Had a go at this about three weeks ago, and so far the opinions are all positive, so here's a brief "how to" for all you budding diy modders...

STEP 1 - remove grill from car

I won't insult you by telling you how to do this

STEP 2 - dismantle grill

again, straightforward - it's in three pieces, slats, inner ring and outer ring. Most of it snaps apart by applying light pressure to the clips whilst pulling gently

Step 3 - discard slats, you should be left with this inner ring/grill

STEP 4 - remove Skoda badge - it's just stuck on with two plastic rivets on the back. grind or drill these out...

STEP 5 - using a hacksaw or dremel, cut across the top of the greill as shown, leaving a straight edge. Best to cut off less than you need 'cos you can always sand back, but adding material on is harder...

STEP 6 - using card and masking tape, fashion an "edge" to the cut part - to give the fibreglass matting something to form to

STEP 7 - from behind the grill, reinforce with fibreglass matting and resin. plenty of small sheets rather than one or two big ones, for extra strength

STEP 8 - once the fibreglass is dry, remove the tape and card, sand back to get a smooth edge, and apply bodyfiller to the crescent shape indent left by the top of the skoda badge

(sorry, forgot to take a pic of this stage)

STEP 9 - sand back the filler and paint. Remember, the more time you spend getting the finish absolutely flat, the better your finish will be. (Mine was a bit rushed, as I needed the car back on the road

Mesh application to follow. Got to go and get ready to go out...

Step 10 - cut the inner edge of the inner grill down by about 1mm (the edge indicated by the arrow). This is because the inner and outer grills overlap and there isn't enough space to accommodate the mesh unless you trim one or the other.

I used a dremel with a tiny cutting disc, but you could equally use a stanley knife if you have thick gloves/strong fingers...

OT but I have the same worktop in my kitchen

Step 11 - cut the mesh to size, overlapping the inner grill by about 5mm or so. Bend it carefully around the inner edge of the grill, and stick it in place with sikafelx or something equally sticky.

and from the front, once stuck

Step 12 - paint the mesh and grill again, and refit.

Simple:D

opinions/questions welcome....

Better than my lame attempt to explain, exactly how I did it except Ileft the badge on. Top job:thumbup:

Steve

Top how to mate!,

but what paint did you use and where did you get it?, also does just paint str8 onto the plastic?

cheers in advance

Looks good:thumbup::thumbup:

how do you open your bonnet now though i thought you had to cut a hole out for the lever?

bonnet is welded shut..all work done from below.

:

how do you open your bonnet now though i thought you had to cut a hole out for the lever?

Sorry could not resist:D

Steve

thats a good question actually mate, havent you got rid of the grill bit?

that is the strength to the hole thing, I have done mine and i cut the front bit out then put the mesh in and moulded it into shape so it is slightly rounded then clipped it all together again, all I had to do was glue the silver bit back in and glued the mesh round the edges, but mine still has the strength, have you done the same?

the bonnet lever pokes out the bottom of the grill when you release the catch - and it's still fairly strong!

I repainted it recently (after an "incident" with a claw hammer and the mesh...)