[Canadian_2K]

I have always had a deep dispise of the grills on the murano. They look so cheap and plastic-y, and above all else, they stand out way to much, and take away attention from the front lights.

So I (photo)chopped a bunch of photos off this forum (to those who's car pictures I used, thank you ahead of time), and the official Nissan.ca site, and I am posting them here for your pleasure. Maybe some of you will like it, and go and get your grills painted, I dunno, but what I do know is that, if I got an Murano, I would have painting it be my first priority.


So, check it out:

 

[Canadian_2K]

Two more;

And the second one -

 

[Canadian_2K]

Last one...

And here's the finale, another copper Murano, but a better angle so you can check out the grill.



Whaddya'll think?




EDIT: Changed the grill, it was too bright compared to the paint, so it still looked out of place. New one much better.

 

[Canadian_2K]

Colour/Silver

Okay, how about a half-body paint, silver accented grill?

Check it out:

 

[Canadian_2K]

And another...

Tan/Silver combo:

Come on people, at least a little feedback...

 

[JEME]

Nice work! My vote is for the half and half!

 

[jbar]

How about a smokey chrome on the Black MO?

 

[esemes]

i like the chrome pillars look too.........



(tried a PS image of that a few posts ago, but it came out poor)

heres another idea (hood replacement too)

S

 

[Gecko2k2]

I think it looks great. The one colored grille with the horizontal slats made it look too much like the Mitsubishi Endeavor. The color-keyed grilles are nice but I think (even though it'd be near impossible for the paint shop) that getting it customized to having chrome vertical bars and color-keyed horizontal bars as the grille would be the best choice of the bunch.

 

[Sgt_Beavis]

Man, that is actually a really nice improvement.

I'll have to give that some very serious thought.

 

[Gecko2k2]

The two tone grille is nice in Sunlit Copper but I have high doubts it could be carried over in other colors and look as nice. In order to tone down the grille while still giving it a big appearance factor, I'd say use a fully color-matched grille on the dark colors. Silver looks fine with the chrome grille on it now. The only issue is what I said before... Try doing that two-tone effect on the current grille. It would look horrible since its all one piece and flat. If the horizontal and vertical bars were their own separate combination, it would be fine to paint.

 

[Doombringer]

Those photoshop painty-grilles look pretty good. Nice job

I also like esemes'. Reminds me of a Saab or something...

 

[esemes]

my new grille, btw

 

[XOC]

So you are just going to hang around here showing off FX45 pics? And that contributes to the Murano discussion how? :3:

 

[turbodog]

A agree with Canadian. Even toning the grille down like the pre-production units, with the pewter-shaded grilles, is a vast improvement.

However, I will leave it alone until I become the primary driver, and keep noodling the options in the meantime.

Good renderings, I hadn't seen some of these before.

Now, on to the issue of HOW to paint a stock grille. You can't just spray over the chrome if you want it to last more than 10 miles. I've been searching various sites, including motorcycle and scale modeling sites (getting rid of fake chrome so you can paint the plastic is a common theme) for info on this.

Chrome is a tricky metal. It is highly reactive. In electronics, it is used as an adhesion layer because it bonds tightly to whatever you put it on, and the next layer bonds tightly to the chrome. Trick is, both the chrome and the next layer must be deposited in vacuum (or immersed in plating solution). Once the chrome hits air, it instantly bonds to the oxygen, forming a hard, transparent film which stops any further chemical reactions (including any bonding with your spray paint!)

There seem to be a few ways to go at it.

1. sand off the chrome. Chrome (even the thin layer on cheap plastick-y pieces) is hard, so this will take a lot of elbow grease. And, you really should get it all off. You might get lucky and get paint to stick to a roughened chrome surface, but results will likely be inconsistent.

2. Etch it off. This is the method recommended for metal parts, but it may be too harsh for a plastic part. Muriatic acid, available at swimming pool supply stores, will do the job. Rather than total immersion, it is recommended that towels (paper is OK) be carefully placed over the chrome and then kept wet with acid. Do this for 8 - 12 hours, and any remaining chrome will probably peel right off.

Any one have any other ideas? Maybe I'll find a similar piece at a junkyard and experiment with etching.

I have a year or so to figure it out.....

 

[esemes]

So you are just going to hang around here showing off FX45 pics? And that contributes to the Murano discussion how? :3:

infiniti is nissan's upscale company, and, shares a great deal of parts thru-out the model lineup.....

point well taken; i will curb my presence, and leave room....

sorry to gag you with my new ride ........

 

[Gecko2k2]

I personally prefer the Murano over the FX series but its all a matter of opinion... If I were going to spend $45K+ on an SUV though, I'd buy the VW Touareg or Hummer H2... Put that extra $20K to an off-roading vehicle.

 

[XOC]

infiniti is nissan's upscale company, and, shares a great deal of parts thru-out the model lineup.....

point well taken; i will curb my presence, and leave room....

sorry to gag you with my new ride ........

I know about the FX -- as a matter of fact, when I test drove the FX 35, I saw the Murano at the Nissan dealer next door and decided I like the Murano better (without even considering how much $ I saved). The reviews I read emphasized the differences more than the similarities -- FWD vs RWD etc.

I am really curious if you are so dissatisfied with Nissan's responses to your concerns, why you would buy another Nissan product? And not only another Nissan, but a more expensive one?

 

[esemes]

I know about the FX -- as a matter of fact, when I test drove the FX 35, I saw the Murano at the Nissan dealer next door and decided I like the Murano better (without even considering how much $ I saved). The reviews I read emphasized the differences more than the similarities -- FWD vs RWD etc.

I am really curious if you are so dissatisfied with Nissan's responses to your concerns, why you would buy another Nissan product? And not only another Nissan, but a more expensive one?

sentya a PM ((didnt wanna hijack this anymore))

S

 

[Chezman29]

Hey esemes,
I wanted to know the answer toooooo!!!!

I haven't seen the FULL FX you do have. But I must say that pic of the front I don't like. It reminds me of the Santa Fe how it goies up andover the headlights. And just the general shape of the grill.
Of course just my personal opinion. Like I said, I haven't seen a whole FX yet, and a hood doesn't have crap to do with whether or not I would buy one or not. The 1st pic you did show was like a lowered little race mobile though!

Anyway, on to the pics. AWESOME photoshop job. I don't even know how to use photoshop yet to even do something like that. And after looking at the pics, it looks like the vehicles were painted that way, with lighting and all.
So great job.
Now on to my PERSONAL OPINION. I like the chrome due to my Chrome rims. I think it adds more chrome to highlight my rims. That is why I am in the process of also getting Chrome license plate frames (ebay-on the way).
Now if I had regular rims, I would seriously think about it. Although I would still haveto say the chrome grill adds to the overall "high cost" look to the vehicle in my opinion. Even though it does look nice painted, I would probably leave it.

It reminds me of my 4runner though, and the difference between the top of the line 4runner we bought with the painted bumpers and side steps to match the vehicle. On the 4runner it made the vehicle look more professional and expensive. Whereas the 4runner SR5 with chrome bumpers looked alot cheaper.

So sometimes things look better, sometimes they don't.

My personal opinion is it looks great, just not on my model.

Chez