Has anyone given any thought to painting the front grill (the upper silver part) to match the car. It is the only piece on the car in that color and I have really been wrestling with the idea. What does everyone here think?:confused

That is funny that you mention that.

When i took delivery. That is the 1st thing i told the dealer after looking at the car The 1st time.

My car is Blk on Blk And i told him that the grille Should be the Body color, I belive it would look great Painted Blk in my case.

I wonder how hard it would be to remove The grill, Also if the paint should be Semi gloss or high gloss.

I have a 98 Lincoln Mk VIII Collectors Edition With painted grill And it looks great. They only came in 2 exterior and interior colors.

Let me know of your desision

Good Luck

El Jako


:iagree :cheers :thumbs

My car is blue. If I paint it it will be high gloss to match the body exactly I would then only have the caddy emblem in another color. Getting it out is not a big deal I already checked that out.

I intend to paint it Crimson Pearl to match the car.
the only thing it matches now are the wheels,
and I intend to change them too!

Also concerning paint, My car has a large flaw on the
LR quarter pannel. about 18" ripple across the upper edge.
Because of the composite and the factory paint process,
Should I expect it to be replaced or repainted??
Anybody know???

Also concerning paint, My car has a large flaw on the
LR quarter pannel. about 18" ripple across the upper edge.
Because of the composite and the factory paint process,
Should I expect it to be replaced or repainted??
Anybody know???

can anyone give me some insight on this?
I have been to 2 dealers and they intend to repaint the pannel.
I'm afraid it will not match properly and feel the pannel should
be replaced.

this issue was noted at the time of delivery, and I expected they would fix it PROPERLY

1_XLR,

You need to work the factory via yor Dealer's Service Manager and this Factory Zone Sevice Rep. I am sure they will do everything possible to make it right with you!

It is the only route you have and you need to use it to the max.

I feel very sorry that you are having this problem in that the #25 NM XLR I purchased for my wife for our 25th anniversary is flawless.

Happy XLR motoring,


DFXLR

Of course I don't know exactly what it looks like BUT the paint COLOR may be all right and the CLEAR COAT has the run. If so they can block sand the clear coat with 800 to 1200 paper and then buff it out to perfection. My Caddy Body Shop manager said there was a TON of clear coat on the car.

I hope you are lucky.

According to the parts books the grill comes in all the different colors from factory. But I haven't tried the parts dept t see if caddy has them avalible. The p price is about $450.00 LIST AT Cad already painted

my dealer gave me the XLR Hot Wheels model to tide me over while I waited for my car (nice detail on the dealers part)

The model is red like my car, and I find it interesting that the grill is also red. I think at one time the grill was intended to be color coded???

1_XLR, If the ripple is able to be felt in the paint, I would suggest you have the paint depth measured at the top of the ripple, and in several adjacent areas. If the ripple is in the clear, not the color, you would be better to have the ripple sanded out of the clearcoat, and finesse polishing done. You might want to get the opinion of a professional detailer also. Ask them what they would do if they were presented with this problem.

The body shop was able to color sand and remove 90% The ripple or "sag" as they called it, without breaking the paint
surface. Great news since it did not require painting, and it's
not noticable unless I really study it, knowing where to look.

Interestingly, Before they worked on it, the service manager noticed wax residue left under the corner of the tail light
....I never waxed my car.
It was impossible that Factory QC had not seen this,
but more disappointing that they evidently tried to fix it,
and then let it go in that condition.:nono


Thanks for the previous input on this, Problem Solved.

1_XLR,

Glad to hear that you achieved a happy result. And, it is amazing what must have taken place for your XLR to get through the system and delivered to you.

Happy XLR Motoring,


DFXLR

:thumbs :flag :cheers

I would absolutely paint the grille to match the car color

I think it makes the front of the car stand out even more. So I don't think I would paint it.
I wonder what it would look like CHROMED?
Any one know how you can chrome this plastic?

