I did something similar to restore some plastic hubcaps. They're silver with inset black lettering. I masked everything, cut out the lettering with an x-acto knife, and gave a shot of gloss back to the lettering. The second step was to do a reverse masking. There is a paint-on masking material that I used in the letters, then I shot silver over everything. I used a few coats of the liquid mask to make it easier to peel off. It dries to a rubbery consistency, so I used a pin to lift a corner and peel it off.

 

I'm preparing to install my grill and need some advice on mounting the front parking sensors in the plinth provided by Dudley. The oem grill has a clip that holds the sensors .... the plinth from Dudley doesn't. Is it ok for me to silcone glue the sensors in place to the back of the plinth with the sensor eye poking thru the front of the grill?

 

Yes that is how most do it.

 

@PaulBarrrera and others. I was able to have time today to pull the front bumper, modify the plastic cover (requires some plastic trimming. Modify the front bumper (requires some plastic to be cut away) to get the P7 grill installed. It is coming along. I should have time Friday to finish it up.

 

Done!!

 

It looks great, Skizot!
I'm going to use The Rock's suggestion and have purchased a 2.5" strip of black plastic to cover my inner frame behind the grill. If it isn't storming too bad here in LA this weekend, I'm thinking of installing my grill. I am definitely not looking forward to crawling under the front end to remove the zillions of screws/bolts others have described when doing this job, tho. . Any shortcuts to this process you can share?

 

Wow, it looks stunning! You have just entered the super exclusive esteem club of Ftypes. Congratulations!

I too am trying to work my way up there without breaking the bank. I have managed to source the p7 mesh grill, but the surround will add more expense to it. I was wondering if anyone knows whether the cheap eBay carbon surround is compatible with the OEM p7 grill?

 

Unfortunately, in my experience they are not. The honeycombs (or the surround) would have to be notched or otherwise modified. I ordered one hoping to solve the "black or body colour" dilemma and ended up returning it.

 

Bummer. Thanks for confirming!

 

no short cuts. There is a lot you figure out as you go along. Definitely not just a bolt up. There is some cutting on the stock bumper to notch out where the plastic beam normally sits so the surround sits flush and some other trimming for the plastic cover too.