Well after struggling with this on two separate attempts and finally getting it on the third I thought I would try to give back to the community with a how to.
I purchased another set of grill rings from another forum member and had them painted black. The stock part numbers of the 7 rings from left (passenger side) to right are:
365644
365638
365640
365637
365639
365641
365648
At least I am assuming these are the part numbers as they are the only numbers I can find on the rings I removed.
Time: 1-3 hours depending on how quickly you get the first one out
Difficulty: 3/10, 1/10 second time around.
Tools Needed: Plastic trim removal kit
I started by going to auto zone and purchasing a trim removal kit as I have needed one for a while and this was a great opportunity. The one I purchased is below and was about $20.
This is the one tool out of the kit that I ended up using and found it to be really fast.
I started by putting some blue painters tape around the areas that I was going to be working as another layer of protection to keep from scratching anything although after the first 2 I stopped doing this as I fine tuned the process.
My process was to start on the left (passenger side) ring in the bottom by pushing the tool between the ring and the grille. Due to the wedge shape of the tool it will push the ring out but you may need to use a little leverage as well to release the clips. I then worked this same process up the left side then moved to the right side. I was able to get them out by doing this at only 5 locations one bottom, and 2 each side (images below) At this point you can pull the lower part of the ring toward you and down and it will pop loose from the top. I did not pull hard but did use a little "rocking" action to get it loose.
Once you get the first one out the other 6 go increasingly fast. For reference the first one took about 45 minutes and the last one took 30 seconds. Here are a few pictures of the "process"
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
with ring removed
Ring itself
all 7 out
To re-install the painted rings just line up the ring and make sure the "tabs" are in the slots then push them back in until you hear/feel the click. My only word of wisdom is to make sure that the tabs are in the slots before you push the rings in otherwise you will have to take it back out and risk scratching them up.
Finished Product
I hope this was helpful and please let me know if you have any specific questions.
I purchased another set of grill rings from another forum member and had them painted black. The stock part numbers of the 7 rings from left (passenger side) to right are:
365644
365638
365640
365637
365639
365641
365648
At least I am assuming these are the part numbers as they are the only numbers I can find on the rings I removed.
Time: 1-3 hours depending on how quickly you get the first one out
Difficulty: 3/10, 1/10 second time around.
Tools Needed: Plastic trim removal kit
I started by going to auto zone and purchasing a trim removal kit as I have needed one for a while and this was a great opportunity. The one I purchased is below and was about $20.
This is the one tool out of the kit that I ended up using and found it to be really fast.
I started by putting some blue painters tape around the areas that I was going to be working as another layer of protection to keep from scratching anything although after the first 2 I stopped doing this as I fine tuned the process.
My process was to start on the left (passenger side) ring in the bottom by pushing the tool between the ring and the grille. Due to the wedge shape of the tool it will push the ring out but you may need to use a little leverage as well to release the clips. I then worked this same process up the left side then moved to the right side. I was able to get them out by doing this at only 5 locations one bottom, and 2 each side (images below) At this point you can pull the lower part of the ring toward you and down and it will pop loose from the top. I did not pull hard but did use a little "rocking" action to get it loose.
Once you get the first one out the other 6 go increasingly fast. For reference the first one took about 45 minutes and the last one took 30 seconds. Here are a few pictures of the "process"
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
with ring removed
Ring itself
all 7 out
To re-install the painted rings just line up the ring and make sure the "tabs" are in the slots then push them back in until you hear/feel the click. My only word of wisdom is to make sure that the tabs are in the slots before you push the rings in otherwise you will have to take it back out and risk scratching them up.
Finished Product
I hope this was helpful and please let me know if you have any specific questions.