I just recently bought my second 4th gen, the 99 gle. Yesterday I installed "chrome" mesh in the front.
The first two (obvious) applications were the two middle openings in the bumper.
After that I came up with the mesh over the foglights idea. The main reason for it is the fact that my left one has a hole in it (probably from a rock) and new OEM replacements are quite expensive. I painted the inside reflective part with chrome paint, cause it was starting to chip and rust and patched the lens cover with spare pieces of clear plastic. A little ghetto, but you can barely see there was anything wrong through the mesh. It will also provide a little protection for the future and looks cool IMO.
What' you think?

 

Eh, doesnt look right. From a slight distance (1st pic) it makes the fogs look cloudy. But if you like it, go for it...



Eric

 

I am not a huge fan of the fogs. I like the grill okay though.
I don't understand the logic though. You are getting JDM Black clears with the chrome mesh. It just doesn't seem like they line up. I mean, you get those clears to blend in with the car, and then you get that mesh to "bling" it out and make it stand out.

 

Well, I went JDM on the turnsignals, because I am waiting for my clears to arrive. Just experimenting, but I actually like the black look. I went a little too dark though (just used regular black paint), so when clears arrive I am gonna see which looks better.

Regarding the fogs, the main purpose of this setup is to conceal the broken one and protect them for the future.
99max5spd, I can see your point, but in real life they look better than in photo.

 

here is a shot in brighter light

 

i did the same ting for mine but for the top part is the mesh behind the bumper or in the hole? i could never get that part rite,

 

Looks good man

 

looks good to me, might reduce the effectiveness of the fogs a little bit but it still looks good

 

The mesh is in the hole, inserted from the front.
The way I did it is cut it a little wider than the opening, bend it on something round like a brumstick for example and then fit the thing into the hole. It will look much better that flat IMO.
Keep in mind that the sides of the opening are not flat either, so in order for it to fit good, you have to cut the sides at the same pitch as the opening and round off the edges to match.
Cut it longer and keep trimming untill you have the right fit. Just take your time and try not to scratch the bumper too bad.

Thanks Conrad.

 

I agree with 99maxima5spd, it kind of makes the fogs look dull. I bet it makes a wicked shadow when they are on. ha ha

I just don't like the way that the front of the Maxima looks without the lenses showing in the bumper. I don't know. I am not just saying this about yours, Maciek, but others too. I think stock is better than not being able to seen them at all.

That's cool, Maciek. I understand why you did the chrome grill mesh now. It will probably look really good with the clears that you get.
Let's see when you get them...

 

Thanks. I doubt it would be a noticable difference.

 

i like how it looks. if it were my car however i would paint the mesh black

 

Then it would totally dissapear in the black car. It would kind of defeat the purpose.
I think your idea could work if the mesh was thicker with bigger openings, and flush with the front surface.

 

that would be my point i guess. thats how it is on my car

 

tanx, why dont you do the top also? neways i didnt even notice the bumper lights looks nice

 

I agree...I painted my mesh black. I don't want that chicken wire to stand out...I only put it there to hide the exposed brackets when I got my stock fogs stolen.

Why does everyone on the org think black or smoked clear corners are JDM?!?! Unless it is a part standard on cars in Japan it is not JDM you only make yourself look like a ricer by calling it JDM.

 

i think when they say jdm clear corners they are just referring to the style being jdm not true jdm. i catch myself doing it sometimes, people just think of them as being jdm because typical jdm lights for say hondas are usually blacked out on the insides.

 

i like it man....

 

Thanks Torgus and everyone elso for your opinions (positive or negative).
You know, the more I look at this setup, the more I like the blacked out turn signals. It sort of makes the bumper appear longer vertically.
Even though I have clears on the way, I am gonne have to put them in and compare back and forth to the black ones to make up my mind.
Sorry Bruce, I know you are not too hot about this look (black signals and chrome grille inserts), but as they say to each his own.

 

looks good maciek,
did you get my e-mail about your rims?
just something i noticed...

Sam

 

No I didn't. PM me and let me know what's up. What do you think of the black on black interior? I know you want one for your future 5th gen.
Nara

 

Maciek, you should complete the grill treatment by finishing the upper grill like mine:




I only did this for the last car show. Normally I insert a separate bumper grill that goes around the license plate holder.

Its true that the grill will disappear if painted black and all you'll see is the plastic grill underneath. I'm seriously thinking of dremelling the plastic grill out and having the bulge mesh set deeper rather than having it rest on top of the plastic grill and painting the mesh black. I feel that a blacked out grill allows the car to look more agressive. I still would like to get my hands on some material that looks the same as the Mercedes SUV's grill.
http://www.cardomain.com/id/blkcat

 

Bruce (and everyone else) here are the clear combination pictures as I promised:



Didn't taka a shot of them all clear, but many people have that, so I am sure you know what they look like.
What you think is the best one?
P.S. BlackCat, that is one beautiful ride, man

 

i would not think it make a showdow at all. light still get throught it easily. maybe if you were right up on it but fomra distance it would not matter. i think it looks tight i like the corners!

 

take it off the fogs...

 

here is black mesh on black car
look at sig
its a crappy picture, i swear it looks good when you can see it.
Im going to get my buddy's digital camera soon and retake all my pictures

 

I think that the purpose of the mesh should be for show. It's kind of hard to see that the mesh on your car because it doesn't have that "popped out" effect that Blackcat has on his grille. Other than that, it really looks like it was professionally done.

 

Why dont you paint the bottom center grill (the biggest piece) a flat black and leave the foglight grill that chrome color? If it were up to me, id paint everything that falls between the headlights (at the headlights and below) black and leave the other stuff alone. that would be optimal for your situation i think, and still look pretty badass.

 

As stated before by takentomax, the main purpose of the mesh is show.
I think that unless you have a nice, thick (possibly plastic) piece of mesh like on BMWs for example, that sits flush with the surface, if you paint it black it would almost totally dissapear. I don't want that.

Takentothemax, thanks for the professionally done comment. I did take my time, especially with wrapping the fogs. It took a while but it was worth it. Up close it looks as if it was a soft mesh tightly pulled over the lens and not a metal wire bent to fit.

 

With the mesh sitting that close to the foglights, it probably won't help much at all in preventing rock impacts.