BRZ front grille mod

[Drambeenie]

@tehShirt this doesn’t look too bad

[Brink]

Originally Posted by BirdTRD

Finally took the plunge. Lots of work but worth it. Thanks @BRZen for the inspiration!

Another mesh grille joins the club!

[BRZen]

Looks great against the silver!

[tehShirt]

Originally Posted by Drambeenie

@tehShirt this doesn’t look too bad

I agree, they did a good job. Would be interesting to see someone keep the mustache, but replace the horizontal bars with the honeycomb.

[Drambeenie]

Originally Posted by tehShirt

I agree, they did a good job. Would be interesting to see someone keep the mustache, but replace the horizontal bars with the honeycomb.

For sure. I'd like to keep the foam crash protection.

[BirdTRD]

Here's some more angles of the grill after I installed the plate re-locator. Something to keep in mind as you're lining up the grill to minimize the amount you have to cut away to install the post. I got lucky, only 1 horizontal needed to be removed.

[brehio]

Anyone willing to post a link to where they bought the mesh? Looks so so much better than stock imo. Seems like a cheap mod that really changes the look of the car. Both you guys said huge time consumer, but can it be done in one day? Also, what did you guys use to glue it to the bumper and how is it holding up on the roads?

Thanks

[Brink]

Originally Posted by brehio

Anyone willing to post a link to where they bought the mesh? Looks so so much better than stock imo. Seems like a cheap mod that really changes the look of the car. Both you guys said huge time consumer, but can it be done in one day? Also, what did you guys use to glue it to the bumper and how is it holding up on the roads?

Thanks

I got this mesh (16x48 black version):
https://www.customcargrills.com/prod...rod=Brick-Mesh

Looks like the other guys doing this got mesh in a different pattern, they're more of a honeycomb shape. Since mine is a '17 BRZ the front bumper is a bit different so there was no glue involved - I can't speak to what glue to use or how long that part of it takes. One thing to keep in mind though is you will most likely want to do something with the crash beam - paint, plasti-dip, something like that. It's ugly otherwise. Got my mesh grille done without doing anything to the crash beam at first and was happy with it for a bit before I got tired of looking at it and had the bumper taken off again to plasti-dip the crash beam. Here's a pic of a crash beam in stock form, before painting it. BirdTRD's post has a nice picture of the after, so you can see the mesh grille with a nice black crash beam like you'll probably want to go for.

[BirdTRD]

Originally Posted by brehio

Anyone willing to post a link to where they bought the mesh? Looks so so much better than stock imo. Seems like a cheap mod that really changes the look of the car. Both you guys said huge time consumer, but can it be done in one day? Also, what did you guys use to glue it to the bumper and how is it holding up on the roads?

Thanks

For the mesh I used https://www.ebay.com/itm/152828435566 the material itself is 1/4" thick. The "honeycomb" openings are 1-1/4" across and 1/2" high, which looks to be a bit larger than the one @BRZen used.

For the adhesive I used JB Kwik and you'll used most...if not all of the 10 oz size. https://www.amazon.com/J-B-Weld-8270...=jb+kwik+10+oz

I'll put some tips and lessons learned up in a bit.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by Brink

I got this mesh (16x48 black version):
https://www.customcargrills.com/prod...rod=Brick-Mesh

Looks like the other guys doing this got mesh in a different pattern, they're more of a honeycomb shape. Since mine is a '17 BRZ the front bumper is a bit different so there was no glue involved - I can't speak to what glue to use or how long that part of it takes. One thing to keep in mind though is you will most likely want to do something with the crash beam - paint, plasti-dip, something like that. It's ugly otherwise. Got my mesh grille done without doing anything to the crash beam at first and was happy with it for a bit before I got tired of looking at it and had the bumper taken off again to plasti-dip the crash beam. Here's a pic of a crash beam in stock form, before painting it. BirdTRD's post has a nice picture of the after, so you can see the mesh grille with a nice black crash beam like you'll probably want to go for.

why did did you plastidip the crash beam? isn't it just going to start peeling before too long?

Also, why are there all those tabs around the edge visible still?

[Brink]

Originally Posted by JoeC

why did did you plastidip the crash beam? isn't it just going to start peeling before too long?

Also, why are there all those tabs around the edge visible still?

Thought the plastidip would hold up better than paint against rock chips etc from road debris. It's just a thin coat so hopefully doesn't start to peel too quickly. The tabs are visible because that's actually what my mesh is attached to, it's not glued in like the others you've seen on here. The '17 bumper has the stock grille attached to those tabs and the grille just pops out so the mesh was basically just tied onto the tabs. Earlier model year BRZs wouldn't have had those tabs to begin with.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by Brink

Thought the plastidip would hold up better than paint against rock chips etc from road debris. It's just a thin coat so hopefully doesn't start to peel too quickly.

It's a paint that's marketed as easy to remove, I wouldn't expect too much.

Originally Posted by Brink

The tabs are visible because that's actually what my mesh is attached to, it's not glued in like the others you've seen on here. The '17 bumper has the stock grille attached to those tabs and the grille just pops out so the mesh was basically just tied onto the tabs. Earlier model year BRZs wouldn't have had those tabs to begin with.

I understand now. thanks for the clarification. I think I'd either paint the tabs black or trim them off entirely.

[pgranberg11]

Originally Posted by BirdTRD

Here's some more angles of the grill after I installed the plate re-locator. Something to keep in mind as you're lining up the grill to minimize the amount you have to cut away to install the post. I got lucky, only 1 horizontal needed to be removed.

this is interesting, i think i may have to do this to my brz now... My crash bar got replaced by a JDL bar and I do have a big fat intercooler.... so this may be a win win. lol

[BirdTRD]

Here are some tips for doing a good job.

Take your time cutting out the mustache and grill using a series of passes with the Dremel tool, first pass getting the bulk out of the way then subsequent passes to get the finished edge "perfect".

Use the right cutting bit...and a cut off wheel is not the right bit. (see pic below for correct bit)

Use 2 hands on the Dremel tool with the lower hand also braced against the material as it can and will walk on you. Practice on the scrapped mustache. I found that attacking the plastic at an angle (not 90 degrees) gives you more control. I also used several hand tools, (a rasp, file, sharp blade, sandpaper etc.) to get a clean, straight finished edge.

I used the actual bumper as my "mold" and used a heat gun and weights to get the mesh to form flush to the cut edge prior to gluing. Let the glue set up and cure with the weights still in place. JB Quik takes 6 minutes to set and 4-6 hours to cure so you have to work fast to apply it but let it fully cure before moving on.
Prep the inside surface of the bumper where the JB Quik will adhere. JB Quik doesn't "stick" well to smooth surfaces so besides cleaning the surface, gouge the crap out of it to give it some structure to grab onto. The honey combs on the mesh will serve as the structure on the grill half of things.

I initially glued the bottom edge of the mesh to the lower portion of the bumper cover but that interfered with black plastic "shelf" (for lack of a better word) that sits below the radiator/AC condenser and wouldn't let me install the lower bumper push pins as the holes didn't line up. I ended up cutting 20 mm off of the bottom of the mesh (as you see it in my pics) to allow that shelf piece (which is 20 mm thick) to slide under the mesh and allow the bottom pin holes to line up. I hope that makes sense.