My painter messed up and painted my entire RS grille gloss black (body color), including the center section. I have a couple options:

1.) Strip the paint from the center section of the grill back down to plastic (with likely poor results)

2.) Mask the outer portion and spray the center section a satin black.

If I do choose to respray the center section, what is the closest color to the original matte black? (Satin? Flat?), and does anyone have a specific paint recommendation? Will scuffing with 600 grit provide an acceptable substrate?

I don't want to buy an entire new grille and start over.

I didn't have fresh paint on mine but I used a scotch brite pad lightly and shot it with
SEM trim black. Turned out fine for me. I would wait until your paint is fully cured though.

Painting plastic is not all that easy. It takes a lot of prep work to make the top coat stick.

You could prep the plastic yourself (sanding it properly) and then give it to a painter to do the final work. Most of the cost of painting the grill will be the labor of the prep work.

The chemicals needed to prep the plastic can add up in cost.
Here is an excerpt from PPG OC-1 Plastic+Prep+System:

Existing Plastic Panels
'
De-gloss entire surface with 400 grit
'
Use SU4901 Clean and Scuff Pad or SWX3509 to clean raw plastic. Rinse thoroughly with clean water. Prep is complete when water sheets (runs off). If water beads on surface, repeat process.
'
Blow dry or wipe with a clean cloth, entire raw plastic surface must be totally de-glossed.
'
Apply SXA103 or SWX350 as final wipe and anti-static agent.
'
Apply SUA4903, adhesion promotor, (aerosol) in 1 light coat over all exposed raw plastic. Allow to dry 5 minutes before continuing.
'
Continue with the repair using your preferred PPG or Nexa Autocolor paint system undercoats and topcoats. Please refer to the product data sheet of the product that will be applied next for further information on how to best properly complete your repair.

I used SEM Color Coat for the top coat on my plastic dash. I do not know if this brand of paint can be used on exterior plastic parts. SEM Landau Black is has too much gloss for what I think you are wanting.

Assuming the base/clear that the painter mistakenly applied is adhered well, luckily I won't have to paint over the bare plastic if I just scuff the existing paint and apply over top. I'm hesitant to try and remove all the existing paint for fear of damaging the plastic. I may start with the SEM Trim Black on a test panel to see if it has the right look.

I've used SEM Color Coat on exterior parts without any problems. It's even recommended
for motorcycle seats. If you don't strip the paint down to raw plastic a number of the steps
Patrick posted are not required. SEM also has a plastic prep that I use. Here's a link to SEM
Color Coat, etc. products. I've personally had great luck with SEM over the years and Patrick's
dash pad turned out fantastic with SEM.
https://www.semproducts.com/manage/h...g%20Manual.pdf

I would scuff and repaint the center section. If you put stripper on that plastic you will likely ruin it. If it was prepped correctly it shouldn't be a big deal.

I don't know if the new paint will stick to the clearcoat. I would sand it off to get rid of it. If the basecoat was properly prepped for the plastic, and it is sticking, it would be a better substrate material compared to bare plastic.

I would not use a plastic adhesion promotor on top of the existing basecoat. There might be an undesirable chemical reaction. The anti-static spray is used to neutralize the charge on plastic that will cause the paint not to stick. The existing basecoat might negate the need for the anti-static spray.

After sanding off the clearcoat, you could spray a new clearcoat with a flatting agent to make it less glossy. Or you could spray the grill black with a satin finish. PPG makes a single stage satin black that I used on my glove box door.

[IMG]plastic dash 50 by Patrick Smith, on Flickr[/IMG]

SEM or any catalyzed urethane will adhere to properly prepped clearcoat. No reason to remove the clear. Good luck removing the clear in the corners of a grille. By the way, painting virgin plastic is no big deal. Proper prep and an adpro (adhesion promoter), if required, will produce excellent results. Like Greg stated, success depends on how well the shop who screwed it up prepped the grille. Matt, the OP should not have to lift a finger. The shop that made the mistake should eat it.

Exactly like you said Scott, my concern is that I would never get all the paint out of all the corners without making the grille look worse. I'll scuff the existing clear with 400-600 and spray with the SEM. I agree, the original shop should make it right, but I'm ready to move on and get it done. Just not worth the frustration!