LW ES300

I saw a few days ago someone who got a black grill (flat black) for $86, if I remember correctly. Seen a lot of pics the past few days and this tread was posted by someone also with 96 ES300 from Cali. (even same color as mine) but now I can't find the tread.

Black grille looked great and I'd like on on my 96 ES300.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

Is that me? O.o (https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=370039)

"Lexappeal

Looks pretty sweet esp. with the black Lexus emblem on the hood.

LW ES300

Yeah Eyezack87 that was you. And there was another I saw that someone posted showing a cost of $86. Where did you get your black grille and how much did it cost? Please forward a link to where you got it.

The black emblems on your ride look sweet. I just got the hood L ($15) and all 3 for the trunk ($16.85 for all 3) off eBay and they are chrome. Really decent condidtion, if not perfect, and how can you beat these prices? I think I'll put the new chrome emblems on the trunk and probably paint the hood emblem black, like you did, so it will match the black grille that I'd like to get.

Definitely will make it look better than "stock" and matches the lower section where the fogs are as that whole area is already black from the factory.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

Thanks man . I bought it from here:
http://marketplace.meritline.com/sho...900_5310133010
Keep in mind that its not flat black. Its a black plastic mold that is super shiny (no paint or anything but it looks painted). I was considering spraying it with a matte finish but decided I would rather spray the grill that holds our fogs gloss to match (not too noticeable difference in normal light, only OCD people like myself would notice haha). Of course, that is a project for another day since I used up my Acrylic Gloss Black paint on the original emblems :P

If you want to do it like me, then paint is the option you would want to go with your front emblem. If you use spray tint like other people have done to "mimic" the Black Pearl emblems, it won't exactly match the grill I posted. By doing my method it matches perfectly with the grill. I also like the painted look since it stands out on a gold car more than the black pearl emblems do so that was also another reason for the paint

I'm glad I inspired you in a way. Never thought I would do that on these boards since most of the mods were already taken by others. You'll probably get farther than me since I don't have enough time to bring my car to the shop for tint but oh well. Slow and steady is my pace

LW ES300

This link you sent is exactly what I saw a few days ago, thanks. Would you be able to take a close up pic of the grille mounted on your car for me? Your pic of the car and viewing it at the link you forwarded me are not close enough to see the "finish."

This is a great idea and I never really thought of it being black. My biggest task the past 3-4 weeks was finding front & rear emblems to replace the gold well worn and weathered ones so I don't look like a peasant with a crappy looking car. Car is in great shape but the emblems are atrocious when they used to be gold.

So I got the emblems off eBay (chrome for all four of 'em and about $45 total incl. freight) and making a black L on the hood to match the new grille will be awesome. Do you have any tips for painting the one for the hoo- I may do them all black, but haven't decided yet. It will depend on how difficult it is to find the right paint and clear coat to go over it. Where ir what kind of store/shop did you go to to find Acrylic Gloss Black & a clear coat to protect the paint?

I'm new on CL so you can send your tips here and I guess I'll figure out how to find them or you can send it to my email at C764@aol.com. I'm in NY and our times are 3 hours apart, so forgive me if I don't reply to you soon. Thanks so much for what you can share.

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

^^You'll have to give me a few days to reply and email you/post the stuff. I'm sorta having relationship issues right now...so yeah...sorry about that....

LW ES300

No problem, ket me know when you can. No rush as I haven't ordered the grille, so that's 7-10 days out. Get back to me after you get "parolled"

Friend of mine said I can get Rustoleum Specialty (paint for plastic) at any Home Depot. Good idea, or use another manufacturer (ie Acrylic enamel as you said earlier). He also thinks clear coat is a waste of time, but from what I see here it looks to be a necessity. Whattayouthink?

Remember, I have new chrome front & rear emblems (eBay) that appear to be in great shape (if not perfect condition). Would I need to sand them with 1500 grit & 2000 grit prior to painting? Or was that because you were painting over your original color? That's what I think because why would anyone sand a chrome finish? Primer seems to be too much as well? Is it needed over chrome?

Good luck with the chick. Remember, admit nothing, deny everything and make counter accusations...

Matador

Update your sig, the face lift looks reeeeally good

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

Steps that I did that are still holding up (rocks have had no effect so far)
-Sand with 2000-3000grit lightly on the surface (marks will be removed by the layers of paint)
-wipe down with alcohol to remove oils
-paint light coat of primer
-paint at least 3-4 coats of black acrylic gloss black paint
-paint 2-3 coats of clear acrylic gloss paint

Heres the pics of the 2 cans I used. They're internet pages but I got them at PepBoys
http://www.metropartsmarket.com/auto...c4s1.html#With
"Gloss Black" + "Crystal Clear" were the ones I used
I added the clear coat to enhance the gloss on the black. It really does make a difference in this type of paint from what I saw. I sanded to help the paint get a better hold on the emblems prior to the primer. Primer is your call because this does not give the real black pearl effect. Its more like paint, since that is what it is. I prefer the dark dark look. It doesn't look cheap at all. I've been to a couple BMW meets and no one said anything about the emblems besides how good it looks on the car

But yeah, like I said man, I just took these steps as a precaution. They seemed to work well under extreme temps (compressed air cans) when I froze them. The one without the primer was dead before the one with primer
Yeah, I know man. I need to do a small shoot again with my friend. Need to do one more quick detail before the new sig though

LW ES300

Steps that I did that are still holding up (rocks have had no effect so far)
-Sand with 2000-3000grit lightly on the surface (marks will be removed by the layers of paint)
-wipe down with alcohol to remove oils
-paint light coat of primer
-paint at least 3-4 coats of black acrylic gloss black paint
-paint 2-3 coats of clear acrylic gloss paint

Eyezack - Thanks for getting back to me. I put on the new "chrome" plastic emblems the other day I got off ebay & I got the black grille off the link you sent me and put that on too. Grille looks pretty cool, but was more gloss black than your pic looked. I thought it would be more flat black to match the fog lite section.