Blaise

I'm not sure what would be involved in painting the grill but something that I encountered this weekend is that the grill is painted with some type of conductive paint. I do gold plating and the local dealership finally received an XLR that they've been waiting for. They called me to do a gold package on it. When I attempted to do the emblem on the grill the process discolored the paint on the grill. If I touch my continuity tester to the grill it lights up indicating that it's passing current through it. The discoloration doesn't come off. Now they're looking at replacing the grill more than likely at my expense (which is fully understandable). The total price of the job will come in at around $594. The bumper cover has to be removed because along the bottom of the grill is a whole row of tabs that fit into slots in the bumper fascia. These are too difficult to get to while the bumper is on the vehicle. The shop book lists replacing the grill as a 3 hour job. Other than that glitch the job turned out really nice.
What I was hoping to find out on the forum is what the paint/coating really is on this grill? Any ideas?

Goldfinger

The reason the grill most likely discolored is that it is not just a simple painted surface. It is actually a Brushed Nickel Alloy, not simple painted plastic.

Thank You
Allen
www.Cadillac-XLR.com

Check Cad the parts book shows the grill all differnt colors at a cost of about $450.00. My local Cad dealer checked and they are avalible. Terry

The reason the parts dept. shows the colors of the grill would be that the surround around the grill is color coded to the vehicle. when you order the grill it comes as a unit.

Thank You
Allen
www.Cadillac-XLR.com

I was reading this thread about painting the grill to match the car //// pretty interesting .... has anyone actually done this? Any pictures??

RA

That's OK, you'all just forget about me and the Black Momba! Crap, we spent two days together and you already got me and the Black Momba buried. http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r2/galen1115/XLR005.jpg

VERY sharp!!!!!!!!

The chrome grill on black looks great also!

I've got a chrome grill (not the V, but the OEM) and it does look great on black. I've had a lot of positive comments on it. I changed it out myself and it only took about 45 minutes. Now - anyone needthe OEM grill?

Galen,,,,,, Is that your DD behind the X????

Chad

Galen,,,,,, Is that your DD behind the X????

Chad

It must be ..... his horse is in the foreground.

Galen! I do remember! Here is a great picture you posted a long while ago ....
http://www.xlrforum.com/showthread.php?p=26018#post26018
I do like it too ..... you have done so many mods to your X, I'm not sure we will recognized it at R3 ....

RA

What do you mean DD Chad? We'er kind'a slow here.

What do you mean DD Chad? We'er kind'a slow here.

DD=Daily Driver, in your case the horse-drawn buggy.

Floyd

Your "Daily Driver". Is the buggy behind the car what you drive on a regular basis?

Toyota Tacoma, or a F250 crew cab diesel with lots of modifications also. I run bio-diesel in it. Car show is this weekend so the wife and I are going. Lots of street rods. I think its World of Wheels show. I'm putting the Railroad locomotive air horns on the F250 next weekend. I'm going to have a lot of fun with them! I made that wagon. It use to be a tobacco wagon. I took the flat bed and brkt. that they hung the tobacco leaves on and built the box. I have an original seed wagon in the barn,it's too nice to set outside. It has a brass plate on the axle. (No. 3 seed wagon).

Hi all.

I just purchased a used grill on E-bay for $25.00. I intend to paint it the Light Platinum to match my car. I had a 2000 DTS with the Crimson Red Pearl color to include the grill and liked it, so thought the XLR would look good the same way. I had the Cad shop paint a replacement mirror in body color and it turned out ok, so will have them do the grill too, once it arrives. ER:thumbs

X pilot,

We had our grill painted same as the body Satin Nickle, and it looked fabulous, but the shop will have to get it repainted as some bubbles appeared and spots came off, but they will resolve it and he said it should not have chipped off. He is guessing a little moisture got under the paint.
I also saw a black X with the matching black Grill, and it looked hot and mean!!! So Good luck with it:) Mea

motorboat you can get the chrome grille from gm $$$$$$ or www.chromeplating.com they plate plastic, way back, great.
The chrome should really make the front stick out, paint it.