Michael Bouffe Posted April 8, 2015 Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hello from South Africa. I have a Dodge Journey R/T 2012, I love it, one of the best cars I have had. I am so keen on doing the "Blacktop" mods to my car, where to start? can it be done at a dealership? Should I do it myself/ through others? I think I want to do the grill first off. Anyone been through this process. Regards Michael. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolly Posted April 8, 2015 Report Share Posted April 8, 2015 Welcome to the forum Michael. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawdog1911 Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Welcome. R/T is a good starting point for Blacktop. Dealership is the only place I have seen the tinted taillights. I have seen the black grill and black headlights on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted April 9, 2015 Report Share Posted April 9, 2015 Welcome to the forum. I believe that the Crossroad model uses all of the Blacktop black pieces except the mirrors and wheels. You could have a body shop paint your mirrors. You could paint your grill black and just tint your tail lights. As for your wheels, there is a product that you spray on, and it adheres until you want to pull it off. Just tips to save you some $. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 Hey guys, thanks for the welcome. I am looking at doing my grille with black Plastidip. I have so many question, there doesn't seem to be a "correct" way of doing it. Any tips for this? Any tips on whether or not to remove the grille to dip it or just mask? I am getting my wheels powder coated black in the next month. The blacked out lights are going to be very hard to find in SA and even more expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted April 11, 2015 Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 (edited) It is the interior of the headlight housing which is painted black. The chrome reflector part is still chrome. From different angles they blend into the grill. Maybe you could take your headlamp assemblies apart and just paint them your self. The black is all the straight areas leading to the front of the assemblies, and the part under the headlight that could be LEDs. The curved part behind the bulbs is left chrome for light reflection. The side marker light has black on it also, but if you have an export DJ, yours may be white/clear instead of amber. Some people Plasidip their grills in place; others go to the trouble of removing their grill. I have not removed my grill yet, so I have no idea how labor intensive it is. Edited April 11, 2015 by dhh3 Michael Bouffe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 Wow your DJ looks amazing. Thanks for the reply. I thought of just painting the lights or maybe just smoking them, not sure of what's best. I also can't see closely exactly how the blacktop light actually looks. I have the export edition so my headlights don't have the orange indicator. I think I am spraying my grille this week, watched a ton of videos and I think I'm just going to spray it in place straight over the honeycomb. My wheels are being done next month. I Will Put Some Before And After Pics. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted April 12, 2015 Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 (edited) Wow your DJ looks amazing. Thanks for the reply. I thought of just painting the lights or maybe just smoking them, not sure of what's best. I also can't see closely exactly how the blacktop light actually looks. I have the export edition so my headlights don't have the orange indicator. I think I am spraying my grille this week, watched a ton of videos and I think I'm just going to spray it in place straight over the honeycomb. My wheels are being done next month. I Will Put Some Before And After Pics. Thank you for the compliment. The color is called Copperhead Pearl. I have never seen another one on the street; only on the forum. Edited April 12, 2015 by dhh3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 That's what you want. Love having an "original" car. That's why I'm doing the blacktop edition to mine, I haven't seen one in South Africa. Maybe I shouldn't be asking this on this thread and if I'm not I'm sorry. But with the Plastidip, how much does a can cover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Plan on about one can of plastidip for the grill and one can for each wheel. Do anywhere from 3-5 coats total (depending on how thick/durable you want the coat to be). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Great. Thank you. I picked up the cans today, pricey in South Africa. Works out to about $16 a can. I will take before and after pics. I have tried today to get the grill off, I have taken those little split pins off but now it feels like I will break it if I pull. Feels attached to the Bumper, and I cannot for the life of me figure our how to pull it out. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Also I'm not plastidipping the wheels, I'm powder coating them. Excited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 There were many, many members on the Nitro forum that used Plastidip, and it never seemed to chip off. But, you can just pull it off if you want. I wish that I could be of more help to get your grill off. I'm sure that there are other members who have removed their grill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 There were many, many members on the Nitro forum that used Plastidip, and it never seemed to chip off. But, you can just pull it off if you want. I wish that I could be of more help to get your grill off. I'm sure that there are other members who have removed their grill. Thanks, I have an Audi A4 and there are so many online forums and so many videos of how to do anything on that car, for the Journey there seems to be very little, With so many people who have done the black plastidip grill you would think that there would be one video or some instructional pics but nothing. maybe I should make one. dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 I am also planning on plastidipping the bottom front bumper, you know that piece under the license plate? its kinda part of the front grill. That seems like it will be a mission, also mine is slightly scratched from my wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 So, I finished the grill, for my first attempt at Plastidip I'm pretty happy with it, I did get a texture here and there but it was very windy. All in all its pretty easy and you can get good results. Cant wait to powder coat my wheels black. Will post some pics soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 (edited) . Edited April 14, 2015 by Michael Bouffe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Looks awesome. Nice job. The one thing about Plastidip, you can always peel it off if you are not satisfied and start over again. Is it the silver piece under the license plate you want black? That will look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Looks awesome. Nice job. The one thing about Plastidip, you can always peel it off if you are not satisfied and start over again. Is it the silver piece under the license plate you want black? That will look good. Thanks. Yeah, that's the one, its blacked out on the Blacktop so want to match it, the only thing I actually think I'm not going to do are the mirrors, they look pretty decent as is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecrazyfoo4u Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 In my opinion, plastidip would be a better choice on the wheels. I've had wheels powdercoated before (and yes they do look better temporarily), but after a year or so they get chipped up from rocks and mounting/balancing tires. You can't really touch up powder coated wheels, so they start to look like crap. If you plasti dipped them, if they ever chipped, then just spray a little touch up on them and you're good to go again. Plus dip is much cheaper than powdercoat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 That's a good point, it will only cost me double the price to powder coat them, Plastidip is expensive in SA. Do you have a pick of your wheels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhh3 Posted April 14, 2015 Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Yes. It seem as though each model has its own distinct wheels. But I'm not sure if they would be available as an accessory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Bouffe Posted April 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2015 Yeah, I have the R/T so the standard 19" that come on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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