I finished the Herculinerin' of the Tracker earlier this week but the grill looks funny.  Didn't bother to bedliner that because I wasn't sure on how I'd prep it and if it was worth it since it can't rust.  Figured some Rustoleum Hammered Black would take care of it.

Since it's plastic is there any prep that should be done beyond sanding and maybe a self etching primer?
Should I get some of the Hammered Black paint for plastic or just use the regular kind I have?

I'll get some pics up soon, I promise.

I did... I used a spray on textured type of paint, no primer.

I also cut out the plastic bars, and used some expanded metal. Came out well I think

Seem to be sticking well?

Nice.

The only mod I did was to pull off the emblem backing plate.  The GEO emblem was gone when I got it.  Just some dirty 3M tape hanging in the wind.   When the prior owner's mechanic put the body lift on he screwed up all the mounting points on the grill so the only thing keeping it on the truck is the one little screw next to the emblem.

I painted mine on my white truck too, I used 400 sandpaper, and just sprayed it with flat black, stuck well and nice and smooth. I cut out the tabs for the geo emblem and left out the plastic mesh for a better look.

I wiped mine down with laquer thinner real quick and sprayed it.

Yep, it's holding just fine, I have even power washed it a few times...  nary a speck has peeled

before and after

Mine was good till I ripped it in half backing out if a tight trail that turned out to be unpassable  .... maybe if I used a 3rd coat of paint it would have held together.....

My tracker still has the silver paint with the black grill and windows. It also has this red stripe around the bumpers and black trim. I found out that only the 1989-90 models came with this .

It's sitting in the garage right all primered up.  I forgot how much I like the primer grey color.  Wish there was an actual paint that finished like that but held up better.

Pizza's done, now to go hit it with the black.

Clear coated primer gray looks pretty damned good

I had a buddy in the Marines with a late 60's Nova that was a sleeper.  Rusty rims, mismatched tires (front and rear...shhhhh ), no trim, all grey primer, ratty interior...and a built big block under the hood.  Many ricers and people who thought their cars were fast saw his tail lights.

i painted mine, didn't do anything but wiped it off and sprayed some black on it. looked great. i'm not usually to concerned with the looks thoough.

Well, it's done and I think it came out pretty good:



More pictures are on my CarDomain site.

I did mine falt balck along with the airdams below it.

I had to paint mine...

After I whacked the deer, the one I found in the scrap yard was light green, so I just cleaned it up really well, and sprayed it balck.  I also had to cut the "ears" to fit the '96 opening...



Jim Z