Yauser

So after all the hemming and hawing about flow velocity something this and that regarding the front plastic inserts, I decided fuck it, grille mesh would look tight.

Here's how I did it and some pics too. There is no room to work with behind the plastic inserts so this is a little different than a standard mesh job.

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrow...lder_id=968217

1. Removing the plastic inserts: There are 4 top clips and 4 bottom clips. You need to lay on your back and reach underneath and behind the bumper to press up on the clips which will allow you to nudge the grille forward. You need to work medially to laterally. The upper and most lateral clip is unreachable but once you get the other seven the grille should come out.

2. OEM grille gutting: I used a dremmel rotary tool to core out all the plastic strips on the OEM insert to leave an outer frame. I was anal and sanded everything down smooth but this is actually unnecessary since the black plastic is not visible anyways once the mesh is on.

3. Attaching mesh: I cut out the appropriate size mesh (aluminum) with a little extra leeway. I flexed the mesh until the curvature fit the natural curvature of the cored out OEM grille. I then mixed 5-minute epoxy and coated the entire plastic grille. Press the aluminum mesh onto the plastic grille and hold until epoxy sets. Keep the cleanest edge along the bottom of the grille since that is the most visible edge.

4. Trimming: Once the epoxy set, I left the grille overnight. In the morning, I once again used the dremmel to trim the overhanging aluminum mesh to fit exactly. Pop the grille back in and you're done!

I am considering painting the mesh anthracite to match my 19" summer rims. Also thinking about putting in some PIAA fog lights. Let me know what you think. Hope this works out for you if you decide to give it a go!

*WEAR FUCKING GOGGLES*
(I've pulled several metal foreign bodies out of people's eyes at the hospital and I don't want to have to treat any fellow TLers!)

Dobber

Looks good, very nice tl. Were did you get the headrests? Is that a acura option? I can relate to the goggles. I got a sliver of metal in my eye at work last year. The doctor dug it out with a needle and then had drill out the remaining small stuff. Good advice.

car_lost

looks good, but personally, it would look better if it were black. nice work though

dashotgun

enjoy it but I think it s ugly

Treblig

ShansTL23

How did you get black interior on the WDP??? I have WDP and the grey was the only "dark" option for interiors at the time. Also where did the emblems come from for the headrest??? Your car is sick though...

Yauser

The black interior is a Canadian option

I put brushed chrome decals on the headrests

ayethetiense

your next project.... dont just mesh the bottom grill...

your car will look even better.... good job, but its not my style

AnitNO1iLLeR

how do u have white wiht black interior?

Repecat

I don't think I would want it on my car, but I think you did a very professional job and you should take pride in it. Painting it anthracite would probably help. Congrats for "biting the bullet" and being a pioneer.

Oil Fighter

Nice job on the install, and your footwell light looks awsome.

mobilezen

Not a fan of silver chicken wire....like people said, black is good.

rets

wavshrdr

You got it right when you were concered about air flow. Mesh really sucks for this. At high speed it is almost like a flat wall to the airflow. I am still debating if I like it or not but it's your car and if you like it great.

I do however appreciate the effort you put into it. I too wanted WDP/Ebony but not available here. You might want to try finding a slightly more open mesh to help with airflow. I do agree that matching the summer wheel's paint might look pretty cool.

varanelli

Nice work.

05TLTony

I looks good, but I think it would've looked even better if you had meshed it leaving the big plastic piece that curves across the grill. Make the curved piece chrome like peter ubers and painting the mesh a darker color or vise versa on a darker vehicle. Nice work though. P.S. let us know if you feel a difference in power. I'd like to do this but am also afraid that it may obstruct the airflow too much that it would compromise the performance of the car.

GaleForce

Difference in power? Give me a break.

Anyway, nice work. Looks professional.

Yauser

No, I don't find a difference in power.

I thought about leaving the center bar, but I think it would create too many textures. It would also complicate the potential for future fog lights.

92NSX

Uh, the car already has fog lamps. Right beside the headlight.
As for the inserts, looks like a job well done but I wouldn't have it on my car. It seems to 'rice' out a little to much.

Yauser

Canadian models don't have fog lights, we have daytime running lights. I was referring to lower valence PIAA fog lights

92NSX

Dumb question then. What are the lights just to the inside of your headlights?

Repecat

As yauser said, they are DRLs. All Canadian vehicles have them as a federal requirement. They have no OEM fog lights.

havokgroup

Yauser:

The project looks good. I think if you painted the grill to match your wheels it would look so much better.

