Satoshi 2012 Grill mod and problem solving

Ok, well after I posted some pics on the Baja Rack thread that I wrote, I received a PM requesting a write up on my Satoshi Grill. My grill is not that different form the many other ones that have already been written up so I will attempt to address some of the issues I ran into and hopefully keep this short.



So I cheated a bit in my build. I purchased an additional 2012 grill from a member here. Both the one I purchased and the one that came on my truck were chrome. I absolutely hate chrome, and I knew that I would want to color match my grill to my spruce mica Tacoma.



Additionally, this write up comes at an opportune time because I have noticed an error with my grill today. One of the biggest challenges with the 2012 grill is that the head lights protrude inside the grill opening. this prevents us from making the grill very deep like on the previous years. Further, the sides of the grill opening must be at an angle rather than straight towards the radiator.





I finished my grill Friday. Today was the first day that I took a hard look at it and noticed that there is a gap on the drivers side between the hood and the grill. There is a gap on the other side as well but the gap on the drivers side is about twice as big.





So I thought that the headlight was pushing on the grill side. I sanded some of the side of the grill away to fix the issue but the gap is still there?









So I think tomorrow I will put the chrome grill back on and see if the gap was there all along and I am only noticing it now. It looks like the Satoshi grill is fitting properly and I notice that the headlight on the drivers side has a larger gap as well so perhaps there is an issue with something else and not the grill. I will post whatever I find.

As for the lights and light bar, I used Hella 500s and I have not wired them yet. For the bar I used 2” x 2” angle steel from Home Depot.





Also I had to relocate the horns so I made a bracket from 1” steel again from Home Depot.



Ok, for the painting information. I wanted the chrome grill surround to be color matched to my truck and I did not trust a body shop to do it correctly. I took the grill to my local Toyota dealership and ask the body shop there to do it but they told me that they would not paint it because they could not guarantee that the paint would not peel from the chrome. So I went to the dealership that I purchased my truck from and they said they could do it. The painter came out and spoke with me and told me that he could add something to the paint to make it more flexible so that it would not chip and it would not peel from the chrome. It took a week for them to get it back to me and they only charged me 65.00 for the job. Well worth it in my opinion. I painted the inside walls my self with Toyota color match Dupi color from advanced auto parts and put on at least 6 layers of clear coat.

The mesh I used was steel wire mesh from metal mart. It came in a 4’ x 9’ sheet and cost about 19.00. The guy there told me that this mesh is mostly used as a vent in older homes above the door header from one room to the next. I painted the mesh with KG Metal Coatings 2400 series flat black. This is a military spec gun coating that is Teflon moly based and must be baked on. Once cured it makes a molecular bond with the metal and will prevent the steel mesh from rusting and is very durable. I gun smith a bit so I had everything to do this already.

Well I think that is about it. I will post once I figure out what is going on with the gap issue. Feel free to ask further questions and I hope this helps those who are considering this mod. thanks for the interest.

 

Looks good man, you did a nice job. Good looking truck btw!

 

looks great! and thank you very much for the write up. sooner or later i'll get around to doing mine... did you end up painting that part of the headlight behind the grille black to avoid it being seen?

 

dad32509 thanks
2006KJ, yep painted with the same stuff to keep it from rusting and to hide it better. I will most likely go back and paint the bolts that hold the mesh in place black as well because they king of pop when you look at the grill from the side. Also I will be getting the clear light covers for all the hellas eventually. At 20.00 each it will have to wait for some time.

 

Looks great!

Stupid question and I'm sure you checked already, but could the long bolts be causing the gap?

 

Geoff7877, good question but I do not think so since the headlight looks like it has the gap as well. I am thinking that the gap has always been there and I am only seeing it now. Perhaps there is a slight level issue with the hood. i say this because I have no idea how the headlight would be out of whack. I have not hit anything and I only have 1K miles on a brand new truck. Either way, I will look at everything tonight and I have a buddy who is a certified tech coming over later this week. I will have him look at it as well.

 

I received a PM about how I built the sides of the inside of the grill opening. I am sorry I did not take more pictures. Honestly, I figured this topic had been covered enough here but since I got the PM, and I think I would get several others, here is some more information:

These are two good how to threads. I just did the same thing but modified it for my needs.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...y-2012-satoshi-style-grille-modification.html
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/28831-my-satoshi-grill-write-up.html

For the sides I used aluminum foil on taped to the inside of the opening to get the shape and proper angle. I then used bondo fiberglass resin on the outside of the the opening. Once cured remove the foil and sand with 60 or 80 grit. Once you knock down all the high spots use bondo body filler to smooth out the transition from the fiberglass to the plastic. I sanded the entire inside of the opening with 100, then 250, 400, 800, up to 1000. I then filled in any small "pin holes etc.. with bondo glazing putty and sanded with 800, 1000, 1500 up to 2000. Once every thing looks good and feels smooth I primed with dupi primer several layers then sanded with 1500 and 2000, then painted with dupi to the color I wanted. Once that cured, sanded with 2000. and then clear coated several layers with dupi.

Things I learned are:
wash after each sanding with soap and water.
I ended up doing the bondo body filler several times.
Wet sand not dry sand.
Allow the proper drying times for each layer of primer, paint, and clear coat (I think 10 min between layers)
Allow full curing at each stage, primer, paint, clear coat.
Fiberglass resin will not stick to aluminum foil or the non stick side of blue masking tape, so use this stuff to make any molds of the profile that you need to.

I hope this helps, let me know if you need anything else. Sorry I did not take many pictures.

 

Update, the gap was present even with the original grill installed. The fix was adjusting the hood leveling rubber bushing things. I will post a pic tonight if this sounds confusing.

 

sub'd

 

Nice, i am thinking of putting a Grillcraft grill on mine.... but have yet to pull the trigger as i kinda like the front as is, i may pull the emblem and make it black and see how i like it first.

And sub'd for ideas