what is a JB Weld?

and the mesh grill is indeed the Gutter Guard from home depot?

 

JB Weld is an epoxy that hardens like "steel." It comes in 2 tubes, one is harding agent.
the mesh is indeed gutter guard from home depot.
both can be purchased at home depot.

 

I didn't like regular JB weld, it worked, took forever to dry, I needed to weld a couple more spots so I bought JB kiwk dry, and loved it, dried in 5 mins.

 

flvo177
that's actually the one I used. The kwik dries very fast

 

A couple of things for people doing this mod.

- First of all take your time
- don't be freaked out when your half way through and your saying to yourself what the hell did I do. As soon everything is dried on and you paint your grille it will look 1000times better. I bought spray paint for Plastic and it looks very good.
-Remember JB Kwik is a lot better than the regular JB weld.
-IMO you have to have a Dremel
-I used a clamp on the ends of the grille to help seal the mesh to the grille.

That is all I can think of for now

 

pics????

 

My wife took the digital camera with her out of town, I know it sucks, because I am getting the exhaust built tomorrow also. Sorry NFL

 

Main and lower grilles done.

 

looks great!!

 

Great work Mark! Looks beautiful!

 

Looks hot I'm thinking of doing some black mesh to just the upper grille now... I like the OEM lower bottom openings however...

 

Also any chance of getting some more pictures, better quality as well? Looks great Mark

 

BTW...

I contacted the dealer and the lower grille piece is only $8.00 so if you mess up you buy two sets, put the stock ones in and try again. I have to say, I didn't like it when I did the mod, so I ordered a set for $16.00, i guess u live and learn.

 

Thanks guys. I love it now despite my initial disappointment.

What part would you like pics of?

Lokius, I think that if you did the mesh on the main grille only and paint it black that would look awasome. I had a hard time hiding the JB Weld on the upper grille since I put the mesh in front of the grille frame, not behind like on the lower grilles. So, after you are done, you could paint the entire grille with frame and it would look much cleaner right away. I just like the silver mesh on mine, but white TL would look great with black.

 

Looks really good, very professional look.
Where did you buy the mesh from and how thick is it?

 

how did u take out the main grille i cant seem to get it off??? am i looking in the wrong direction shuold i look from inside???
thanks for the help~

 

Two ways to do it:
1) take the bupmer off
2) take the top trim off, lift where the bumper locks into the front clip and with a wrench/ socket put your hand behind the grille. 10 screws later the grille is loose. you can bend the bumper out and pull the grille out. It is tight but it can be done.

Why do you want to take it off? I found it was not necessary to do the upper grille unless you want to put the mesh from the back.

 

05TLTony, are these the gutter guards you got? I went to Home Depot, and this was all they had. (Came in a pack of 5)

 

did you only cut the horizontal bars (in red), or did you also dremel out the vertical ones (in blue)

and did you put the mesh behind the grill, or place it on from the front?
sorry, if i'm asking so many questions, but I want to do this write, and i'm planning in taking pictures, so that way i can do a write up (if i do it correctly haha)

 

Yes, that is what he used. At my Home Depot they came in singles or 25 packs. But either way, that is it.

 

Both blue and red. All of them, but the middle big one. Put the mesh behind the grille, look better then in front and masks JB Weld better.

Good luck.

 

I have the pics of the grill I've just done for my friends Tl last week. I'll post pics and instructions tomorrow. I'm having difficulty resizing the pics.

 

AWESOME!
I guess that saves me the "labor" of typing it up and/or potentially screwing up mine hahaha.
If you need help resizing, i can do it; send pics to albychou@yahoo.com

 

I'll send them to you now.
thanks

 

These pics are from my camera. I can upload them fine, but the others that need to be resized are on my friends camera. I'll have to get them from him in the morning.
[IMG][IMGhttp://img352.imageshack.us/my.php?image=grill0106fi.jpg]
[IMG]

 

[IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] sorry i'm not computer savvy. my friend posted the original pics for me.

 

i tried resizing it, but the pictures didn't look as good. With the pics you have on there now, it's more detailed, and a lot clearer. Just waiting on that writeup, so i can finally do mine hahaha.

 

http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/5558/dsc000225eu.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/IMG] Sorry about the delay Lax. Here is the write up.
The tools I've used are as follows - galvinized wire, galvinized mesh, JB Weld, dremel rotary tool and tinsnips.[IMG][/IMG]
First, remove the grills by pressing the tabs in then pulling it out. The last tabs towards the outside of the bumper may be a little tricky and may require force to pull out.
[IMG][/IMG]
Once the grill is out, outline the mesh against it and cut according to the size of the grill. This will insure that there will not be any fitment issues later on. To make things easier, I used galvinized wire to hold the mesh against the grill.

[IMG][/IMG]

Now cut the grill. Cut both top and bottom pair of the horizontal bars and leave the large middle bar in tact. The dremel makes life easier. Gloves are strongly recommended. This stuff is sharp! Remember to wear protective eye wear and a dust mask.[IMG][/IMG]
Sand the left over pieces with a sanding bit. It is optional, at this point to spray paint the grill to give it a cleaner look. make sure you wipe it down with alcohol before painting.
Place the mesh that was cut out earlier against the grill (use galvinize wire or plastic tie to hold in place) and bend back the edges. Now mix a small batch of Epoxy and apply onto the mesh edges that are bent back. This will insure greater bonding strength as opposed to the thin edges around the rim of the grill.[IMG][URL=http://imageshack.us][IMG]
Don't worry about putting too much epoxy, it can be sanded later. Work fast because the epoxy I used dries pretty quick![IMG][/IMG]
The chrome strip is optional, but I think it looks pretty nice. I used the doge truck door molding purchased at CAP. Cut one end at an angle to complement the horizontal bar in the middle. I used a smal amount of epoxy to hold it in place. The sticky substance that is lined inside the chrome strip is not very good. Work the chrome strip to the end of the horizontal bar. I cut the strip where it meets the other side of the bumper to give it a smooth flow.[IMG][/IMG]
sorry about the delay in posting. I hope I didn't leave anything out

 

This is a close up of the grill after I spray painted it. Barely notice any sanded areas.[IMG][/IMG]

 

05TLTony, this mod is THE SEX.
Yeah, don't worry bout the delay man. I just really wanted to get this mod done b/c it's AWESOME. Keep up the good work man. Mad PROPS!

 

thanks for the prais lax

 

Looks good

 

man that's sweet. thanks for the pics and the write up.

where did you get that chrome strip?

 

i almost feared clicking on the thread looking @ the title but that is great work

 

i think you can get that chrome strip at almost any car parts store (Autozone, Pep Boys, etc.) It's just the door molding for cars. You just cut it to fit the grill, and then epoxy it on (b/c the double sided tape or w/e that comes with it, isn't strong enough)

 

I tried to do the mod unsuccessfully today;

I have the A-spec front lip, and it prevents the grills from coming out .. i'll have to figure something else out.

 

I have a question, don't flame it has been asked before. Do you think this grill will rust over time, especially if live near the ocean or live where you have snow? Thanks.

 

is the lip removable? idk about the 3rd gen lips but i know the 2nd gen ones are...its just a lip and not a full fender right?

 

Great mod. It looks fantastic! Adding this to my list of "to-do's" in the future.

Here's a question. Does anyone have any problems keeping the mesh clean from bugs and stuff (mud, etc.) from the road?

 

It's galvinized mesh. It will not rust