Grill and Fog Light Whiteout

[BrianH]

I opted to just whiteout the front grill and fogs, and I'll be doing the headlight rings soon as well. For anyone looking to dip your grill like this, I would just recommend leaving it on the vehicle if you can. Taking apart the entire front bumper assembly is a LOT of work. The problem is that there's no easy way to get in behind the grill to mask off the radiator to avoid overspray if you want to paint it on the vehicle.

 

[firstorbit84]

whatever floats your boat

 

[RoXXXanne13]

might do this on mine, I was going to do the fog light housing at least, do it like this or do it how pre did it with the vynil opcorn:

 

[Swordsmith]

That looks really good. I would do it as well, only in black to go with my black and red theme, except just my luck, it already came in black! The white is much more distinctive though, I do love how it looks on your car.

 

[Beastlick]

So how did you block it off from the radiator / intercooler?

 

[BrianH]

So how did you block it off from the radiator / intercooler?

I didn't and hoped the overspray wouldn't fan back that far. I also did this outside where the wind was calm enough to push the overspray off to the side slightly. I checked afterwards and I couldn't see much, if any, on the radiator. Just use quick sharp angles around the openings and you should be fine. Otherwise, you'll need to tear off the entire Front Bumper Fascia.

To give you an idea of the steps required to do this:

1. Remove the Radiator Opening Upper Cover
2. Remove the Front Bumper Fascia Opening Lower Cover
3. Remove both of the Front Wheelhouse Liners
4. Disconnect the ambient air temperature sensor from the lower grille
5. Remove both the Radiator Upper Grille and Radiator Lower Grille
6. Paint and then reassemble

If you happen to have a Body Repair Manual, it makes it a bit easier to do, but it's still a LOT of work.

 

[Thaifight-R]

Got milk?

 

[Inferno]

I'm glad someone likes it. Weh man and I'm the Mexican.

 

[Goneau]

not bad, i got the cyber gray and i did white on my trunk chrome and rear bowtie but my dad said to order new trim and bowtie and he'll bring it to work an paint it. gotta love having someone to do free paint work haha

 

[Beastlick]

I didn't and hoped the overspray wouldn't fan back that far. I also did this outside where the wind was calm enough to push the overspray off to the side slightly. I checked afterwards and I couldn't see much, if any, on the radiator. Just use quick sharp angles around the openings and you should be fine. Otherwise, you'll need to tear off the entire Front Bumper Fascia.

To give you an idea of the steps required to do this:

1. Remove the Radiator Opening Upper Cover
2. Remove the Front Bumper Fascia Opening Lower Cover
3. Remove both of the Front Wheelhouse Liners
4. Disconnect the ambient air temperature sensor from the lower grille
5. Remove both the Radiator Upper Grille and Radiator Lower Grille
6. Paint and then reassemble

If you happen to have a Body Repair Manual, it makes it a bit easier to do, but it's still a LOT of work.

Hopefully you didn't clog any of the radiator fins.

Removing the bumper is not as bad as you'd think. About 15 torque screws and half a dozen body panel clips hold the front bumper. The upper radiator cover can stay on the bumper and come off with it but the lower needs to be removed. I had mine off and on a handful of times this weekend mocking up my mustacheless grill. If you know what fasteners need to come out, you can take it off in 15 mins or so.

 

[amudd1988]

I did this with mine 2 weeks ago. Going to do red on the chrome around the emblem, the headlight rings, and the wire mesh i put in the fog light covers.

 

[Macehammer]

I was think of doing this to my car.

Oh, wait, no I wasn't.

It looks like good coverage, though. However, your technique scares me.

 

[SonicBoy24]

So how did you block it off from the radiator / intercooler?

The problem is that there's no easy way to get in behind the grill to mask off the radiator to avoid overspray if you want to paint it on the vehicle.

You boys ever heard of cardboard?
Slide it up, or down, between the radiator and the grill and you're all set for the most part.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

I opted to just whiteout the front grill and fogs, and I'll be doing the headlight rings soon as well. For anyone looking to dip your grill like this, I would just recommend leaving it on the vehicle if you can. Taking apart the entire front bumper assembly is a LOT of work. The problem is that there's no easy way to get in behind the grill to mask off the radiator to avoid overspray if you want to paint it on the vehicle.

I have a question for you about the Fog Light Covers... What all steps did you take to paint those. I have been wanting that done for a while now and honestly as dumb as it may sound i cant get a body shop to paint them for me. :blankface: Dont have an answer to why. Everytime i ask one i get the same old BS Story.

So i ask you what you did so i can do it myself. I want mine to be white too. Thanks for any help!

 

[BrianH]

I have a question for you about the Fog Light Covers... What all steps did you take to paint those. I have been wanting that done for a while now and honestly as dumb as it may sound i cant get a body shop to paint them for me. :blankface: Dont have an answer to why. Everytime i ask one i get the same old BS Story.

So i ask you what you did so i can do it myself. I want mine to be white too. Thanks for any help!

It's just plastidip. Mask off section close enough around the outside of the fog light enclosures, and mask off the opening around the inside edges between the light itself and the enclosure. You'll see what I mean when you look at it. Then just spray the plastidip on, let it dry and peel off the areas you don't want. It'll break cleanly around the edges when you pull it off.

 

[BrianH]

I did this with mine 2 weeks ago. Going to do red on the chrome around the emblem, the headlight rings, and the wire mesh i put in the fog light covers.

Looks nice! I think the white makes the grills stand out more. My only concern is that it'll get really dirty from the bug splats, etc. but time will tell, lol.

 

[acenumba12]

Hopefully you didn't clog any of the radiator fins.

Removing the bumper is not as bad as you'd think. About 15 torque screws and half a dozen body panel clips hold the front bumper. The upper radiator cover can stay on the bumper and come off with it but the lower needs to be removed. I had mine off and on a handful of times this weekend mocking up my mustacheless grill. If you know what fasteners need to come out, you can take it off in 15 mins or so.

Did you use a lift or jacks? or just did everything on the ground?
I'm going to replace the upper and lower front grilles. Not a fan of chrome trim.

 

[Thaifight-R]

Looks like the Thai owners like your style. haha

????????? Grill and Fog Light Whiteout ????????? ????????????? *** ?????????? CHEVROLET SONIC CLUB,???????? ????? ????, Chevy Sonic Club

 

[BrianH]

Looks like the Thai owners like your style. haha

????????? Grill and Fog Light Whiteout ????????? ????????????? *** ?????????? CHEVROLET SONIC CLUB,???????? ????? ????, Chevy Sonic Club

Yeah, they like to copy all of our content for some reason.

 

[qwed94]

to the OP! It might look pretty good if you would "whiteout" your mirrors also. (Just a thought). Maybe some white stripes too.

I guess I should do more research before I post, but what all colors does this PlastiDip come in?

Anyone ever think of plastidip/painting over ALL of the trim to make them body color? (I realize the black sonics already have this). Silver sonics might look funny being completly silver. But the Crystal tint or Blue, even Victory red does look real nice being the same color everywhere. This is something that was hot hot in the mid 80s. but not with every color.