stops the wet and dry scratching the surface

Like you did with the primer, apply your chosen colour in smooth even coats. Keep you movement’s fluid and using a side-to-side sweeping motion with the can. Leave to dry for 15 min then apply 3 of 4 more coats of paint in the same way.
Leave to fully dry for at least 24 hours

Rub down with 1200 grit wet and dry (same as before) until perfectly smooth. Then wash off any debris and soap residue. This wills flatten out any imperfections on the painted surface, which is nice.

Remove all masking tape
Get hold of some metal polish and a smooth cotton rag and then get polishing

To keep it shiny for longer and save polishing it each week
Apply a light coat of lacquer. Again light even coats. Leave to dry for 15mini between coats. Apply 3 or 4 coats until a deep glossy finish is achieved.
Leave to fully dry for at least 24 hours

Then just finish of with a decent polish to help protect all you hard work and that’s job done

[Mini Mad James]

Cheers Karl

I know theyre hard to get hold of just thought a shiny one would look cool B)
ill wait till i get my car re-srayed

[Mark1275GT]

Thanks 1984mini25.

But you didnt say what spay to use..car spay?, gloss mat ?
car primer ?
wire wool would be ok ?
and would u lacquer the whole grill ?
paint stripper ?
I guess theres all diffrent ways of restoring a grill

[1984mini25]

But you didnt say what spay to use..car spay?, gloss mat ?
car primer ?
wire wool would be ok ?
and would u lacquer the whole grill ?
paint stripper ?

I didn’t say to use gloss or matt because it’s up to your personal prefaces on weather or not you want a glossy or mat grill

Yes Halfords car primer or similar

wire wool would be fine but make sure you wash off all the little bits left before priming

lacquer the whole grill

Paint stripper can also be used if the paint already on the part to be painted is
in hard to sand areas
or
would give a smoother finish without the time it would take to sand back all the old paint

p.s.. what are scotch pads ? can u show me a pic plz
I guess theres all diffrent ways of restoring a grill

Pads about A6 size that are like the small sponges with the green fuzzy bit on
But just the green bit on there own

A cheaper alternative that i’ve used is normal scorer pads that can be bought in packs of 3 upwards for less that a £1 in Wilkinson’s and other places