Painting front cap on a 5er

In the marine world we follow Ford's choices. A boat can be any colour as long as it is white. Same sort of applies to 5er front caps. They don't get near the beating a boat does in the sun. A boat never gets to be under some trees.

I would not do the front cap refridgerator white. An eggshell or light cream is good. If any other colour base be sure it is very very light.

I had my 32' boat hull done in 2004 after being damaged in a hurricane. Had it done with Awlgrip & clearcoated. Still looks good. The way I looked at it was that the labour was going to be about the same, it is the preparation, whether a cheap paint that will not last long is used or a 2 part epoxy like Awlgrip which will look good for years & years. Might as well spend the extra on the really good paint & be just as happy with it in 8 years or more time.

Thanks for all the advice! I am leaning to having it repainted from black to gray. Perhaps the gray won't fade as the black did.... I will see if I can get some prices from some marine guys....

Well that price doesn't seem that bad compared to the quote for replacing the decals on my 5er for 1500. And I'll have to do it again in a few years since that's all it took for one set to completely crack up.

I've had two of them painted and one rear cap. Don't have it done outside. Don't know of any mobile shop that will do it. Look for a shop that paints Big trucks and buses. An RV dealer most likely won't have a big enough paint booth and will send it out, then mark it up some more. A quality automotive base coat/clear coat paint job will hold up well if properly prepped. I paid in the neighborhood of $1500-2000 for mine. It was expensive but well worth it. Good luck
B.O.

Just wanted to add that you wont be sorry. I had a boat/RV body-work place repaint the fiberglass cap on our last TT with 2 part epoxy paint and it was fantastic. Finish was better than ever and super tough.

Since the cap is fibreglass you might want to check with a boatyard & see about getting it done with a product like Awlgrip. Done with that & a couple of clear coats & that will be the end of it. Never have to paint it again & have a finish better than gelcoat.