I used shadowline for the trim around the windows, if you cut it correctly and tuck it a little behind the trim its very durable. The first time around my buddy decided he wanted to cut it spot on so that you can actually see a little chrome at certain angles and after a few car washes it bubbled up.

You can buy black out tape from NAPA, I didnt like it personally...seemed less flexible. I like the shadowline trim, havent tried the 3m stuff. If you have any application questions lmk, Ive done my trim twice now...Ive found its easier to apply it by myself and apply the tape to the painted parts of the car and then use the tape to protect the paint while you cut.

 

I got my black out tape off of amazon, every place close to me was always out of it for some reason.

 

Got my can of Plasti-Dip and the Shadowline is on the way! I think I may try to do the grilles today, or at least remove them and wash them with Dawn. Not that it's anything new but, pics to come after.

I did forget to order/buy some sort of plastic putty knife or bondo blade to apply the Shadowline. Any suggestions?

 

I should do this, but the wheels would have to go first. Something to consider down the road!

 

I want to do this as well to match the black rims, but I just don't have the time or energy to do it right now.

 

Well I got the grilles sprayed. I tried to remove the chrome from the honeycomb inserts as instructed on a couple of threads on here. I attempted to pry the chrome away but it wouldn't budge. So instead, I decided to tape off the honeycomb.

My only concern with that method was not pulling off the Plasti Dip when pulling off the tape. This was a valid concern since that's exactly what happened in a couple of small spots. It didn't peel it off but it did peel it away from the grille. I don't know if there's a way to fix it without peeling it all off so I guess I'm just going to let them cure more and reinstall them. Whenever it does peel off (cause I know it will) I guess I'll redo it.

On another note, the Shadowline came in yesterday but I think I'm going to wait to figure out what I'm going to do with the door handles before I attempt that.

 

**EDIT**
Yeah that didn't help!
**EDIT**

Do you think it's a bad idea to put the grills in the oven for a few minutes to make it easier to get the grille apart? I know people do it for the headlights to loosen up the glue but I thought the heat would make the plastic more flexible without breaking.

 

I didn't need that.. I just pulled apart squeezing em.. I think I broke one tab..

And Shadowling.. 6in. wide so you can cut it in half and have 3in. it's same cost.. and if you mess up it's not as expensive...

 

To get the chrome part to separate from the honeycomb all u need to do is stick a flat head screwdriver with a large head in between the chrome and the honeycomb on the side part of the grill and pry them apart. You might break a few of the clips but the chrome part will still attach. Heating up the plastic will probably help this. Try leaving them in the sun for a little while instead of putting them in the oven.

 

Yeah, after staring at the grilles for a while and the little chips missing out from the Plasti Dip, I grew a pair and said F-it and went to town with the screwdriver. I added one more coat (total of 4) to cover the little chips.

You can still see where the chips were (or at least I can) but you have to really look and if anyone looks that close I may stab them. At least it's all black and will hopefully be less likely to peel now. I'll probably redo it one day just because I know it's not perfect. Anyways, as promised (excuse the dirty car, spent all day watching Plasti Dip dry so I couldn't wash it):

 

Looks good! GM should of made it black to begin with!

 

I completely agree! The chrome grille just seems thrown in there on the front since there's nothing else chrome up there. Plus chrome sucks...unless it's on black or dark gray.

 

Now I'm thinking about painting the trim the same matte anthracite (gunmetal) as my wheels. Thoughts?

 

I color matched my grills to my car.....just another option.

 

Does anyone know if it possible to get a "black chrome" treatment on these plastic trim pieces?

 

This

should work, but I'm afraid to try it.

 

looks good. i did the same to my stryker. however, in the spring i will be going the route of unclesams and color match the chrome to the SBM...also getting the lower surround panels and gxp diffuser done.