DIY mesh grill help

[apg39]

After no success with the aftermarket grills in Thailand, Im looking at doing it myself. Done it before on the Forester but that was relatively easy, the back being flat and all.

Here's my plan for the DIY:

* Remove grill, use Dremel to cut out the black diamondy inner piece.

* Sand cut areas back

* Use something to fill dip in bottom - fibreglass, bog, sand...whatever is needed to smooth it off.

* Mask off & spray outer edge silver again, the inner edge black.

* Drink beer.

* Cut & place black mesh, see below re: curvature.

* Secure mesh to grill.

* Re-install grill.

* Drink beer.

I need a few small tips..

1) Im going to get rid of the little dip in the bottom of the grill (sportivo model)...i need something to fill it in. Using lots of layers of body filler wouldnt work, AFAIK a big blob of filler might be prone to crack over time. Or would I be better to cut something plastic up to fill the majority then just put filler on top to smooth it off?

2) For those who've looked, the plastic mesh attached to the grill is curved...anyone know how I can get the mesh Im going to put on to curve like that? I was thinking find something with a similar curve & bend the mesh over that...then install & secure so it keeps the bend, but it might be a little hard to find something with a similar curvature. Another idea is to lay it on the back of the grill flat then put heavy things on top so it bends to match the curve of the grill. Anyone got another idea?

Im hoping in the end it goes from this.........

To this.........

Edited July 30, 2008 by apg39

[v8toy]

get ya mesh and ya car without the plastic shroud on and take it to a sheetmetal shop they have rollers that curve sheetmetal to any curve u need it will take about 2 secs literally to do that one its not much of a curve

[apg39]

BarUMP

[trentmeyer23]

So are you going to mesh over the top of the existing grille or discard it? I don't quite follow...

[apg39]

So are you going to mesh over the top of the existing grille or discard it? I don't quite follow...

Kinda forgot that bit didnt I? Ill re-write the first post with my planned DIY.

I going to Dremel out the inner piece, sand it back and once I've filled in the dip I will re-spray the outer edge in silver & inner edge in black.

[trentmeyer23]

Over such a large surface it i will be tough to keep the bend in the shape that you want even if it can be bent. It is very likely that it will need supports behind it to give it structure. If you dont, there's a good chance, some idiot in a car park will most likely walk past and bump it and it will all bend out of shape.

Edited July 30, 2008 by trentmeyer23

[apg39]

Over such a large surface it i will be tough to keep the bend in the shape that you want even if it can be bent. It is very likely that it will need supports behind it to give it structure. If you dont, there's a good chance, some idiot in a car park will most likely walk past and bump it and it will all bend out of shape.

Thats what I was worrying about before, I was hoping to get around it by sourcing some stronger/thicker mesh then the stuff at Repco/Stupidcheap etc. Im yet to decide on a way to secure it to the grill too, will look again on the weekend.

[v8toy]

Over such a large surface it i will be tough to keep the bend in the shape that you want even if it can be bent. It is very likely that it will need supports behind it to give it structure. If you dont, there's a good chance, some idiot in a car park will most likely walk past and bump it and it will all bend out of shape.

if ya put it thru a sheetmetal roller it will give it some strength (i know this caus ethis is what i do for a living) and dont use the supercheap crap either, either get some staino mesh or some ally mesh and paint it or leave it.

as far as fixing i havent looked at mine but if u go to a plastic welder and get him to weld tags onto the back of the bumper then put some bumper clips or similiar in to hold it

p.s. make sure u put the badge back on itll look to plain

Edited July 30, 2008 by v8toy

[BLCKLABEL]

Over such a large surface it i will be tough to keep the bend in the shape that you want even if it can be bent. It is very likely that it will need supports behind it to give it structure. If you dont, there's a good chance, some idiot in a car park will most likely walk past and bump it and it will all bend out of shape.

if ya put it thru a sheetmetal roller it will give it some strength (i know this caus ethis is what i do for a living) and dont use the supercheap crap either, either get some staino mesh or some ally mesh and paint it or leave it.

as far as fixing i havent looked at mine but if u go to a plastic welder and get him to weld tags onto the back of the bumper then put some bumper clips or similiar in to hold it

p.s. make sure u put the badge back on itll look to plain

i reckon u should leave the badge off... it looks good without it.. u can have a look at my profile photo..

[v8toy]

Over such a large surface it i will be tough to keep the bend in the shape that you want even if it can be bent. It is very likely that it will need supports behind it to give it structure. If you dont, there's a good chance, some idiot in a car park will most likely walk past and bump it and it will all bend out of shape.

if ya put it thru a sheetmetal roller it will give it some strength (i know this caus ethis is what i do for a living) and dont use the supercheap crap either, either get some staino mesh or some ally mesh and paint it or leave it.

as far as fixing i havent looked at mine but if u go to a plastic welder and get him to weld tags onto the back of the bumper then put some bumper clips or similiar in to hold it

p.s. make sure u put the badge back on itll look to plain

i reckon u should leave the badge off... it looks good without it.. u can have a look at my profile photo..

now i looked at yours it does look pretty good might be cause the other fotos been fotoshoped

[apg39]

p.s. make sure u put the badge back on itll look to plain

Im either going to put it back on...but spray it black maybe, or get a TRD, Sportivo or Aurion spare badge & see what that looks like. Or just leave it off completley - Im more inclined to do that but cant say until I see it.

Thanks for the tips re: plastic welder...might be a good option.

[Adrian]

Placing it over the existing grill sounds OK to me. After you remove that big ugly Toyota symbol in the middle, seeing the shadow of the old grill from a distance through the new grill may enhance the look + structure ? You may need to experiment.

[apg39]

Placing it over the existing grill sounds OK to me. After you remove that big ugly Toyota symbol in the middle, seeing the shadow of the old grill from a distance through the new grill may enhance the look + structure ? You may need to experiment.

How would I secure the mesh over the top of the exsisting grill? I would have to be extremely careful in cutting it & wouldnt be able to get rid of that dip in the bottom. Not overly keen on it...but its an option.

Can someone post a close up pic of a AT-X/presara/prodigy grill, including the top & from the back? Im thinking of getting one of them instead so I dont have to fill the dip.

[SecaBoy]

why not just get a TRD grill?? they dont have a dip in them...

[apg39]

why not just get a TRD grill?? they dont have a dip in them...

A valid question....already asked my friend who works at the local Toyota, he seems to think they are a different shape. And thats something I can test unless I have one, Im not able to buy one at the moment...but if by chance your at a meet in the near future & want to swap with a Sportivo to check?

The other thing too is Im thinking about putting a badge other than the 'T' on the front. Does the TRD have anything behind the badge?