Grill removal

[Mdawg0510]

ok ok, ive seen lots of posts about the grills and how the chrome is chipping and mine as the rest of yours is starting to do so as well. So i decided that i want to take it off and sand it down paint it like all black or silver or something just fix it. My only problem is i cant figure out how to get the damn thing offmy car. ive tried everything... well everything i can think of. Help .... please

[thealkimo]

using a small wrench undo the three bolts at the top of the grill's frame, then use delicate force to pull the plastic tabs on the bottom of the grill's frame out from the bumper...

[djsaltine]

10mm socket, maybe a flat head to help w/ the tabs

[michaels artic frost]

10mm socket and a lil of force like everyone said. I had such a hard time pulling my buddy's Gen 1 grille off this car. I didn't want to brake anything. After you remove the 3 bolts on top, give it a good pull from the bottom out towards you. This should do it. It was hard to put it back on too.

GL,
M

[returnofthedack]

just paint it on the car. lol..

lift your hood up, mask off the lights and front bumper, take it out of the wind, sand it down, and paint the grill while its on the car, thats what i did, and if ur careful like i was, no overspray at all

[1st Gen Sol]

You went through the trouble of covering up you headlights, bumper, hood and everything else by the grill when you painted your when all you had to do was remove 3 bolts and give the grill a lil pull......WOW......

The grill shouldn't be that hard to remove........I had no problem removing mine just the bottom is a lil pain in the @$$ because of how the grill slides into the grooves to lock in place.

Good luck with the grill and the paint job.

[TRAFFICBLOWS]

my "chrome" grill is chipping, too... medium sand paper will take off the rest of the chrome crap??

is there any special way or paint to spray the plastic afterwards?

[Mdawg0510]

alright one last question say i completely screw this up... how much will a new grill set me back?

[1st Gen Sol]

A new grill cost me $80 at the dealership before the 2nd Gen. Solara came out so it might be cheaper now. There was a few guys on the forum that had them for sale but I dunno if they still have them or sold them already.

Good luck with your grill.......

[TRD_solaRa]

alright one last question say i completely freak this up... how much will a new grill set me back?

Yea I agree with 1st Gen Sol . . . but if you wanna get it for a lil bit cheaper I would definitely check Ebay.com for any spare grills to work on. I did . . .

[Astro]

my "chrome" grill is chipping, too... medium sand paper will take off the rest of the chrome crap??

is there any special way or paint to spray the plastic afterwards?

I used 220, 400, and some 600 grit. You don't have to go that high, but I wanted to get it smooth. From here, I taped the slats, so I can just paint the former chrome areas and the emblem. Taping might take awile, but I think it looks much better this way (painting the whole thing flat black is very boring and upclose it's not appealing, IMO). Then, I put 2 coats of black primer, this will help ensure a good stick. Let that dry a couple of hours and proceed to lay down your paint (mine was black sand pearl). I put down 3 coats. Let that dry for at least a week, if you are in a warm/hot climate I think you could go a couple of days. Well, the longer the better. Last, put on the clear coat. I think I put like 4 or 5 coats, because that'll just be more protection for the paint. I let it dry an hour before I installed it.

Good luck!

[TRAFFICBLOWS]

Thanks for the tips, Astro! I agree- the two tone is a good effect. Good job on your grill... I was checking it out your www the other day.

[TRAFFICBLOWS]

Thanks for the tips, Astro! I agree- the two tone is a good effect. Good job on your grill... I was checking it out your www the other day.

[TRD_solaRa]

I used 220, 400, and some 600 grit. You don't have to go that high, but I wanted to get it smooth. From here, I taped the slats, so I can just paint the former chrome areas and the emblem. Taping might take awile, but I think it looks much better this way (painting the whole thing flat black is very boring and upclose it's not appealing, IMO). Then, I put 2 coats of black primer, this will help ensure a good stick. Let that dry a couple of hours and proceed to lay down your paint (mine was black sand pearl). I put down 3 coats. Let that dry for at least a week, if you are in a warm/hot climate I think you could go a couple of days. Well, the longer the better. Last, put on the clear coat. I think I put like 4 or 5 coats, because that'll just be more protection for the paint. I let it dry an hour before I installed it.

Good luck!

I like your process bro . . . I think I jus might put plenny coats of primer, paint & especially clearcoat jus to be safe

[Grazi07]

How do you guys feel about driving grille-less?