Saxperience - Citroen Saxo Forum - View Single Post - How-To-Guide: Colour code and mesh a mk2 grill

furioAL^m · 13th February 2007, 23:06

Here is a quick guide to colour coding and meshing a mk2 grill:

We start off with a standard front end - looking rather boring:

So we remove the grill from the car, easy as pie, 7 torx head screws on the inside of the bonnet, unclip it, and remove... Then take off the chevrons...by compressing the clips on the back...

We are now ready to start cutting out the slats... i use'd a dremel tool to get rid of the majority of the slats...(make sure you wear eye protection)

You need to cut out nearly all of the backing but leaving the edge frame... you also need to leave to two tabs at the top on each side... as these house the mounting screws to reattach the grill to the car...

I then decided to neaten it all up by seperating the backing from the front... in order to do this you have to drill out the plastic rivets that hold on the backing...

I then smoothed down all exposed edges to make it nice and smooth..(beware it's a messy task)

It is then time to sand down the front of the grill and the chevrons ready for paint... I used 1200 grit paper...

3 Layers of grey primer was applied to the surface... allowing time for it to become touch dry and being gently sanded between layers...

After leaving it for 24hours for the primer to dry it was ready for the first layer of paint

Make sure you allow the paint to dry before applying another coat, and the paint should be sanded between coats to avoid the orange skin effect...

Once three coats of paint have been applied, leave it to dry for 24hours and then it is ready for laquer...(make sure when using metallic paint that you apply Clear laquer...

I then prepared everything ready for the mesh

Then the mesh needs to be trimmed, leaving an overlap, you need to make sure that you don't cut off too much, remember you can trim more off but can't add anymore! You also need to trim out a whole so that you can still reach the bonnet release catch once the grill is fitted..

Once the mesh has been trimmed down accurately and fits the backing of the grill it is time to glue gun it in place...

Once the glue has set fit the backing back onto the front of the grill and glue gun the backing back on by regluing the plastic dowels... then refit the chevrons... IT IS NOW COMPLETE

and looking thoroughly sexy...

I will add pictures of it back on the car when it's daylight and not raining!

EDIT: Here are some pictures of it on the car, once all cleaned up

Update/Edit:

After having the grill on my car for several months i noticed the top had started to become a little loose... so i removed it, put my standard grill back on... and set to work on sorting out the grill..

I would now like to recommend that a glue gun is not used... or if it is used is supplemented with a different glue... as it may work loose over time... especially if the surfaces were not 100% dust free when applying....

I used 5minute epoxy resin, that is essentially a VERY strong version of araldite... that works on anything from marble, concrete, metal and plastics...

I peeled off the glue gun on the top of the backing, and have epoxy resin'ed it back on, and i can safely say it's not going anywhere

If you have glue gunned yours, please keep an eye on it... as i would hate for yours to work loose....
Hope that helps you guys!
Alex

13th February 2007, 23:06	#1
furioAL^m Forum Section Moderator Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Chinnor Posts: 3,941 Car(s): Audi A3 iTrader Score: 11 (100%)	How-To-Guide: Colour code and mesh a mk2 grill Here is a quick guide to colour coding and meshing a mk2 grill: We start off with a standard front end - looking rather boring: So we remove the grill from the car, easy as pie, 7 torx head screws on the inside of the bonnet, unclip it, and remove... Then take off the chevrons...by compressing the clips on the back... We are now ready to start cutting out the slats... i use'd a dremel tool to get rid of the majority of the slats...(make sure you wear eye protection) You need to cut out nearly all of the backing but leaving the edge frame... you also need to leave to two tabs at the top on each side... as these house the mounting screws to reattach the grill to the car... I then decided to neaten it all up by seperating the backing from the front... in order to do this you have to drill out the plastic rivets that hold on the backing... I then smoothed down all exposed edges to make it nice and smooth..(beware it's a messy task) It is then time to sand down the front of the grill and the chevrons ready for paint... I used 1200 grit paper... 3 Layers of grey primer was applied to the surface... allowing time for it to become touch dry and being gently sanded between layers... After leaving it for 24hours for the primer to dry it was ready for the first layer of paint Make sure you allow the paint to dry before applying another coat, and the paint should be sanded between coats to avoid the orange skin effect... Once three coats of paint have been applied, leave it to dry for 24hours and then it is ready for laquer...(make sure when using metallic paint that you apply Clear laquer... I then prepared everything ready for the mesh Then the mesh needs to be trimmed, leaving an overlap, you need to make sure that you don't cut off too much, remember you can trim more off but can't add anymore! You also need to trim out a whole so that you can still reach the bonnet release catch once the grill is fitted.. Once the mesh has been trimmed down accurately and fits the backing of the grill it is time to glue gun it in place... Once the glue has set fit the backing back onto the front of the grill and glue gun the backing back on by regluing the plastic dowels... then refit the chevrons... IT IS NOW COMPLETE and looking thoroughly sexy... I will add pictures of it back on the car when it's daylight and not raining! EDIT: Here are some pictures of it on the car, once all cleaned up Update/Edit: After having the grill on my car for several months i noticed the top had started to become a little loose... so i removed it, put my standard grill back on... and set to work on sorting out the grill.. I would now like to recommend that a glue gun is not used... or if it is used is supplemented with a different glue... as it may work loose over time... especially if the surfaces were not 100% dust free when applying.... I used 5minute epoxy resin, that is essentially a VERY strong version of araldite... that works on anything from marble, concrete, metal and plastics... I peeled off the glue gun on the top of the backing, and have epoxy resin'ed it back on, and i can safely say it's not going anywhere If you have glue gunned yours, please keep an eye on it... as i would hate for yours to work loose.... Hope that helps you guys! Alex __________________ My Guides: Mesh grill\|Smoked fogs\|Wheel refurb\|Angel Fitting Last edited by furioAL; 19th April 2007 at 23:27. Reason: Added pictures of it on car, polished up :y: