ReefDonkey

13 lariat green gem. I'm for sure gonna get the grill surround painted and was wondering how much yall are paying for this? Will it save me money by removing it myself before paint, or is the labor of removing it not a big deal for the painter? If so, how hard is it remove safely? thanks

Wanted33

Reef, I had mine removed, painted, and installed for $200. I have read that the clips are easy to break, so I figured with my limited ability I would let the guy that knew how take care of the process.


I suggest the next time you by the Body Shop get a estimate. You may find it's cheap enough not to bother with it yourself.

21RRF150

iTrader: (1)

You will get allot of different answers as labor rates are different state to state.


I've done quite a few of these at my current shop. We get the paper work, so I can see what customers pay.

Again this is my shop...

Grille surround just paint: 1.0 hours labor. Or $52 not including tax etc.

Grille surround disassembled and paint: 2 hours body labor or $104 and 1 hour paint or $52. So $156 before tax.

ReefDonkey

Thanks a lot. In your experience, is taking it off pretty easy? Im more than capable doing stuff like this, so as long as I won't break anything Ill try it myself. Also, would green gem cost more because its a specialty metallic color or is all the same on the color spectrum?

21RRF150

iTrader: (1)

It's all pretty much the same. The only colors that will cost more are tri-stage paint, like Ruby red, or the white pearl color.


The body techs typically do all the disassembling. They seem to have no issues, and never break anything, but they have done tons of them. There was a video floating around on here about a month ago. Guy made it look easy

ReefDonkey

okay cool, Ill look for it. Pretty easy and cheap mod and will look much better IMO in the end. This is what I'm wanting to go from

this


to this

GriffFX4

It's actually easy to remove the grille and surround...after you've done one.

Its the first time doing it that makes it so tough. Hearing about broken tabs and worring about it as you try to pop it free.

Really, its not bad with the right tools.

If you try yourself, tape the hood so you dont scratch the paint and get yourself one of those these: (one on the far left)


or

Something like:


It makes it a lot easier.

Z7What

I have a white gill surround at the body shop right now being painted silver. I brought them just the surround. Paying $100 cash to have it painted.

Wayne

ReefDonkey

Great, can't wait to see the pictures.

rohada

I purchased a PTM Tuxedo Black grill surround with the black plastic insert off eBay. I swapped out the black insert for my existing chrome insert. Put the assembly back on the truck and it was the best exterior modification I made, without question. Sold the chrome surround and black plastic insert on eBay (as a package) and my total cash outlay was $65. The tools highlighted by GriffFX4 are the ones I purchased, except I bought the 4 piece set for $5 on eBay. Well worth the cost as the nylon tools are pretty forgiving. I put a towel at the leverage point. If you do it yourself, you need time and patience. There is a trick to separating the surround from the insert. If you decide to tackle it yourself, PM me and I can discuss it with you. Or just have someone else paint it. I found the tools themselves pretty helpful for interior panel removal on my wife's SAAB 9-3 2.3T. Never thought I'd have two turbo vehicles (especially a truck), but here we are.