spraying mesh

[Cesaro]

Hi,


As Im respraying my car at the mo..... (cue hint pic of progress



.....I was going to change the colour of the mesh I have on it (front grill and bumper and rear diffuser) from the aluminium finish it is supplied with, to black.



Do I just whack on some etching primer followed by black?

Would you recommend using my compressor or are aerosols going to be ok, afterall it is just mesh - and would you recommend matt black or metallic black- does it really make a difference other than metallic needing laquer and therefore slightly more durable?


Thanks for your help in advance....

Chris


ps- would YOU spray the mesh black or keep it silver (bearing in mind colour of car????????????????????)

[5_door owner]

that colour looks lovely mate, if i were you i'd leave the mesh silver. but if your goin to spray it make sure you give it a lot of coats as it will stonechip badly.

if your doing it black why not get the mesh powder coated as that will be more durable than paint and it will keep the finish longer than the paint.

also have you thought about white mesh? it might look good on that colour

[angryman]

When I converted my grill to the badgeless version....I used stainless mesh and wacked on some smooth hammerite





Black looks good but depends on what car I suppose!

You'll probably get a better finish with the compressor
Try spraying a spare bit if you have one and offer it up to see
I did this before sealing the mesh into the grill surround

[alistairk]

ooh, that looks good. What colour is it?

if its aluminium mesh you get a special primer for aluminium so I'd use that.

If its stainless then I think an etch primer will be fine.

or get them powdercoated for best finish and durability. Shouldn't cost much. I had 4 suspension springs done for £17.

[Cesaro]

thanks for the comments guys, the colour is Alfa's Azzuro Nuvola and its my first attempt at a respray (and first attempt using a compressor!). I'm not sure if the mesh is stainless or aluminium!!

And im still not sure if black would look better than silver- I think I may finish it all then roll it out of garage with all trim on and silver mesh and do a poll on here.

Hadn't thought of white mesh before- I'll go and hunt for some pics to see what it looks like.

Thanks again

Chris

[alistairk]

Nice, I know the colour, It looked nicer than that as the Alfa shade can often look "dirty". I thought it might be that mythical Calibra / Cav Turbo special edition blue I've been trying to track down for ages...

Looks really good, especially for a tricky shade like you've chosen

[projectjordan]

...the colour is Alfa's Azzuro Nuvola and its my first attempt at a respray (and first attempt using a compressor!)....

feck thats amazing...love the colour

was it expensive/litre?

ps stick with silver mesh imo

[BigbaRd]

SHOULDN'T BE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO KEEP TACKY SILVER MESH. love the black, does hammerite come in spray cans? I can imagine painting it on with a brush would look a mess (would clump up in the holes in theory)

i've always preffered slats myself:

[Cesaro]

well here is the front bumper with silver mesh........Im not too good with photoshop so can't make it look black as a comparison (without just flood filling the whole area)....

[projectjordan]

SHOULDN'T BE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO KEEP TACKY SILVER MESH....

carplan do a special effect pearl paint/laquer, spray that over the silver mesh or replace with ali bars...

[BigbaRd]

all u do is desaturate it then adjsut these settings to get black



Black mesh (and smaller number plate)


slats (and smaller number plate)

[BigbaRd]

this might interest you too:

http://pre-auto.com/sema

it has metal slats (ali bars like projectjordan says) in the bumper (as long as you d0n't try making it look like an intercooler should look nice):

[projectjordan]

....slats (and smaller number plate)

thats what i'm talking about

[Cesaro]

I must admit I do like the ali slats, but to be honest I have no more energy or time to do that- maybe later when Im bored of the mesh. Anyway, I think slats in a rear diffuser would look a bit odd.

I think I'm going to go with black mesh- I like the subtlety on the otherwise 'uncommon' custom kit I got on it - silver looks a bit too ott.

Big thanks to BigbaRd for the photoshops, cheers m8



Chris

[projectjordan]

perforated ali sheet?

[BigbaRd]

thats ok sitting here bored anyway (cant move cause i just had an op on both knees lol)

[angryman]

love the black, does hammerite come in spray cans? I can imagine painting it on with a brush would look a mess (would clump up in the holes in theory)

I just used a tin of smooth hammerite I had kicking around
Couple of light coats brushed on with the mesh placed over a bit of paper to catch drips, then when dry just rub any lumps off the back.
Have just done another one with the same good results
Does come in spray cans and would be easier I suppose....not sure what finish it'll give