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Making a Custom Mesh Grill
What
do you need?
- Philip screw driver.
- Slot screw driver.
- 10mm socket and ratchet.
- 3 feet of gutter guard. You could get a whole roll for $2.47. I prefer the
thinner type because it's easier to work with.
- A strong pair of scissors which I forgot to include in the pic.
Update: Do not use the material that comes in a roll since it is too soft. Use the one with hinges. You will find it's about .5" short. You can solder a little piece to it to make up the shortage.
Procedure
First, pop the hood and remove these bolts with 10mm socket.
Use a flat head screw driver to press down the tab on upper side of these latches. Carefully pull out the whole piece and set it on something soft (rags, carpet, etc.) so you don't get the outer trim scratched.
Remove all the screws on the back of the piece except for those that hold the "wing".
Cut 3 ft of gutter guard and set it on top of the grill piece. Try to align it careful so that it would cover the entire grill piece.
Put the Acura symbol back and keep it in place with 2 screws. Don't tighten the screws all the way. We'll need to adjust the screen later.
Cut the extra
mesh with a strong pair of scissors leaving about 1/4in bigger than the grill
piece. Be careful with the mesh edge, it's sharp.
Be sure that you don't cut the mesh much bigger than the piece or not big
enough. Bigger=problem with fitting the outer trim back. Not big enough=the mesh
will not be held in place tightly by the outer trim.
Put the outer trim back on and secure it with the screws that you removed earlier.
Put the whole piece back and secure it the nuts that you removed earlier.
Done.
Part cost $3.00
Labor 30-60min
The good feeling seeing your D-I-Y (do-it-yourself) job: Priceless
NOTE: If you want to paint the mesh, do all the steps first so you can fit the mesh back easily after you paint it. Then remove the mesh and paint. That way you wont get your new paint job scratched while trying to fit the mesh on the piece.