Colour coded grill surround... at last

[Johnny50]

I've actually got an old plastic storage basket/bin.

It's fairly wide, so the grill could lie flat, but would probably take 3-4 bottles of bleach to fill up to the level i need.

[sworrall]

so what would be the best way to remove the chrome, ive seem many ways suggested. also what is the best way to paint it? diy or body shop?

if you want to completely remove then the bleach seems to be the best way at the moment but it can take up to twoi weeks with a refill of bleach in between. you then have a coating you can slowly peel off or sand blast if you can get your hands on one.

However, there are quite a few on here that have gone over the chrome with acid etch primer and havent reported any problems yet

bodyshop or diy depends upon your experience i suppose. when i worked out the cost of a paint kit off the inerweb it came to about £35. a bloke my dad knows sprayed it up for £40 though so it was a no brainer for me as long as you can get a cheapish price.

[Johnny50]

So if using an acid etch primer, it wouldn't need rubbed down first ?

[sworrall]

So if using an acid etch primer, it wouldn't need rubbed down first ?

yup, it needs a bit of rough to adhere to

[rsbspt]

Looks good. Where did you source your mesh for the lower intake?

[Guest]

Looks good. Where did you source your mesh for the lower intake?

B&Q, of all places!

[Johnny50]

Excellent !

[rsbspt]

B&Q, of all places!

I like the (cheap) sound of that! Did it just press in place, or have you used some kind of fixings to attach it to the back of the grille?

[Guest]

I like the (cheap) sound of that! Did it just press in place, or have you used some kind of fixings to attach it to the back of the grille?

It wasn't cheap - it was about £22 for about 80cm square.

It's screwed into the back of the lower middle grill. You can actually see the screws if you look carefully either side at the bottom. I'm going to get some silicone to cover them up. If you look at the bottom of the grill on your own you will understand what I mean - you can screw into the finns.

[bahnstormer vrs]

Not sure about the colour coded mesh - I kind of like it as it is. I have got some spare mesh so may try spraying some up to see what it looks like.

Colour coded grille IS the way to be; and I'm sure it gives a more purposeful and stealth look to the car, which is then given more 'respect' by other drivers.

I have an idea to paint some mesh black and position it in front of the grille; am hoping to get this done on Sunday.

[Guest]

Colour coded grille IS the way to be; and I'm sure it gives a more purposeful and stealth look to the car, which is then given more 'respect' by other drivers.

I have an idea to paint some mesh black and position it in front of the grille; am hoping to get this done on Sunday.

I think unless you are very skilled, getting it positioned in front of the grill and looking neat would be near on impossible. Let us know how you get on though Guy!

I may try spraying up some of the remaining mesh in black and see. It might just blend in too much though and not have the same visual impact as it does now.

[Harry_vRS]

Looks fantastic matey.

[Guest]

Looks fantastic matey.

PMSL when I saw your sig

[bahnstormer vrs]

I think unless you are very skilled, getting it positioned in front of the grill and looking neat would be near on impossible. Let us know how you get on though Guy!

Well, got it done today.

Painted a section of mesh black and fitted it in front of the lower grille. I used some small black cable ties to secure the mid section and the ends of the mesh are simply wrapped back and around the end grille uprights.

here are a couple if pics;-

I'm really quite pleased with the result as it is really pretty discreet, you have to be fairly close to know the mesh is there and I know from previously having this mesh behind the grille it is really effective stopping stones etc getting through.

[Guest]

Well, got it done today.

Painted a section of mesh black and fitted it in front of the lower grille. I used some small black cable ties to secure the mid section and the ends of the mesh are simply wrapped back and around the end grille uprights.

here are a couple if pics;-

I'm really quite pleased with the result as it is really pretty discreet, you have to be fairly close to know the mesh is there and I know from previously having this mesh behind the grille it is really effective stopping stones etc getting through.

Bloody hell Guy that is discreet - I can't even see it !

Seriously though, I can just make it out but I don't think the pictures do it justice.

I'm going to leave mine as it is for the moment (i.e not spray it black) as it means it's more noticeable and adds to the menancing appearance!

[bahnstormer vrs]

Bloody hell Guy that is discreet - I can't even see it !

Seriously though, I can just make it out but I don't think the pictures do it justice.

I'm going to leave mine as it is for the moment (i.e not spray it black) as it means it's more noticeable and adds to the menacing appearance!

Photos taken about 9:00pm last night; not a huge amount of light to provide contrast and I've not seen it in full daylight yet. It might look different on a sunny day, but as you say; DISCREET.

Now that I know how easy it is to fix this, I might play around with a silver painted mesh, or even Red!

[Organist]

Smart as you like, that! :smokin:

[Guest]

By the way, has anyone else who has colour colded their grill surround had problems getting the surround to adhere back to the grill at the bottom where it is held in place with sticky pads? It may be that I have used rubbish sticky pads but it doesn't fit as well as it once did.

[dan_the_v8man]

thats spot on

[sworrall]

By the way, has anyone else who has colour colded their grill surround had problems getting the surround to adhere back to the grill at the bottom where it is held in place with sticky pads? It may be that I have used rubbish sticky pads but it doesn't fit as well as it once did.

yup, mines a bit rattly as i couldnt get stickies that were deep enough as the originals are about 5mm. you only notice it if you pull at it though so im living with it.

[Oli]

Just finished mine courtesy of parts from whoosh

Photos coming of the race blue finished job. Took the grill to my local bodyshop and spray place (actually 30ft behind my driveway) and they key'd and sprayed it for me. Spray job is pretty much perfect.

I know of a small bend in the badge but unless you got to the uncomfortable angles that only the owner would when he's pampering his car with expensive waxes and stuff you'd not see it.

Please excuse the dead bugs, not had a change to clean the car this week

[mdk1]

looks very nice.

[VRStu]

Wasn't sure if I'd like it in the blue but it looks stealthy.

[bahnstormer vrs]

...... but it looks stealthy.

definitely looks stealthy! good job.

Ought to be standard spec on the vRS IMHO.

[dan_the_v8man]

thanks oli, been waiting for some one to do a race blue one, wasnt confident enough to take the plunge with mine, but having seen that, i know what my next mod is going to be