Want to do Satoshi!

Pick up my mesh from the post office tomorrow... nervous about starting this. I can't afford a backup grill.

 

Not sure what your budget looks like but I would bet you probably spent more on the mesh...

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2010/toyota/tacoma/body_mechanical_-ar-_trim/grille_assembly.html

Then all you have to do is have the surround color matched. For me that was the most expensive part. I spent about the same amount on the paint as I did on the grille and mesh combined.

 

Thats a possibility. Shipping is probably more than the grill itself though haha.
If I got that I would probably just leave it flat black. I like the look. As long as it doesn't look TOO cheap.

I have a dremel with cutoff wheels. And I was gonna mount the mesh in Homertaco's "thin lip" style, so you dont necessarily have to worry about the big gap left once you cut out the crossmembers.

 

No the thin lip method is set up to be 3/4 of in inch in from the front which is the same distance the cross members are in so in a way you are skipping the step to fill that in. I just did that this weekend. My advice is either have a very steady hand or pick up some edge trim to put over the lip when you are done. I took my time cutting it out, and still didn't look as clean as I wanted it to. The edge trim just hides the cut edge.

Oh yeah and you might want to use reinforced cutting wheels. I thought that they handled the cutting better.

 

Okay. I just bought the dremel kit at sears with a giftcard I got. I have only used it once, for cleaning out the hole in the switch blank to mount the switch that came with my hellas. I haven't cut with it before. What kind of edge trim did you use?

 

I just picked up edge trim from... auto zone I think... Its supposed to go on the edges of doors I think, But it worked out fairly well. Only problems I have with it so far is that it was a pain to get on, and that there is going to be a seam somewhere. The difficulty I had in getting it on means it wont come off easily and shouldn't even move with the mesh behind it, and I had to cut slits in the bottom side so that it would fit right.If you go this route you will understand when you get there. And I put the seam dead center on the upper lip I guess you could say, so that you have to actually get down and look up to see it when its on the truck.

 

Interesting... Well ill probably just cut into and it mount it up and see how bad it looks. Does the dremel do a semi-clean cut or is it totally just horrible looking?

 

Its not really bad, and if you take your time you should be fine. I just wanted it to look a little cleaner. Thinking about it now a jig saw might not be a bad idea for cutting most if it.

 

Well I wouldn't recommend that. I think it would be too much of a rough cut.

 

i would think a jigsaw would do the same effect... but maybe not. Ill just hit it with the cutting wheel then sand it down best I can. If it doesnt look perfect, I won't be bothered too much. I'll just have to get a new grill if I wanna sell the truck or something.

 

When you use these take the tape off them and use a plastic epoxy, the double sided tape doesn't hold, this is how I did mine, and after 2 months all of the taped ones fell off and I have now epoxied all of them.

HomerTaco mesh is great too!

The rest you can get at Lowes. Have fun and buy lots of sandpaper. Also you may want to wait till it gets warmer to paint.

 

Also check out U-Pol Clear #1 for a very nice clear coat if you plan to color match any of it. eBay is the best place to get it, and it looks very factory, and smell like a dead hookers asshole... Seriously bad smelling stuff!

Also for some extra fun make sure and do the side triangles, looks really nice.

 

You can sell it with the grill mods, it is an option to get more money for! Also think of all the people that sell their vehicles with all the extra chrome crap all over it, nothing worse than that.

Oh post some pictures of your progress and gOod luck!

 

Lurkin I see...
Haha I'm picking up the mesh you sent me from the post office tomorrow. Thanks again!

I will just hit it with the cutting wheels then sand it best I can. I already heard about the epoxy thing with the Zip Tie Squares, which I would have probably done anyway. I hope this turns out as good as I am hoping! I'll post pics as I go!

 

Oh one more thing, instead of a dremel, try one of these blades, I can't remember what they are called but don't put it in the handle holder thing, just use the blade and wear gloves. Mark a line and go for it, I used this on my lower mesh and it was so easy compared to the dremel work I did on the upper grill, wish I would have use this blade instead, again you can get these at lowes or HD.

 

You used this to cut the plastic? I could try that.... Although my lines would make it look like I cut it all drunk

 

how do you know this smell?

 

I was thinking it would be harder to cut in a straight line with a sawzal. But the Dremel does work it just takes time.

 

FYI thats a hack saw blade