Nodoze2004

VERY nice!! While I too would do the grille in Anthra, or Black I think it looks REALLY nice! As I have the A-Spec kit, I think that the black bars that seperate the lower grille's would be a necessity (the Uber project). The cheap plastic look from the factory really needs to go.

Do you plan on putting the same mesh in the center grille next? I think it would really finish the front end.

Yauser

I think the center grille would be too difficult to do without it looking Mickey Mouse. I'll check it out though when I get the chance.

A-TLvic882

Or in black.

Yauser

My summer rims are anthracite, and that's the colour I would match.

I do have a quick question for everyone though. The lower grille obviously takes a lot of punishment from stones (especially since I live in Canada). If I end up painting the grille, won't it end up getting chipped like mad? Especially since this won't be a professional hardened paint job.

wavshrdr

You might be able to find a flex agent to put in the paint that might make it less hard and mroe flexible. Another thing to think about is have the metal powder coated. I've had good luck doing this on areas that get chipped alot.

If you do go the cheap route just plan to repaint twice a year. Stone chips suck!

Yauser

What type of company does powder coating and approximately how much does it cost? Can it still be reflective? Thanks

wavshrdr

Check your local phone book under metal plating or chroming. Most of them will do it. Basically you send a charge to the metal to be plated and the paint has an opposite charge and then it adheres to the metal. Then you bake it in an oven. It makes for a very tough finish and normally resistant to most solvents. Cost can vary a lot depending on who does it and where you live. I used to get mine done for free but no luck anymore. There are a variety of colors to choose from so check with your local company.

Yauser

This sounds like the end result would have to be a dull gummy colour (like the black OEM Brembo brakes). Would this also take up more space and lessen the airflow through the mesh even more?

wavshrdr

Your assumptions are incorrect. Powder coating gives you all the advantages of normal paint but it is MUCH tougher. It can be almost any color you want. Go here to read more about it:

http://www.powdercoating.org/home.htm

The difference is also you can have a very uniform coating that adheres much better to the base material than paint. You can also do non-metal surfaces as well. FYI, Harley Davidson uses a clear powder coating to give their tanks and fenders a really deep glossy look. Powder coating is just very uniform paint applied in a way that allows more uniform and better coverage coupled with better chip and scratch resistance. The powder goes on dry rather than wet. Only real downside is there are sometimes slightly fewer color choices than normal paint. I have seen powder coatings that looked like granite. That was really sweet!

car_lost

there is a member on acura-cl.com that does professional powdercoating. his username is something like defreder. contact SMITTY and he will tell you exactly who it is. i would definitely go the powdercoat way.

TLXLR8S

what do u guys think if you would have that on a black TL? u think it would look better? and where can you get the mesh, and if you dont paint it or anything will it rust and stuff? thanx

Yauser

You can buy the mesh at any car performance store. Even Canadian Tire here in the Great White North sells it. It won't rust, as it is aluminum.

As is, I honestly think it probably would look better on a black TL due to the contrast. Maybe it will compensate for the fact that at nighttime a NBP looks anything from a Camry to a Taurus!

ACCURATEin

I would refer to those lower ducts as air dams. The grille is the correct term for the upper, center duct. There are pictures of a mesh grille in the photo gallery under the '04 wdp on volks' thread.

ndabunka

The original posters "Air Dam mesh" looks good. When I first opened up this thread I thought you were from around here (Apparently ACCURATEin) who had put the mesh in the grill area. When I first saw it I had to do a double-take as from a distance it looked good but I have to say that once I got close to it, the CF work did not look good AT ALL. Interesting attempt but just didn't look like the professional job I would have wanted on my $35K car. Maybe if there was a "cleaner" way to do the installation? FYI - Before anyone throws one of those CF air dams on their car they might want to know that this one looked pretty banged up. Since it's mounted under the front lip, it's pretty darn low (probably too low on his car IMO). Nice attempt at a mod but seeing it in person, I can only give it a 6 on the 1-10 scale.

Yauser

Confoosed? Whos-a-ma-whos project are you talking about? I thought the air dam was that piece of plastic hanging under the front bumper that forced air upwards? I think "bumper mesh" or "front valence mesh" is appropriate?

ndabunka

Sorry for the confusion. The original posters design (Mesh air dam) looks good 9-out-of ten stars. The actual (Mesh grill by AccurateIN) looks poor close up (due to CF peeling) therefore only 6-out-of-ten stars (Would give 5 stars but the guy has balls cutting up his grill like that).

J RIDE 81

This is not of my likings