aah111

Someone already did a grille with vinyl tape on the bars. You might want to check it out. See this thread:

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/show...yl+tape+grille

-Alan

nextep1

Hey-saw your thread and wanted to give you some info. Before becoming a soldier, I was a sign artist. Loved it, very creative and interesting work. Anyway, I did most of our work with vinyl. 3M is the biggest and most well known manufacturer of vinyl. Many times it is marketed through other companies branding their name, but usually it will always say 3M on the peel-off backing.

Yes, it is adhesive backed. Often it is used for car or boat graphics and has a 3 to 5 year guarantee against fading. It holds up extremely well against outdoor elements. The trick to applying it is SOAPY WATER. Yes, soapy water. Clean the area really well with some rubbing alcohol, then apply a thin film of dishwashing detergent and water. Peel off the backing and apply. The soapy water lets you position it however you want and once you get it right, you squeegee out any bubbles and it will dry and look perfect. Great thing is if you decide to remove it, it will peel right off and not destroy the finish underneath, but the adhesive is strong enough to where it ain't coming of unless you take it off.

The opaque vinyl can be easily cut to size with scissors or an exacto knife. And (here's the good news) it can be molded around curves by applying gentle heat to the vinyl while applying. Using a hair dryer, you can stretch and pull the vinyl to shape nicely around curves as so not to get any binding.

They make reflective vinyl, bit since it's made with actual small shards of glass embedded in the vinyl, it's not pliable.

Cost is cheap. you can get whole rolls of 25 yards off eBay for 20 bucks. For small projects like yours, I would suggest going to a local sign shop, like Sign-a-Rama, Fast-Signs or any shop that does vinyl signage and for the amount that you need for the parts you were talking about, they will probably give you scrap pieces that will cover the areas nicely, for free. If not free, you can buy 1 or 2 square feet for 5 to 10 bucks.

Anyway, I plan on doing the same thing to my black '06 LT2 when I return from home from Iraq. I went with simulated carbon fiber vinyl which I will use for eyelids and on the dash trim. I'm also thinking of putting some on the rear quarters, you know the part that gets sand blasted all the time? I'm thinking covering those with carbon fiber will not only look cool, but will be fully functional as a protector. I purchased a new item called Carbon Fiber II, which is not just a carbon fiber print on vinyl, it is an actual weave with texture laid on the vinyl, So, to the discerning eye, it actually looks and feels like real carbon fiber. I bought a 10 yard roll for 40 bucks off eBay. 10 yards is enough to do all the bits on my "Black Jack Express" and all the bits on my Harley Davidson Night Rod Special. Hell, I'll have enough to carbon fiber my dog if I want to. A little goes a long way, and if you screw it up, just make another and try it again. It's inexspensive enough to experiment with.

Give it a try, good luck.