Did you have any trouble with the rubber "seal" or "stripping" that goes around the top? Their self-adhesive isn't worth a crap and it's lose on the right side curve that goes down (right side as you look at the car from the front). I may sand & paint the old emblems black, per your instructions, over the winter and maybe think about swapping em in the spring. Also put Sylvania Silverstar Ultra 9006 bulbs in ($49/pair) and what a hell of a difference. Pics pending once this thing get washed

Speaking a of hell of a difference, I had my mechanic drop the transmission fluid today and we refilled the Toyota type IV fluid and what a smooooothe shift this puppy now makes through the gears Did you ever change anything on your dashboard? I'm trying to fing the bulbs that go behind the climate control display to change to blue to match the Sony stereo I installed. Brought the climate control to Lexus and they said they only replace the entire unit, not bulbs individually. My looking here revealed 8 volt 100mA bulbs can fit (FYI these bulbs also fit behind the speedo/tach), but I'm having difficulty finding them online. The search I found was from like 2002 or 2003 and the websites people listed are now NFG.
I'm off to find my bulbs, later

eyezack87

iTrader: (4)

I find that the grill does that. I'm going to try to heat gun and try to bend it some more to make it more flush. I haven't tried to get the weather seal on yet but I'll give you a hollar when I do. If it doesn't fit I'm sure the vendor can send us another one

As for the gloss black problem, you have 2 options. You can either paint the top with a matte finish or you can take out the fog holder thingy and paint it gloss black. I think I am going to paint the fog holder

The dashboard (cluster?) I was going to swap for white LEDs but I never got the chance to do it before school started. There is a DIY here that tells you how to do it I think. Take a look through here, I'm sure that its in here somewhere
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=129035

LW ES300

I find that the grill does that. I'm going to try to heat gun and try to bend it some more to make it more flush. I haven't tried to get the weather seal on yet but I'll give you a hollar when I do. If it doesn't fit I'm sure the vendor can send us another one
- My mechanic thinks we can just glue it. I suggested taking the weather seal off the stock grill & put that on w/ some strong adhesive since it's been on the car for 12 years and is formed to the proper shape. He said a good idea. Let me know what you find out in your journeys on your coast (getting new strip from grille seller) and I'll try to do the same once we decide what to do over here in NY.

As for the gloss black problem, you have 2 options. You can either paint the top with a matte finish or you can take out the fog holder thingy and paint it gloss black. I think I am going to paint the fog holder
- I don't know that I'm gonna do anything down in the fog section. Between the sand, salt & other crap they throw on the street/freeway in the winter to fight the snow, it's only going to show up more on new gloss paint.

The dashboard (cluster?) I was going to swap for white LEDs but I never got the chance to do it before school started. There is a DIY here that tells you how to do it I think.
- There's a lot of feedback throughout CL on this. Spend time looking because things changed as the Lexus advanced to what's now 5 generations. I have a Sony Cd/stereo in place of stock and just ordered "blue boots" today so the LCD behind the climate control will be blue to match the stereo They come in 10 piece assortments <FYI, various colors offered> so I bought 20 to have enough/extra (3 behind climate ctrl & 8 behind speedo). NOTE: You will need to double the boot application (a form of light lubrication to ease putting 1 boot over the other) to attain a darker blue, one boot does nothing. Real simple to pull out climate thing & swap boots >boots are like socks< the Toyota guy said condoms that go over the bulb to change color display. I think, and hope, this will also make Off, Temp, Fan speed and Mode lights blue beneath LCD- - R & R speedo/dash is more monotoneous and I may do that over the long weekend, maybe not. Gonna do more research on changing the water temp, tack, speedo, fuel needles to just be a 1/4-1/2" red dash (see treads under "lighting") so when I swap the "blue boots" behind speedo I can change the other needle colors. Red needle LED's on blue background? May just leave it the stock background.

FYI - From 10/02 - I ordered them from a place called Sunray Lighting in Irvine, CA. Web site address didn't work so here's the phone: 1-800-8-LIGHTS. Part Number: 39-06-5a Description: T1-1/4 WT BLUE BOOT.
I called Sunray Lighting today to order some boots and they are now Candela, not Sunray Lighting, 1 hour south of LA. Phone # still good, but part # 39-06-5a no longer exists. They did find T1-1/4 Blue Boots (per awhiteguy's post 10/2, "Any boot that fits a T1-1/4 size bulb would work," and they cost all of .51 each (sold in groups of 10). Should have 'em Friday (pics pending) 8/30 Edit → Ordered bulbs for the instrument cluster today, Candela Corp found #193 to be a long life bulb for instrument cluster (5000 hours, see above for Candela Corp phone #). # 194 Standard life = 2500 hours for, I think - sorry , $0.27/ea and #193 Long life = 5000 hours, I think, for $0.39/ea. They are sorted & sold in quantity of 10 per bag, but how can you beat $4.00 + freight for 10 bulbs versus $10.95/each at the dealer? I'm psyched for the finished product next week.[/U]

Do me a favor and PM me a copy of what you may post here (regarding the weather seal for the grille), it'll be quicker for me than bouncing all over CL. Thanks
LW ES300