Back in September of 2009 we put together a video that demonstrated how to “do it yourself” customize a Margaritaville Tailgating Grill to your own team colors complete with an official logo emblem. The video has been viewed over 5,000 times by now and a number of people have emailed us thanking us for putting the demonstration video on the internet. Sometimes people will attach photos of their grill they customized after seeing the video. Lots of times we have shared those photos with our readers of this tailgating blog.

Even though we thought the video was pretty self-explanatory, we do tend to field a number of email inquires asking specific questions of how we did something. So in an effort to further help the tailgate nation, here is a list of frequently asked questions and answers specifically about how to customize the Margaritaville Tailgating Grill to team colors and logo.

- What kind of paint do you use? Is there a certain brand I should buy and use on my grill?

We are not brand loyal. We use regular spray paint that you can buy at any home improvement store. When customizing a grill for someone else we tend to choose the paint that has a cap that best matches the colors of the team we are doing. Because the parts of the grill that are shown to be customized in the video do not get hot while the grill is in use. There is no need to be concerned about getting any specialty paint that is heat resistant.

- I want to customize my grill but my team has unique colors that are not normally carried in a spray paint color. What should I do if I want to paint my grill Miami Dolphins colors but they do not carry that exact shade in a mass produced spray paint?

Home Depot has paint that is the exact color of many professional and college teams. Just go to the counter and ask them to see the catalog of sports team paints and they can mix you up a batch to match your team. If you go this route you will also need some sort of a paint sprayer so the color goes on evenly. Home Depot gives you these colors in a can as if you were going to paint a room in your home. You want to avoid painting your grill using a brush because it will leave brush marks. Inquire about a paint sprayer and use that for a nice, even, clean look.

- Where do you get the logo emblem that you place on the grill lid handle?

Whenever we receive an inquiry about customizing a grill for someone, the first place we visit is emblemoutlet.com. We go there to see if the school or team is even produced in the size we need for the center logo. The selection is rather large and ranges from the full color emblem that was shown in the video to chrome plastic emblems to solid chrome emblems. We have purchased the vast majority of the emblems used on grills we have customized that they have given us a special coupon code. They do not mind if we share it with the readers of TailgatingIdeas.com so you can get 10% off your order. Just use “TGI10″ in the coupon code box during check out and the 10% discount will automatically apply.

- I saw in the video that the emblem logo had a replacement cap that it can stick to. Where can I get one?

That black replacement cap, also called a blank, was made and sold by Freedom Grill. They are no longer selling those and have outsourced the selling of replacement parts to another company, G&G Grill Parts. They do carry the replacement caps but charge $10 each. If you go to the G&G website and search “FREEDOM50 – BADGE BLANK”, you should be able to find the product page.

If you think paying $10 is a bit too high, then you can make your own replacement cap with a little elbow grease. First, once the Margaritaville oval badge is removed from the lid handle, take some pliers and take out the middle part. It takes some doing but it does come out. Once removed, you will have a space that you will need to fill in and make flat. Wood putty works but we have found wall spackle works well too. Just fill in the hole with the spackle and make sure all areas of the hole are filled. It does not matter if there is some excess left over. Just let it dry and use some sandpaper to make it flat. Because the logo emblem will be covering up this area it does not matter if it is not perfect. As long as it is flat and the logo emblem can stick to it, no one will know.

- I don’t have the time nor the patience to customize a grill to my favorite team’s colors. Can you do it and we just pay you?

Yes. This business of customizing grills for other people grew out of people not wanting to to do it themselves. If this is you, please visit the Custom Tailgating Grills page at Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com and request a quote. There is no set price because each grill is a custom job built to the customer’s specific idea of how the colors should be laid out. Also, shipping rates vary based on zip code. In order to provide an accurate price quote, please include your zip code.

We have received more specific questions regarding customizing these grills but to date, these questions are the ones that get asked on a consistent basis. We will add more if we didn’t cover it thoroughly via this FAQ page.