How to install mesh in any grille opening

Remove any material in the opening you are going to place your mesh or grille.  Some people prefer the design of mesh, and it gives a custom look when replacing a factory grille/opening. 

Trim your mesh at least 1 inch beyond the opening your are going to fill.  Trimming wire mesh can get a Little tricky, be sure to wear gloves or expect cuts.

After you have your pieces the right size for your openings, its time to mount the tabbing material.  Using tabs will allow the mesh to be removed if the need arises.  How often do you think you will remove it?  Clue it on without the tabs and find out.

Cut each wire about 2 inches in length, bend in a U and twist like your closing bread.  Don't fold the wire, you will need a nice loop for the adhesive to bite to.

Cut or tear a piece of tape, we use duct tape, but any wide tape will do.

Place your looped tab on the tape.  Now you need to get the surface of your opening ready.  Each area that you plan on placing the tab will need to be scuffed so the adhesive will stick properly.  We use a piece of 80 grit sand paper.  Scrub each area, wipe the dust off carefully, clean the surface using a damp cloth (we use a chemical cleaner), the damp cloth will help remove the dust.  You can use compressed air and blow it off, but we figured you were probably in your driveway and may not have one.  If you use a damp cloth, make sure to dry it before placing the tab with adhesive.

Now allow your tabs to dry, depending on what type of adhesive you used, we recommend a few hours, over night is best.  Adhesive must be dry, when you bend your tabbed wires over the mesh to hold it on, its going to take some pressure.  Below you will find a list of suggested adhesives, each having pros and cons, but all will work.

We recommend placing the tabs about 7 inches apart around the openings, closer for smaller openings.  Note:  Some front bumper reinforcements set very close to the kit openings, you may have to trim some material to get the mesh over the tabs so you can bend them.  Its the bending of the tabs that will hold the mesh in place.  Installing mesh like this will allow you to unbend and remove later if need be.

We recommend galvanized mesh for strength.  Aluminum looks great for a while but it will loose its sheen.  Galvanized mesh actually get brighter with age and is much stronger.  The slightly more rigid nature of the material we use will add strength too the bumper.  We are also experimenting with different patterns of the same materials.  We will keep you posted when we find one with a decent look.

Tips:  You can trim a piece of card board and insert it into the opening your are trying to fill, after some trial and error, you can use the card board to trim your mesh.  Lay it flat, get some snips and some gloves and start trimming.  Always use gloves when trimming this type of material, its not whether or not it will cut you, its when it will cut you.  Painting to get some color is an option for this material, but the galvanizing will require some prep.  Mix some vinegar and water (about 50/50 or 1 to 1) into a spray bottle and spray the parts liberally, it will etch the material, rinse, dry, prime and then paint any color you want.  If your going black, just get an etching primer, it will save you a step.

Adhesives we have tried and work well

• Body Filler (bondo) - tricky to use, dry time is an issue if your not familiar with mixing the hardners.
• Liquid nails - Works well and can be found in any hardware store.
• Fiberglass (everglass/tiger hair) - same as using the bondo, dry times can be tricky
• Glue gun - If you hurry.  Dry times can be an issue here as well.
• Maybe you can comment and let us know what you used and how it worked for ya.

Place your trimmed mesh over your tabs, bend them over and your done.

Below you will find the step by step slide show that will help you get a visual, sometimes this is more helpful then reading, specially with my writting skills (ha ha).  The slide shows are updated with pictures each time we post to that album using Picasa (Picasa Rocks btw).  Used properly Picasa saves many hours managing and utilizing images.