Blackout

[jasonbar]

I got my 2012 Genesis Sedan R-Spec recently. Black exterior, black interior.

One aspect that I love is the mystery of the car: "What is that?" "What are you driving?" "A what?"

That wasn't black enough for me. I asked myself how much more black it could be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46kXH6GGtT0


I posted to a couple of other threads, but I'll also summarize here.

Step 1: debadge "5.0 R-spec". Pretty quick & easy with a heat gun, dental floss, & a little alcohol + a clean rag to clean up adhesive residue.

-Jason

 

[jasonbar]

Step 2: swap door trim. I popped off my chrome & popped on painted black from a 2011.

See this thread for a thorough door trim discussion: http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=8828

Jump to this post to see my work: http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?p=150134#post150134

Thanks,
-Jason

 

[jasonbar]

Step 3: vinyl & dip aplenty, done by The Auto Enhancers in San Diego. I'm very happy with their work, their professional demeanor, their patience, their shop, & their speed.

Grill & trunk badge: dipped with black plasti-dip (the trunk badge is held on not only with double-sided tape but also with 2 screws)

Vinyl wrapped with 3M glossy black, which seems to be a perfect match with the car's paint: front bumper stripes, front air dam surround, side window perimeters, door handles, rear bumper stripe, rear trunk stripe

http://www.theautoenhancers.com/

Thanks,
-Jason

 

[jasonbar]

More pics of dip/vinyl.

 

[jasonbar]

Step 4: I looked into wheel options & ended up dismissing dip & vinyl. Also, much of the cost of getting wheels done is the tire removal, tire replacement, & re-balancing. So, when I'm due for new tires, I plan on getting the wheels powdercoated.

Then it will be adequately black. :]

-Jason

 

[videopho]

Get rid of that front license plate if that helps.
Blacken the head light.
Exhaust tips?
Not sure how you'd do it?
Otherwise I like it.

 

[jasonbar]

Capital idea on the license plate--I drove my '94 Miata here in California for a decade with no front license plate. Nary a ticket nor attention from the authorities.

I considered tinted headlight & taillight lenses, but I worry about diminishing the light output--safety first! :]

Considered the exhaust tips--talked w/ Nick @ The Auto Enhancers about them. Vinyl or dip won't hold up. They're already sooty--I think they'll get too hot. Is there an alternate (& inexpensive) blackening method for exhaust tips?


Thanks for the input!
-Jason

 

[NSXNEXT]

...Is there an alternate (& inexpensive) blackening method for exhaust tips

Flat black BBQ paint. it's high heat paint and will hold up really well. Couple of bucks at Home Depot.

 

[NSXNEXT]

Tint the windows then it will perfect.

 

[image]

Did you replace the side trim or dip it?

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[videopho]

Considered the exhaust tips--talked w/ Nick @ The Auto Enhancers about them. Vinyl or dip won't hold up. They're already sooty--I think they'll get too hot. Is there an alternate (& inexpensive) blackening method for exhaust tips?


Thanks for the input!
-Jason

You may try high temp engine paint.
Our exhaust tips (IMO) are not really a part of the CBE per se but rather part of the integrated bumper so something rather less heat tolerance might do?

 

[jasonbar]

Thanks for the feedback & tips.

When driving home from work yesterday, I scanned other cars--I saw a handful without front plates--enough to convince me to remove mine.

License plate: removed. License plate bracket: removed.

Now, the decision is: do I leave 3 little holes in the front bumper, or do I reinstall the 3 black screws that held on the bracket? Pics attached. Opinions? I think I'm leaning towards screw removal.

---

Exhaust tips. Also while driving home (I seem to think a lot while driving...), I recalled that I'd painted 2 fireplaces with black fireplace paint. I gave away the can's remnants to a friend. I'd used brushes for those 2 jobs, but I see that it comes in spray cans too. I think I'll get me a spray can so that I can get into the tips a little farther & lay down paint more evenly. When I inspected the exhaust tips earlier, I had trouble telling if they were cosmetic & mounted to the bumper, or if they were hard-mounted to the muffler...or both?

---

Window tint. While that would look cool, it's not for me--the backs are already tinted some--it would look awesome to make all windows dark, but there's a legal limit to front tint darkness--and I think it would look odd to make the rears really dark but keep the fronts lighter.

---

Side trim. See above post--did a swap with another forum user.


Thanks!
-Jason

 

[videopho]

Looks much cleaner without that ugly looking front plate.
Pics without front plate in a whole would look really nice now I bet.

 

[brfatal]

Can't say I'm a fan. IMHO the stock chrome pieces do a good job of putting contrast on the car. With all the chrome missing, you can't see the lines of the car. It just looks like a big black blob.

 

[jasonbar]

Can't say I'm a fan. IMHO the stock chrome pieces do a good job of putting contrast on the car. With all the chrome missing, you can't see the lines of the car. It just looks like a big black blob.

Thanks for the input. You're right. Actually, what is a con to you is a pro to me. I'm not infatuated with the lines of the car. I think that they're pretty good, but they're not great. I chose black because it mutes the lines, & blacking out the trim further mutes it.

That's what I was going for: stealth blob. To each his own! :]

Thanks,
-Jason

 

[blackgenesis81]

Regarding your license plate delete. You can go to a body shop and they can fill in the holes and re paint the front for a clean look. That's what I did.

 

[jasonbar]

Step 5:

Cleaned exhaust tips w/ alcohol & rag. Car had not been driven for over 14 hours or so, so no fire risk! :]

Scuffed up tips with fine Scotch-Brite.

1 more alcohol wipe.

Got a can of Rust-Oleum 241169 High Heat Ultra Enamel Spray, Black, 12 oz:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UE7MW4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Rust-Oleum 241169 High Heat Ultra Enamel Spray, Black, 12-Ounce - Spray Paints - Amazon.com[/ame]

Masking tape tight around the exhaust tips. Then more tape to hold lots of newspaper around the bumper areas to catch overspray.

Then, also used a handheld cardboard sheet for extra blockage when spraying.

Sprayed down about 5 coats on the tips, including some down the the pipes themselves. Waited a few minutes between coats.

Pulled off masking quickly thereafter so I could run an alcohol-soaked rag around the bumper to catch any overspray that I might have missed, before it dried. My masking was good--I didn't find any paint on the bumper.


Waited several hours before driving. No smell or smoke when driving, a possibility per the spray paint can. I don't think these get too hot--there was actually a paper sticker on the underside of the right tip, apparently from the factory, that was beat up but not singed or burned off.


Looks awesome. Still looks good 3 days later, & easy to touch up in the future if needed.


Whee!

-Jason

 

[jasonbar]

Step 6: remove license plate & license plate bracket. Debate over leaving black panhead screws in bumper or not. Decide that 3 small holes look better than 3 screws. Also decide that getting a body shop to fill the holes & repaint is not worth it to me--I'd already considered that for the trunk badge holes & decided against it at that time. :]

Thanks,
-Jason

 

[blackgenesis81]

Wow! All black looks great! Very agressive, sporty and clean. I would recommend in the future you consider a body shop to fill in the holes and paint for $50.00. Awesome look!

 

[ED 718]

Capital idea on the license plate--I drove my '94 Miata here in California for a decade with no front license plate. Nary a ticket nor attention from the authorities.

-Jason

My experiences as long as you are not driving around like an A-hole most likely you won't get stopped for just that reason however say you did get stopped for an infraction they may add or simply tell you to put the plate on.

I drove around for years with no front plate on my C6 Corvette and never got stopped but now my Sonata and Genesis have these dreaded front plate brackets with drilled holes