Okay, this thread is proof that there are few original ideas in the world, eh? ;-) I have been eyeing the new GK stuff, and while it is super cool looking as-is, for me I was thinking that I'd paint the grille black if I got one. Clearly lots of people think like that. Thanks all who posted pictures--I would definitely paint it.
But I wanted to chime in to respond to the suggestion of Krylon. I have painted a bunch of metal (and some wood) with the Krylon outdoor hammered finish, and I think that would work great. It's tough as nails and probably 10x more cost effective than powdercoating. I didn't expect much from the first application of this paint, but the hammered metal results are really quite stunning.
The contrast of the grille is a cool look, too, so don't think I'm putting down the stock look. But you guys who painted the grille made a nice improvement in my book.
And I can highly recommend the Krylon; it seems perfect for this application.
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--Steve