I don't know if this counts as a mod., but my "X" certainly needed it's sun-faded grill taken care of.
I used Scotch-Brite pads to scuff the plastic, then masked off the whole front end, and finished the job with a coat of primer and dark metallic gun-metal paint. Here are the results....

Nice work. I just repainted mine myself this weekend.

Stone

Hey thanks, did you paint yours a dark colour as well?

I'd like to someday get the gray bumpers painted to match the rest of the truck, but not until after winter! I wonder if that Rhino-Liner stuff can be used for something like that?

I too did the same this last weekend...took it all off though and did the head light surrounds as well...put it back together with zip ties and the fit is much tighter...looks good!

Unfortunately, I did not. I thought I bought a darker, charcoal color, but after I sprayed it on it came out a lighter gray, almost silver. It is not bad, but I wanted darker to match the bumper. Now the bumper will have to be painted.

I can email you a picture if you like.

Stone

Following the advise and look of some others, I repainted everything from the faded grey to black.

Parts Painted:
Wheel Trims
Side Molding
Headlight Trim
Front Grill
Roof Rack Deflector

I love the look. I just used Krylon Fusion because you only need to clean it, no sanding needed.

There are pics around here somewhere, but I can't find them right now.

I used my grill this week as the guinea pig. I need to paint all four plastic fenders. The platic where the wiper blades mount (hood cowl?)need a good painting also.

Stone

i want to paint my gray trim black as well, i'm glad to hear people have done it and it looks good. does anyone have any thoughts about painting the sliders and roof racks black to match? painting the plastic parts of the roof rack was mentioned, but i want to paint the metal tubework black as well....thought about using Rhino-liner for the metal parts. if there's anyone who has done this, how do i prep the metal surface?

Just my opinion, but I think it would be fine to just primer, and paint right over the gray paint that comes on the factory bars. Because of the texture of the factory paint on the factory bars, the only prep. work I would do is remove the bars, wash them, remove all the plastic parts, and paint. I don't think any sanding would be needed.

It would greatly help paint adhesion if you took some 220 or 300 grit sandpaper or a scotch brite pad and give the bars a good scuffing. You dont have to sand it down to bare metal. Just give it a good once over. Should be done right when you are able to see the scratches and the paint turns a bit whitish. As for surface prep before painting, wash everything well with some dishwashing soap (joy,dawn,something like that) and wash and rinse well. I also recommend wearing surgical type gloves to keep hand oil off the areas to be painted. I use isopropyl alcohol as a final wipe to remove any contaminants. You can use paper towels, but they will leave some lint. You can get good paint prep supplies (tack rags, lint free wipes and cleaning solvents) from a body or auto parts shop. Keep it clean, and your paint will look good and last. Ive painted million dollar helicopters and the devil is in the prepwork and cleaning.

great, thanks for the advice. i definitely won't skimp on the prep work. i'll try to post pics when i'm done.

I didn't want to start a new thread for this, but if I wanted to paint my gray plastic bumpers what kind of prep. work would I have to do?...and is there a specific type of primer and/or paint that needs to be used to avoid flaking and cracking on plastic parts? HELOFIXER, I hold your opinion in high regard since you work in the industry, but anybody else's advice and personal experiences (pics.) would be great. THANKS.

Ive never painted plastic. Our choppers are aluminum,stainless,composite and fiberglass. I have seen people on here talk about a brand of spray paint that is for plastic, and I'm sure you can find a primer for plastic as well. Prep work should be about the same. Scrub it with scotch brite..dip the pad in isopropyl alcohol or prep solvent to help remove any dirt, grease, wax or armor all that might have seeped into the plastic. Rinse and repeat. Wear latex gloves. Be sure to read the paint instructions regarding air temperature and humidity. Painting when its cold can cause some problems with shrinkage and cracking of paint as it cures. Good luck.

When I did my grill two weeks ago, the only prep work I did was wipe it down with acetone. Then I sprayed Duplicolor's Adhesion Promoter. Once that dried I sprayed it with paint designed for adhesion to plastic. That was it.

I am sure if you have some rough spots you could sand them first.

Stone

I used alcohol to wipe the grill, Adhesion promoter for my primer, and dark gray bumper paint for my finish coat. Used three coats of the promoter and four coats of the bumper paint.