ZXdude

i hate you

took me ~2 hours to get mine done. just finding out how to find the measurments is a PIA. and my arm is all cut up and i sliced my index finger. only noticed b/c there was a drop of blood on the car and some on the silver grille. and i'm not really liking the look of my zip ties. any tips?

PICTURE 1

Picture 2

and that little stip behind the license plate. I probably spent a half an hour on it, only to give up.



Chris

KiLIAkLoWn

Dude you need a Trenz grill!!! http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....1&goto=newpost

GROUP DEAL!!

cooler2000

Chris, in my opinion it looks a bit cheesey. If I were you, I would remove it asap, it only cheapenes your car.

Weasel

iTrader: (2)

I agree... it just didn't come out well. The mesh is too thin and it warps. There's a guy who posted pics recently of his 95 or 96 with the SMX grill that did the mesh thing to perfection. It's the only one I've ever liked.

Xtreme5053

Get some clear corners from custommaxima.com, if they have them in, that'll look really good on the black, i think they were bad pictures, i didnt' think the grille looke too bad, just my opinion

ZXdude

lol... it looks that bad huh $140 is alot of money for something i don't like. atleast i made my attempt. (and atleast it isn't permanent)


P.S. can i keep the bottom

JeepRage

iTrader: (1)

i did my grill... try using SMALL zip ties, and go more towards the edge... you did it right in the middle with huge ones... some people have used fishing line too... give it another try, the hardest part is done..

Hall

ZXdude

already off. I value the opinion of maxima.org members. Thanks to those of you who told me it was <lame>

tunedup

make ur zip ties the colour of the grille
in tha case get white ties and paint them silver.
and also i had my ties goin in the same direction ad the metal

ie.. the metal is in a horizontal pattern... stick to that dont make it vertical..
might help
i have pix .. lemme know

MaxMoJo

iTrader: (43)

What I did was take some newspaper, shove it into the area where I wanted the mesh and kept folding and taping until I had the shape. Then I used that as a guide to cut out the mesh.. as far as tying it on, i used some wire that I stripped and was silver inside to tie it into place. you can do that without applying too much pressure but still holding it in place so you dont warp it.

Anachronism

I used cardboard to find the shape, I just kept trimming it till it fit.

I did just the lower portion and the part behind the licese plate. I put mine in front of the vertical bars in the lower portion, but now that I see yours I might change it. The white zip ties on mine are barly noticable, use the narrowest ones you can find. I was going to paint the zip ties but the are so hard to see I probably won't bother. For me the mesh in the upper grill is too much.

I like the look of the mesh better than the Trenz Grills. If Street Scenes makes a mesh valance and behind the licence plate grill for the 97-99 that is reasonable priced and looks better than the gutter mesh I would buy one.

Sprint

iTrader: (10)

I love it.. put it back

ZXdude

Ditto. The Trenz grills are not my style and the stillen one doesn't fit my maxima (costs too much anyways) It'd be nice if someone mass produced the mesh grilles and sold them for under $40 (with a way to attach them other than zip ties )

ZXdude

alright, going to try again. What type of paint should i buy? do they make white poxy? should i get clear coat for it too?

KWheelzSB

iTrader: (1)

Are you talking about paint/clear for the grilles? -or for the Zip ties as someone suggested? (I'm not sure about that, unless you were to spray the front of the zip-ties after installation, but to each his own). Personally, I used 22 gauge galvanized wire for mine, as it is colored the same as the grille material & was pretty inconspicuous after installation. I like the fishing line idea though: I may re-secure mine that way, because although the "wire" can't be seen on the front/outside of the grilles, it can be seen leading into the openings to the mounting points in the back of the openings (if the sunlight hits it at the right angle). This is because the wire is shiney and the background of the openings is black.

I actually painted & clear-coated my grilles before installation. (I didn't care for the "shiney" bare metal look.) Also, when picking out the raw material, avoid using the 100% aluminum material, because after experimenting, I found it was too thin and pliable to hold a flat shape when put in place or when pressure from zip-ties, wire, or fishing line was applied to hold it in place. Instead, look for something called "aluminized steel." This is a steel mesh with an aluminum coating for corrosion resistance. You can either buy it in the big sheets like the 100% aluminum mesh, or it is sold in 3-5 packs that are pre-fitted for gutter-size. Btw, these usually come with a bend in them, which you'll need to roll-out (I used a coffee-can) so the material is flat before you start measuring/cutting.

This was the best material in my opinion, b/c it was sturdy, and even after much bending and shaping, the aluminized coating did not seem to crack or flake away - just the same, I decided since it was steel underneath, I would paint and clear it for corrosion protection, too.

