[StreetBound]

Preferably black, anyone got the plug?

 

[Crashmaster]

Once you go black, you never go back!

 

[gary325]

What did it cost? How does it fair in the icy snow up north?

 

[StreetBound]

Once you go black, you never go back!

That looks great. Better then chrome beak.

 

[Crashmaster]

I did the work myself. Total cost was probably: Paint and supplies $100. Plastic coat about $75 (for extra protection and much easier to do when it is off the car). The rest was labor. No special tools required. If you are interested, I can post more pictures of this modification, as I stopped at about every stage to snap a few pictures. Not really that hard, just time consuming.

 

[StreetBound]

More pics definitely. I was thinking of making the trim black too and only leaving the symbol.

 

[Crashmaster]

I did this modification when my TLX was only a few weeks old. I wanted something that would make it stand out from the other TLX's but not to radical. Because of the radar sensor that sits behind the grill, you must be careful about adding anything metallic in front of it. This would include any metallic paint. Also keep in mind that the beak for the vehicles with radar are different than those without radar (in case you want to get a second beak). In one of my pictures you can see the square 3" x 5" radar sensor that sits behind the grill. If you have any specific questions about the mod, let me know. Yes, a lift makes the job easier, especially on your back, but it can easily be done without a lift.

 

[Crashmaster]

A few more pics.

 

[Icculus]

I did this modification when my TLX was only a few weeks old. I wanted something that would make it stand out from the other TLX's but not to radical. Because of the radar sensor that sits behind the grill, you must be careful about adding anything metallic in front of it. This would include any metallic paint. Also keep in mind that the beak for the vehicles with radar are different than those without radar (in case you want to get a second beak). In one of my pictures you can see the square 3" x 5" radar sensor that sits behind the grill. If you have any specific questions about the mod, let me know. Yes, a lift makes the job easier, especially on your back, but it can easily be done without a lift.

All that to replace the beak section???? One would think it can all be done from under the hood without having to tear apart the entire front end. Makes a wrap or plastidip that much more appealing.

 

[Crashmaster]

I've heard of some people (with smaller hands) who R&R (remove and replace) the grille without removing the entire front section. It can be done except the clips that hold in the beak to the grill are very fragile and I didn't want to have a problem in that tight area breaking them or tearing up my hands. You can try it, and then if too difficult, then go ahead and remove the front section.

 

[MTD]

Thats a tons of work to black out the grill. You can have it wrapped for prob $100 and nothing needs to be taken apart to do it.

 

[Crashmaster]

Thats a tons of work to black out the grill. You can have it wrapped for prob $100 and nothing needs to be taken apart to do it.

What MTD says is true and you can wrap your grill for around $100 without anything needing to be taken apart.

I considered wrapping at the time but this was not what I wanted. I wanted a more permanent mod with paint that matches EXACTLY the same as my entire vehicle. That is what I wanted and what I have.

It all depends on what you want.

 

[Icculus]

What MTD says is true and you can wrap your grill for around $100 without anything needing to be taken apart.

I considered wrapping at the time but this was not what I wanted. I wanted a more permanent mod with paint that matches EXACTLY the same as my entire vehicle. That is what I wanted and what I have.

It all depends on what you want.

Good point. Matching paint brings a whole other dimension into it. If you want straight black (like I would), I'd consider wrap or plastidip or similar. What'd I'd really want to do is black out all the chrome on the car. But I don't have the time for that, especially the window trim which seems like it would be pretty difficult.

 

[Mbarrancos83]

In order to get that piece that you painted out you didn’t need to remove the bumper at all, all you needed to do was pry it out with some prying tools and that was it.

 

[Crashmaster]

You probably could pry it out by wiggling your hand down behind the grill and try reaching for the tangs to release the grill. My hands are not small enough and I didn't want to risk breaking off a tang and have my grill rattle or not be fully secured. All shortcuts must be weighed. I had the time and labor to play with it and didn't mind disassembling the front end. Actually I love taking apart brand new cars. A big difference from my work where I take apart wrecked and/or burnt cars.

 

[Jdre]

Probably a dumb question, but did "Blacking out" cars originally come from being a counter measure against laser guns? The concept is to reduce the reflective surfaces.. The grill being the biggest usually and the most reflective.

 

[MarcoTLX]

Probably a dumb question, but did "Blacking out" cars originally come from being a counter measure against laser guns? The concept is to reduce the reflective surfaces.. The grill being the biggest usually and the most reflective.

Probably but now that you bring that up it makes me wanna do some research on it