DIY Grill hack:
Okay, I love the look of the JDM grill, but I decided to create my own grill using the stock ’92 piece on my LX Accord and save myself about $200-$300.
Here’s what the stocker looked like:
Now, remove the grill and the chrome trim from it via the stainless screws on the backside…..get a hack saw:
This is what you should get, I opted to do it by hand for accuracy….didn’t want to destroy the thing with a power saw. Sand down all of the remaining tabs from the old center section by hand, because the blade alone will not provide a perfect finish after the cut is made:
When you hack out the center, both ends will look like this:
I used some JB weld to patch the two openings from the backside. This will make the ends much stronger, and provide a backing for the bondo added a few steps later. The material used to patch the holes was clipped from the center section remnants, tape them after applying the JB Weld:
Bondo up the ends the next day after the JB weld has setup, then sand them down:
This is the top molding with the emblem removed via hack saw….looks like this installed on the grill. You’ll need to patch it in a similar fasion, because now there are openings from the removal of the original material ( bottom/inside pic ):
Once all of the patching and bondo/spot putty has been applied and sanded down, wipe the entire surface to be painted with either paint thinner, or a degreaser for paint prep. I used a PPG product that I have in the shop. Then, shoot some primer….or in my case flat black paint:
Here is my grill installed, I plan on color matching it when I repaint the car:
**NEW** Added mesh wire to DIY Grill
Attached with copper wire to grill-trim screws
Enlarged cutout for hood-lever access, figured this might be important
Okay, I love the look of the JDM grill, but I decided to create my own grill using the stock ’92 piece on my LX Accord and save myself about $200-$300.
Here’s what the stocker looked like:
Now, remove the grill and the chrome trim from it via the stainless screws on the backside…..get a hack saw:
This is what you should get, I opted to do it by hand for accuracy….didn’t want to destroy the thing with a power saw. Sand down all of the remaining tabs from the old center section by hand, because the blade alone will not provide a perfect finish after the cut is made:
When you hack out the center, both ends will look like this:
I used some JB weld to patch the two openings from the backside. This will make the ends much stronger, and provide a backing for the bondo added a few steps later. The material used to patch the holes was clipped from the center section remnants, tape them after applying the JB Weld:
Bondo up the ends the next day after the JB weld has setup, then sand them down:
This is the top molding with the emblem removed via hack saw….looks like this installed on the grill. You’ll need to patch it in a similar fasion, because now there are openings from the removal of the original material ( bottom/inside pic ):
Once all of the patching and bondo/spot putty has been applied and sanded down, wipe the entire surface to be painted with either paint thinner, or a degreaser for paint prep. I used a PPG product that I have in the shop. Then, shoot some primer….or in my case flat black paint:
Here is my grill installed, I plan on color matching it when I repaint the car:
**NEW** Added mesh wire to DIY Grill
Attached with copper wire to grill-trim screws
Enlarged cutout for hood-lever access, figured this might be important
)
post pics when you get it all installed!
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