CSTMIZR Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Hey All, This is a bit of a "not-really-a-walkthrough" on the classic DIY Grill (plus FB match), the basics have already been covered repeatedly so I thought it not necessary to beat that horse....................... perhaps "chronicling" is a better word. This one was done for hutru01's LGT (Miracle Whip), he was looking to "flat black" the grill and smooth the "chrome strip step" (while also matching the fog light bezels). So,I figured If we were going flat, why not shoot for the stars and go for a "production part" look that would mimic "molded" plastic or "fine leather". This was done using the following: (Tools, grits and techniques vary for desired finish) OEM GRILL DREMEL (sanding drum attach.) COMPRESSOR PNUEMATIC GRINDER (50 grit) JIGSAW HEAT GUN ABS PLASTIC Loc-Tite Epoxy HD mesh (lumber aisle-ish, "gutter guard", ~2ftx6ft) Sand paper (60, 100, 150, 300, 000 steel wool) zip ties velcro Rust-oleum Flat Grey Spray Primer (initial) RO Flat Black Spray Paint Painter's Touch Flat Clear Enamel (texture) RO Crystal Clear Enamel (finish) PT Flat Grey Primer (final coat) PT Flat White (mesh) Bondo-Glass Bondo (regular) Probably forgot a bunch of stuff, but that's the jist. Note: Anywhere it says "coat of paint", its actually multiple light coatings. Enjoy. http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/mmm.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG2.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG3.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG4.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG5.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/ggg.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG7.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG8.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG9.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG10.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG11.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG12.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG13.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG14.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG15.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG16-1.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG17-1.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MWFG18.jpg Notes before post: Regardless of the finish choice, the fill/prep work remains roughly the same, but the final steps vary. You can not achieve this finish with "of the shelf" textured paints Here's a link to the DIY lower grills: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61843 Matt, put up some day pics. Feel free to query. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewLegGT67 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Nice work. Looks really good. Great write up. Now get some pictures in the daytime. I'm probably the only person that has Wu-Tang Clan and Paul McCartney on their mp3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutru01 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Day pics added to post #15 on page 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spec B Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Great job and great walkthrough. I initially used textured paint when I did my grill and it looked great...until I washed the car a few times. When I dried the grill with a terry cloth towel, the small strands of towel were snagged by the texture in the paint. Ended up looking dull and full of tiny strands of cloth from the towel. I ended up sanding it down and used a plain low sheen smooth paint.. Keep in mind that I initially used the plain ole textured paint in a can, and I did not do the great paint layering you did. Yours looks great though, and I am sure you will not run into the same problem. I just wanted to let the lazy people (like me) know that you can't just spray on the textured paint and expect great results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Looks great. Very extensive prep and paint process! I think the Miracle Whip will look best with the grille mesh blacked out upper and lower though... blends in better with the black hood scoop hole, black bezels and (soon to be) blacked out headlights. Just my .02$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutru01 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 ^^^^^ We originally had the grille mesh done in black and you couldn't see it at all. The white makes it stand out more. Plus the car being white, We figured it would set it off.....You will see a bigger difference when I post daytime pics later. Ok, gotta get back to work.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gire Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Ahhh, yeah, fine mesh disappears when black. You are right. The RBS folks went through a few mesh designs a couple of years back before they found a mesh that stood out when powdercoated black. Their mesh is pretty chunky and spaced out. Looking forward to more pics when ready! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bear Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Looks good, it will look better once it's Black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutru01 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 ^^^^^ read previous post....Its not visible when its black....trust me, just wait until you see the before and after pics.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew.anderson Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I agree, your write up is amazingand the grill looks amazing. For all that work though I will spend the money to get one. As great as that grill looks I do not have the time or patients to accomplish that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSTMIZR Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 Here's a quick comparison of the white vs. black mesh. In person the choice was obvious. With the black it had too much depth and looked kinda silly With the white it gave a nice "stop" to the visual recession into the engine bay and gives a real classy/clean look .Its kinda like the black spiderman suit, the color is leaching in to the openings from the panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSTMIZR Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 I agree, your write up is amazingand the grill looks amazing. For all that work though I will spend the money to get one. As great as that grill looks I do not have the time or patients to accomplish that. Thanks Yeah, I'll admit its definately not for the "weak-of-modding" (read: only crazy people would do this). It was a bit of a headache to go the way I did, but the end result is a one-off part that you couldn't get anywhere else. It took several hours (dozen or-so including drying times) and IT WASN'T EVEN FOR MY CAR!!! Oh well, I really enjoy to build and mod (its how I relax) and I was very pleased with the final product. The unique finish made it worth it and I was "vacationing" so I figured..... why not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimbeaver Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 nice! thats what i did with my grill too... took down that step. looks a hell of a lot nicer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandonhope16 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 ^^^Generally, people don't curse that much when they are "relaxing". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutru01 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I resized these in imageshack to fit the forum. You will see why the white mesh works out so much better due to shadowing. Btw, it is a flat white, I didn't want my grill to shine at all. http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2458/picture005yt5.jpg http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/2575/picture006mm3.jpg http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/3572/picture012wf3.jpg http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/7585/picture013mr9.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutru01 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Here is the B4 symbol that is going in the bottom right http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/5116/b4emblemsj5.jpg Also, here is a before and after picture for comparison. http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/2660/stockvsmoddedgrilliy0.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobE Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Looks sweet mang. Can you get some pics from a little further away? http://newenglandsubarus.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutru01 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 ^^^^^ I will take some more "uber" shots when I get her cleaned up this weekend. Thats a promise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobE Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Sweet! And I think you should paint thesupport behind the grille \/ black for it blends in. http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2458/picture005yt5.jpg http://newenglandsubarus.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutru01 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 ^ To be painted this weekend....I am just glad I am not grill-less anymore..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew.anderson Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 Sweet! And I think you should paint thesupport behind the grille \/ black for it blends in. +1, That is some great advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobE Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 +1, That is some great advice! thats all i ever have. http://newenglandsubarus.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew.anderson Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 thats all i ever have. That and your modesty. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jingjing Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 looks great, nice job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutru01 Posted June 1, 2007 Share Posted June 1, 2007 Hey guys, here are some updated pics of the subgrill paint job and B4 badging. We'll throw up some better ones soon. I am gonna do a detail this weekend so I will be sure to get some good shots from a distance. http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MW1.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MW2.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MW3-1.jpg http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x215/CSTMIZR/MW4-1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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