dwo

I really like the look of the Grillecraft grilles and tried to make my own version of it. Let me know what you think. I'll take pics of it on my truck tomorrow once the paint dries if anyone wants to see.

Ballin STX

Cant wait to see the final look on the truck.. I dig the mesh grills as well but not gonna drop 200$ on something i can make my self.

dwo

My thoughts as well. The total price was less than $20 bucks. The most expensive thing was the rubberized undercoating. Well, that and the mountain of cut off wheels my dremel went through cutting and recutting the expanded metal. I guess thats part of it when you don't own a cutting torch ha

f150skidoo

That looks a hell of a lot better than i invisioned from the title.

JHan90F150

No kidding! Looks like something you buy in a store! Haha.

dwo

If anyone wants I can do a write up on it. I took some pics while doing it. It was pretty simple.

Fx4-Michael

Please do, that grille looks great. Nice work

dwo

Ok, First remove the grille. 10mm ratchet and about 8 bolts. There are lots of write ups about this.You can leave the honeycomb portion attached to the chrome trim or remove it. I removed it for my build. If you do remove it make sure you are very careful not to break the plastic tabs off that are holding the grille in place since this mod uses all factory fasteners.


I started with cutting out my factory honeycomb section. You can use the bend as a guide for cutting. I used a box cutter, would have been much quicker with a dremel or something but I don't have that much confidence in my dremel abilities.

After you get the honeycomb removed it will leave a lip that will be used to attach the expanded metal to the crome trim. I used the crome piece to make an outline on the metal to cut out the grille insert. I got the metal at a local place. I bought a 4ftX2ft piece and that is enough to make a top grille and make an insert for the bottom bumper as well. Using the top of the metal sheet as the top of the widest part of the insert will save you some cutting and you know the top will be straight.
*Using the chrome portion as an outline will make a cutout that is slightly bigger than the area you need. You will have to make more cuts but it was easier for me to see the shape then trim as needed.

After you get the metal cut to size just lay it on the lip of the grille where you removed the honeycomb. I just glued and clamped the metal to the grille and let it set overnight. You could probably make some brackets but I think gorilla glue should suffice. I guess time will tell. If you took the grille apart I would suggest putting the grille back together before you glue since the plastic will be flexible without the honeycomb and you want to make sure there is a good fit.Glue and leave overnight. I used rubberized undercoating for the paint. I chose it over the spray on bed-liner just because I like the finish on the undercoating better. If you want a glosser finish, use the bed-liner then do a couple coats of plastidip with a clear coat finish.

Hope this helps anyone trying to make a mesh grille. Let me know if you have any questions. I like how mine turned out and & $20 bucks sure beats 250. I am considering cutting out a section at the top and doing the raptor grille light mod but havent decided yet.

chocolateskwlbuss

gotta pic of it on the truck? or is the glue still drying?

18_F-150_XLT_Screw

iTrader: (1)

Sweet! This is exactly what I've been wanting to do, now you've given me the motivation to do it.