Vahkil Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 EDIT 6-15-07: If the images are not shown in this post, they can be viewed in the following posts: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1220645&postcount=300 http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1220647&postcount=301 Well I decided to fill the gaps in my DIY Grille that I did about six months ago. I took SuperhawkLGT's advice in this thread to go about filling: http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27081 Over the past 6 months everytime I post a picture, I get a lot of questions about how I made my grille. Well I hope with this post, I can kill two birds with one stone and show those who are interested how it is put together and how to fill the gaps. Vámonos! The required materials for filling: -Bondo auto putty/filler -Aluminum Screen Repair Mesh (or actual screen) -Bondo Glazing and Spot putty -Dremel -Sandpaper -Primer -Paint of your choice http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/01.jpg I am not going to go through the process of making the grille. You will just have to infer that from the following pics. I am a first time Bondo user, so this was a learning experience. Lesson 1: Work in small batches. This stuff cures FAST. The filling: I cut pieces of screen a little larger than the size of the gaps and then Bondo'd them to the backside. Working in small batches of Bondo, I gradually filled in the gaps using the screen as a foundation. I made sure to feather the Bondo out past the edge of the gap, so I could later sand it down flush. Pics follow: http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/02.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/03.jpg Below is a picture of the mesh I used in my first grille. It is a 0.99c piece of aluminum gutter guard cut to fit the shape. I removed the piece on the bottom because it is unnecessary now because I will have filled the gap that it was there to cover (kind of the whole idea of this job!). http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/04.jpg The next pic shows how the emblem is attached to the mesh. I epoxied two nuts (hehe) to the back of the emblem and then bolted it to the mesh. I then smeared epoxy all over the bolt so it will not come free. It's been on there 6 months and is still going strong. http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/05.jpg Now, I have a silver car, and I like the look of the chrome trim (plus I didn't want to have to sand that crap off), so I masked the chrome and painted only the interior plastic piece: This pic shows the grille primed: http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/06.jpg I used a metallic black Rustoleum paint for the final color. It matches the color of the OEM plastic PERFECTLY. I was truely impressed: http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/07.jpg I removed the masking tape and checked the finish. Pretty good. The following pic shows how I anchored the mesh to the backside of the grille. I drilled holes in the structural supports and then attached the mesh with plastic zip-ties. This makes it very easy to remove the mesh for future reasons (glad I did not epoxy the mesh to the grille or I would not have been able to do this alteration as easily): http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/08.jpg Following are pics of the finished product and finally pics of it mounted: http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/09.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/10.jpg continued due to image restriction... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahkil Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/11.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/12.jpg -V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/12.jpg Bwhahahahhahahaaaa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scans007 Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Great walkthrough man.......I might try it with my extra grille........ Love my RBS grille....... But if I do this I bet I can sell it faster then leaving it stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franklin Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Wow. Looks great.Thanks for the walkthru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legasee Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Wow. Looks great.Thanks for the walkthru +1 In Taiwan now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RADON Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Looks great. I'll be doing this mod soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franklin Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Thats what should have been stock. The "chrome mustashe" never did belong. Looks to Ford Tarus / Camry stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 http://home.comcast.net/~locdogg/Car/12.jpg I love it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_m Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 hehe :D this may be my easter project... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_rex Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 i love my rbs. i'd pay the $$ any day rather than waste a valuable saturday playing with bondo in my driveway. $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahkil Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 i love my rbs. i'd pay the $$ any day rather than waste a valuable saturday playing with bondo in my driveway. $0.02 But how many days did it take to earn the money for the RBS? There is something to be said about the satisfaction of DIY jobs too. Like my father says, "I'm usually not happy on the weekends unless something is broken and needs fixing." There are some people who buy the pre-built and painted model cars and there are some people who buy the box of plastic parts, glue and paint. To each his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_m Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 other than your time, how much money did you spend vahkil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahkil Posted March 6, 2006 Author Share Posted March 6, 2006 other than your time, how much money did you spend vahkil? mesh - $1 primer - $3 paint - $5 masking tape - $3 bag of 40ct zip-ties - $2 Bondo - $5 screen repair kit - $2 Bondo glaze filler - $2 sandpaper - $1 plastic putty knife - $1 nuts & bolts for attaching emblem - $0.50 so... about $25 if you own a Dremel and do not own any of the above supplies $60 if you need to buy a Dremel (excellent excuse to buy a Dremel... awesome little tool) I don't believe I forgot anything aside from needing some standard household hand tools like pliers and wire cutters and a drill for holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeracer Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Where do you buy the bondo etc.?? Auto store? "Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 There's satisfaction in doing it yourself that you don't get when you buy one pre-made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahkil Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 Where do you buy the bondo etc.?? Auto store? Hardware store: Lowe's, Ace's, Truevalue etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlabs Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Rockage! Awesome DIY job, man! Wish I saw this a few weeks ago - when I was on a 2-week vacation! -=- Livin life at 140 BPM -=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterJMC Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 This is awesome... I think I'll do this to my grille and sell off my RBS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REM87O Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 My local Wal-Mart has Bondo. I think most Pep Boys/AutoZone type places have it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudfoot Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 great job Got Torque ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibjer Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Excellent writeup, since I have already started to "mod" my grill I have go full out with this. Looks awesome! '20 Legacy XT Touring 13 Subarus and counting: http://jmaigroup.com/subarus/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_m Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 wonder if you could do the spats and front lip in bondo as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperhawkLGT Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Vahkil, awsome job! Check out mine painted in my thread. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27081 Lets see a pic of yours further away, of the whole car. I won't be installing mine till spring when all the nasty rocks and sand is gone from the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallispec Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 looks great.. Bondo looks easier to use than i would have expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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