Anyone have some tips to take apart the grill on my ’97 850? I’d like to take off the diagonal badge stripe and the rubber gasket to paint the grill but don’t want to break anything in the process.

My idea is to take it apart, sand it down smooth and paint the grill black. I’d also like to buff up the badge as it has a bunch of rock chips on it. Can I just sand it down or is there a better way to make it clean?

Also, is there a way to disassemble the badge and the stripe? I’d like to paint the stripe silver, improve or replace the actual badge and touch up the black plastic stripes within the silver stripe. I seem to remember seeing a PDF that showed the individual pieces but don’t remember if everything was glued up.

It looks like the rubber gasket is glued onto the grill. I’d like to Armor All it to keep it fresh, but I’d rather not get the spray on the plastic or the paint. Looks like it’d be tough to reattach so should I leave it in place and use a Q-tip to apply the Armor All?

 

I don't think Armor All is a good idea. If I were you I would get a grill from the junk yard and try things on it. You may want to use forever black or some dye to make the black piece keep the color you want.

 

The rubber gasket is in good shape and the color is fine, I just want to treat it with A.A. to keep it soft & pliable.

Forever Black will be going on the bumpers and everything else that is gray and faded. Since my baby is painted with 601 red, I want to change all the gray trim to black.

 

Use Plasti-Dip for all the black trim and Grill.

 

We painted my sons grill black a couple of years ago. Used Krylon Fusion paint. It has held up well. The grill has just a few clips holding it in. Just carefully pop the grill out and tape it off and paint away.

 

Not sure if aa is the same as it was 20 years ago but I ran an test on one of my cars. The aa did make it look good for a while but after a couple of years, the aa side was so weakened the stuff started to crack, split, and everything else. I did like their wax, it was superior to the old Rain Dance but the plastic/vinyl treatment broke down vinyls and cased deteroiration. I ran from the stuff. The untreated 1/2 of the dash was in much better shape in 2 or 3 years.

 

I like using Armor-All on the hoses and door gaskets to clean and restore them so they don't crack and break, not necessarily to make 'em shiny – although it is nice, too. Do you have a preferred brand over A.A?