I used the following paints, commonly available at Home Depot, or your favorite home improvement store:

Paint: Rust-oleum Premium "Bright Coat" Metallic Finish
Clearcoat: Rust-oleum "Crystal Clear Enamel"

I also used a Dremel rotary tool to cut the mesh - I highly recommend this tool for a job like this. (Use eye protection, 4-sure!)

Also, to whoever suggested the cardboard idea for working the template in to fit: BRAVO! I wish I had thought of that. (I've got a couple little nicks in the paint from fitting the mesh before it was completely finished - use of a cardboard template for fitting would have prevented this.

Btw, to the 1st timers: don't be disillusioned by people who claim they got this job done in 15-30 minutes. They may have, but the end result will likely show it. I spent several hours shaping, fitting & painting my grilles until I was satisfied with the look (I'm a perfectionist, you see).

P.S: I don't have pictures yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to post.

Best of luck to you all!

KWheelzSB

iTrader: (1)

Are you talking about paint/clear for the grilles? -or for the Zip ties as someone suggested? (I'm not sure about that, unless you were to spray the front of the zip-ties after installation, but to each his own). Personally, I used 22 gauge galvanized wire for mine, as it is colored the same as the grille material & was pretty inconspicuous after installation. I like the fishing line idea though: I may re-secure mine that way, because although the "wire" can't be seen on the front/outside of the grilles, it can be seen leading into the openings to the mounting points in the back of the openings (if the sunlight hits it at the right angle). This is because the wire is shiney and the background of the openings is black.

I actually painted & clear-coated my grilles before installation. (I didn't care for the "shiney" bare metal look.) Also, when picking out the raw material, avoid using the 100% aluminum material, because after experimenting, I found it was too thin and pliable to hold a flat shape when put in place or when pressure from zip-ties, wire, or fishing line was applied to hold it in place. Instead, look for something called "aluminized steel." This is a steel mesh with an aluminum coating for corrosion resistance. You can either buy it in the big sheets like the 100% aluminum mesh, or it is sold in 3-5 packs that are pre-fitted for gutter-size. Btw, these usually come with a bend in them, which you'll need to roll-out (I used a coffee-can) so the material is flat before you start measuring/cutting.

This was the best material in my opinion, b/c it was sturdy, and even after much bending and shaping, the aluminized coating did not seem to crack or flake away - just the same, I decided since it was steel underneath, I would paint and clear it for corrosion protection, too.

I used the following paints, commonly available at Home Depot, or your favorite home improvement store:

Paint: Rust-oleum Premium "Bright Coat" Metallic Finish
Clearcoat: Rust-oleum "Crystal Clear Enamel"

I also used a Dremel rotary tool to cut the mesh - I highly recommend this tool for a job like this. (Use eye protection, 4-sure!)

Also, to whoever suggested the cardboard idea for working the template in to fit: BRAVO! I wish I had thought of that. (I've got a couple little nicks in the paint from fitting the mesh before it was completely finished - use of a cardboard template for fitting would have prevented this.

Btw, to the 1st timers: don't be disillusioned by people who claim they got this job done in 15-30 minutes. They may have, but the end result will likely show it. I spent several hours shaping, fitting & painting my grilles until I was satisfied with the look (I'm a perfectionist, you see).

P.S: I don't have pictures yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to post.

Best of luck to you all!

RidinOnChrome

get rid of the zip ties and epoxy it in!

ZXdude

Dude!! you answered all my questions and gave me tips on what to to do better it. Thanks!!!

Chris

KWheelzSB

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RidinOnChrome
get rid of the zip ties and epoxy it in! [/QUOTE


Not to dis your idea, just an alternative point of view:

I think epoxy is too permanent for this application.

Say you get a heavy stone hit or other damage on a section of grille that needs to be replaced - then, you have to remove it to replace it, but it's epoxied in place. So, you start to remove it & maybe you take paint with it, maybe you don't. And think about the ratty-edged epoxy mess left on the outside of the opening if you do get the grille removed sucessfully. That might be a pretty difficult surface to prep.

-Grilles of any design or fabrication need to be secure, but should be easily removable, imho.

My .02 cents

KWheelzSB

iTrader: (1)

Glad to help Chris. Someone did the same thing for me as I did for you, and so it shall be with all the Jedi ranks to follow, I'm sure. That's what we're all here for!

Best of luck.

RedMax95

wtf? where did my post go? oh well, heres what i said anyway: i was among the first to do this to the 97-99 front, but i didnt do the top bc i didnt like the way it would look, i did do the bottom rather easily with 0 complications, i left instructions all over the board, pics can be seen
here

phatmax95

iTrader: (29)

if any of you are interestd in buying one of these grilles.. well, go to this thread theres more details there...
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....threadid=94613

Supermachoman

Mine took me ~5 hrs.