Thanks for all the positive feedback. Overall I am very happy with outcome. Here are some notes on the process.
Budget the majority of a day to do the whole car. Most of the time will be spent masking, and allowing the paint to dry. I sprayed 4 coats total.
Shopping list:
Item|Quantity
Plasti Dip 11 oz can, Black|2
3M blue masking tape 2"x60yds.|2
Standard size news paper|2
Utility knife with a fresh blade|1
Bottle of rubbing alcohol|1
Roll of scott shop towels|1
Masking tape
* Using tape that is at least 2" wide will make the job easier and faster.
* Blue masking tape is less adhesive than traditional masking tape, so you don't have to worry about damaging your paint.
* Masking the grille trim is trivial and should not take long. I applied tape surrounding the surface I was going to paint--in this case to the grille plastic and the front bumper. I used a target gift card (flimsier than a credit card) as a squeegee to tuck the tape between the bumper and grille in spots that are tight. When masking the grille itself be sure to not allow any way for paint to pass through the grille onto the radiator...this would be bad.
* I masked the rear trim in the same way. Using long pieces of tape on straight areas and several short pieces of tape where the curvature was high.
* Masking the window trim is a bit more difficult since there are several high curvature areas, and the weather stripping is in tight contact with chrome trim in most places. I used two different methods, one on each side.
** Method One: On the drives side I applied the tape in the same way I did for the grille and rear trim, using the gift card to 'tuck' the tape between the trim and the weather stripping. This process was very tedious and took the majority of the time. It also turned out that this was a bad idea as it resulted in some ragged edges when the masking tape was removed.
** Method Two: One the passenger side I became impatient and applied the tape such that it covered the trim by at least a few millimeters. Once all of the tape was applied I went back around with a sharp utility knife and cut the line between the weather stripping and trim and peeled it off. Not only was this method more time efficient, but it also resulted in a better outcome. To get a clean line it is important to make sure the tape is in very good contact with both the weather stripping and trim. After the tape is applied run your finger over that seam, applying some pressure, to make sure the tape is conforming to the transition from trim to weather stripping. Run the utility knife lightly along that seam. The tape that was applied to the trim should easily pull off.
Masking paper
* After all of the 'fine masking' is done I did coarse masking around the regions that were to be painted.
* I used a news paper to protect the glass and paint from overspray. Each page was torn in half, along the fold and attached to the 'fine masking' with tape applied along the long edge of the paper. This was more than enough protection from over spray. If you are using 2" tape, this process should not take too long.
* Be extra careful when masking the grille. We do not want to get paint on the radiator.
Cleaning
* Once all of the tape is applied clean all of the trim thoroughly with rubbing alcohol and a lint free cloth. I used Scott shop towels. The surface needs to be pristine for best adhesion.
Painting
* Follow the directions on the can.
* First coat should be very light. You should still see she shininess of chrome after applying the first coat.
* The surface you are painting is not flat, so when you apply each coat make sure you hit the surface from all angles to get good coverage.
* Allow 20 min to dry after each coat.
* Apply 3-4 coats.
Unmasking
* I started removing the masking as soon as the last coat was applied. If you allow too much time for the paint to dry you may end up removing paint from the trim when you pull off the tape.
* There is a special technique for removing masking tape to get sharp lines. Pull the tape at a sharp angle. Google it and several descriptions will show up that are more complete than mine.
* I had no issues removing the masking tape from the grille and the rear trim
* Removing the masking tape around the window trim requires finesse and patients. It doesn't hurt to run the utility knife around the boundary of the trim and weather stripping before removing the tape. In some cases this was necessary since the paint started pulling off with the tape creating a ragged edge.
* I got the best results on the passenger side where I used the utility knife to apply the masking, and remove the masking. The passenger side has some ragged edges that need to be touched up or redone when I get some time.
* Allow a couple hours for the paint to harden before driving
Good luck!