Grill Mesh- Do It Yourself

[smlzalero]

I've been meaning to do this for a while and finally got around to it so I figured I'd snap some pics and put up a how-to since nobody's bothered to yet

I got gutter-cover mesh in 3 foot pieces from ACE. This whole mod cost me under $10.

1. Cut pieces of mesh to fit in behind the holes in the bumper. To do this I eyeballed to get the length and then just snipped corners off until the piece fit enough to cover the hole.


2. it helped me to fit the pieces if I bent the top of the mesh forward before putting it in


3. once you have a good fit, put the mesh between the fog light and the bumper.


4. once the mesh is in and it's covering the entire hole, i snipped the mesh to go around this piece so it would sit flush.


5. It's a surprisingly snug fit in front of the fogs so I just bent the edges of the mesh around the inside of the bumper and I didn't use any glue or silicone.
it doesn't look bent in this pic, though


6. For the center piece I snipped the mesh to fit around the 2 parts of the center hole that stick in towards the radiator.


7. Then I folded the extra (I should have cut this piece a little shorter, but I wanted to be safe) around the back of the hole.


8. Then I applied liquid nails project glue to the mesh AND plastic of the bumper.


hey look, I've got some crap on my radiator, lol

9. That's pretty much it. Just make sure you trim & position the mesh so that it's straight and the pattern of the holes line up all the way across so you have a uniform look.

Finished pics:

[Eh_nigma]

Right on! It looks pretty good... I have this ominous feeling that I'll be refering to this in the near future for my Alero.

[King Asoka]

very sharp. ill be doign this mod as soon as school is done.

I just did my own grille mesh. Excellent writeup

[Eh_nigma]

Might sound like a silly question to ask... how impact resistant are they? I do a lot of highway driving, and rocks/bugs/pedestrians are always a threat... oh wait, scratch that last one...

I've never used liquid nails before and I was wondering about that...

[DRA-GON]

Good write up I am going to do that this weekend. Thanks

I finally got a digi cam so I can take pics of it when done

[smlzalero]

Originally posted by Eh_nigma@Jul 28 2005, 02:08 AM
Might sound like a silly question to ask... how impact resistant are they? I do a lot of highway driving, and rocks/bugs/pedestrians are always a threat... oh wait, scratch that last one...

I've never used liquid nails before and I was wondering about that...

Quoted post

Well I drove to work this morning and it's still on there :P ... I think, lol.

It's aluminum so it'll probably bend if you get something pretty big flying at it, but it's not hard to do and inexpensive. If something knocks one out just replace it, no biggie. Also.. I would bet the only thing you really need to worry about would be the stuff getting little dings in it but you can just bend it back.

[ptrudel]

cool writeup..only thing, i don't think that glue will hold up to snowbanks

looks good smlz, would it be better if you cut out a piece for the fog lights?

[smlzalero]

Originally posted by 2000_olds_alero+Jul 28 2005, 12:19 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(2000_olds_alero @ Jul 28 2005, 12:19 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>cool writeup..only thing, i don't think that glue will hold up to snowbanks

Quoted post

[/b]

that's liquid nails, foo... lol

I thought about that and I'll probably glue around the entire center mesh to help avoid that.

<!--QuoteBegin-Crolero@Jul 28 2005, 12:25 PM
looks good smlz, would it be better if you cut out a piece for the fog lights?

Quoted post

[/quote]
I was originally going to do that but I didn't feel like jacking my car up or taking the fogs out. I have a good idea for it, though, so it will probably happen in the future



And yes, I know the center mesh is reverse from the side meshes... I cut it upside down on accident so I'll probably be redoing the center and I'll trim the sides shorter next time, lol.

[AlbinoMonkeyRat]

my mesh stayed on fairly well for the month that it was on before it got smacked by a GAGT. :P

also, make sure that you get stainless stuff, or put a clear coat on the mesh, that way you can just hose it down to clean it off.

[Cyber Knight]

Originally posted by Eh_nigma@Jul 28 2005, 12:08 AM
Might sound like a silly question to ask... how impact resistant are they? I do a lot of highway driving, and rocks/bugs/pedestrians are always a threat... oh wait, scratch that last one...

I've never used liquid nails before and I was wondering about that...

Quoted post

You can also get plastic gutter mesh which obviously won't dent, and it's super light, I just used a few cable ties to fasten mine in place.

[smlzalero]

^ I never understood that... what did you tie it to? I found nothing to tie to.

[Cyber Knight]

I drilled some holes around the edges, four for the centre and 2 for each side area. The cable ties are tiny so the holes are only like 1/4". You wouldn't be able to notice unless you had your head under the car.

[smlzalero]

Ahh... I guess I was assuming people were using preexisting stuff. I suppose that would be as noticable as turtle's use of screws. I still think my liquid nails is better :P

your a bugger lol I was gunna do this mod this weekend so i guess ive got some pointers now, Nice job, your goin CRAZY on ur car ;-D

I used some good old fashion bondo on mine all the way arround the edges after it was folded and pressed arround the openings, good write up thow.

I reccomend you wear gloves while doing this mod... I sliced my hands up pretty good before I gained the sense to put some gloves on.

[cherrington17]

yes, being careful when working w/ metal and tin snips is a good plan. its just like me w/ my soldering gun. i have some wicked scars from it.

if your a little more wreckless (like most guys are) hand protection is mandatory!

[Redog]

Looks like the way I did it