This is my tutorial on how to smooth out the front grille for all of those who dont like the stick "Scion" or the aftermarket bB . This is my option for you.

I'll start off like most do, and say I take no responsibility for how badly you screw up your car . I'm no fiberglass/body work expert and dont claim to be!

Also, disregard photo skills. I'm not good

Materials needed:



1. Stock Grille (I had an extra laying around incase I screwed up my original) ($40 used)
2. 40 and 120 Grit Sander paper *power sander is optional but recommended* ($5 for paper)
3. Bondo Fiberglass Repair Kit ($10)
4. Bondo Body Filler ($10)
5. Dremel to knock out high spots and cut out pieces
6. Spot Filler Primer, Gloss Black, and Clear Rattle Cans ($15)
7. Hard work and determination (priceless )
8. Masking Tape (not pictured)
9. Scissors



First step is to get your grille off. I have highlighted in red lines, the 3 pressure snaps you have to pry with a screwdriver to pop off. Once theyre off, the grille pulls straight up.

This is your grille now


The second part to this, is to get the "Scion" emblem off. To do this, squeeze the tabs on the back and it will come off. At this point, your grille should look like this:



Your next task will be to cut out pieces that will be high and not flow with the curves of the grille. You can see what I cut out on the next picture.



Next I masked off areas I didnt want to get fiberglass on. Pretty simple to do



Then comes fiberglass....
I have never worked with the stuff before so I bought just a simple repair kit. Along the side of the box it shows how to do that part. You basically cut a piece of fiberglass cloth with your scissors, and dip into the resin/hardener mixture you make. Then lay it upon your grille.



This may not look pretty, but its stronger than all get out. I laid 2 layers for strength. Then I laid one on the back for the reinforcement from behind.

Now you will move onto the part of sanding. This is where the labor comes in. You will have to sand away till its smooth across the top, and has a general shape of the bars within. Get it as close as you can. Then I recommend shooting a coat of primer over it all. It shows your mistakes and where work needs to be done.




You must then take bondo, and fill in spots that are low, and sand down the high spots. Bondo is fairly easy to work with. On the container it tells you how to mix it. Its fairly simple so dont be afraid. Its a lot like the fiberglass mixing. Easy stuff. Spread the bondo out over your low spots and let dry. Sand. Wash off. Sand some more. Wash. Then respray primer. It will continue to show you your mistakes. This is where I've found it really counts to take your time. Dont get discouraged. Take your time till its perfect! This took me about 6 retrys (I'm not good with bondo yet) but this is what I have:



Pretty huh

Throughout this process you should be using 40 grit. Once its fairly smooth, I used 120. Some might not recommend stepping up in grit that far, but it worked for me.

This is when I lay about 2 more coats of primer to make it even all across again.
Sweet huh? Youre about done.

Now I laid my gloss black down. Do light easy coats and it will look very clean and nicely done. I did about 6 light coats and its even across.

Take time in between each coat for it to dry. Then I shot some automotive clear coat. 6 coats of that also. Remember, do them lightly. Heres what it should look like.




Here it is on the car. Hope you enjoy this tutorial and put it to good use. Im not very handy and I did it okay. On a scale from 1-10 in difficulty, I'd say this is a 4 at most. This will take a couple days though of just little fixes to make it perfect.






Have fun modding!

Scott

 

Nice right up

 

very good write up...only seen one other person do this and didnt do a write up but good job!

 

looks pretty slick..

 

thanks to all it took about two days of on and off work. i like it a lot. its going to get color matched when i get the car repainted. i like it though. pretty cheap mod too.


scott

 

Awesome write up. Looks great!

 

Thank you very much


I'm also going to do make myself a DAMD grille outta stock too. I'll do a write up on that one too if theres any interest like there is on debadging the stock one.

scott

 

Looks great ! I now have a mission this weekend,wish me luck!

 

You know, I like the idea of the spare grill. In fact, I would do the work on that, then just put it on when it's all done. That way, your ride can be used while working on the grill.

Very nice write up, good pics.

 

Yep thats what I did. Drove around stock grille while I was working on the spare. Works nicely. So now my smoothed out grille will function why i work on the new one



scott

 

Looks good, Scott, and nice write-up, too.

(Is it just me, or does that grill cutout look like a terrified smilie???)

 

Yea it does! That's the some funny stuff!

 

Thanks Tom

it does a little. never noticed that.

 

Great write up!! No wI just have to find someone to sell me a used grill for less tean $150

 

Good Job man!!! look amazing, i like it a lot

i like tomas's mod too!

 

Someone with an xB RS2 needs to do that... The Solar Yellow freak smilie grille.

 

RS2s dont have this grille though. They have a mesh grille thats totally different. Good idea though.

Scott

 

Great write up. Nice contribution to SL. You've got me wondering how else this technology could be used. Thanks for taking a bullet for the rest of us.

That square smily always reminds me of that domokin(?) thing

 

Great writeup! My fiberglass is drying as I type. I'll put up pics in this thread when all is done.

 

sounds awesome !

on a sidenote, i decided i liked this one, but also wanted the DAMD style. so the one pictured was modified a lot and looks nothing of the same anymore. ill get pics of the new one up in a diff. thread when i get it all finished

scott