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How To: Install a mesh grill on a 08 WK

131K views 472 replies 61 participants last post by  08Hemi 
#1 · (Edited)
So I went to Home Depot today and had to make myself a grill:D! I will show you what I did and feel free to comment or ask anything...

I bought:

Rustoleum Gloss Black Spray paint
Rustoleum Lacquer (clear)
16 3/8 in #6 or #8 head screws
16 #8 or #10 head washers
1 Aluminum sheet (cross-hatched)

Tools:

Flat head screw driver
Phillips head screw driver
Power drill with small taping bit (half of screw)
Plastic Cutters
Wire/sheet metal cutters
Metal file for rough edges


1. First take off the grill. There are 6 push clips that are holding the grill in. Use the FH screwdriver to pop these off. Very simple

2. Put the grill face down on a towel or something soft. Cut out all plastic pieces and tabs. You want the grill to sit as flush with the back as possible, so trim the tabs well.

3. Cut a piece out of aluminum foil that is the entire size of the back of the grill. I error'd on the side of larger to ensure I could trim as needed. This really helped later so I recommend doing this. I painted it gloss black; it looks great and is subtle so I am happy with the chrome-gloss black contrast!

4. Test fit the aluminum. I cut around the four tabs on the bottom of the plastic and the center of the plastic piece, also around the edges and any area raising the aluminum up. I also cut slats in the aluminum for the 4 chrome plastic tabs that stick out. I did not want to cut those off so you can do whatever you want here.

5. Make sure the grill is set and fits properly all the way around. Take your time; I spent over 15 mins trimming the aluminum around the back of the grill!

6. Pre-drill your 16 mounting locations on the top and bottom of the grill. Make sure it is where you want it. I chose 16 screws but you could probably get away with less. I did mine in the same general locations on the top and bottom so it looks really clean and holds the grill firmly in place.

7. Put the washer in-between the aluminium and the screw, tighten them down starting from the middle and working outward. Tighten hand-tight ( I used a drill but it does not need much force)...the aluminum will set with the washer.

8. Fit the grill back onto the car and insert the 6 push pins starting with the center and working outwards.

9. Drive around for 10-20 miles or so. Take the grill back off and tighten all of the screws. All of mine needed a little tighten as I think the grill settled in a little bit. Needless to say it is very tight on there and is actually one with the stock chrome grill (for all intents and purposes it is one piece :) )! Now put it back on and the 6 push pins back in....

You are all done...you now have a grill!

















So what do you think? Not bad for about $20 in products and about 2 hours total including paint drying and test fitting...:thumbsup:
 
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#430 ·
Just repainted my top and lower grilles...took about 45 mins and they look new again...such an easy mod. Do you all get as many rock chips as I do? I can't imagine what my radiator would look like without the mesh...oh yeah I do just need to look at my front end :(
 
#431 ·
Just finished mine tonight.

Didn't use the aluminum foil method, I just made some guestimates and trimmed until everything was in perfect place. I ended up bending the mesh around the edges, top and bottom and then securing the mesh in the harder to reach places.

I think it turned out well, however I will need to get the gratuitous driveway shot.

I shot it with 3 coats of leftover PD from my wheel project.

Here are a few shots, I kept forgetting to grab the phone as always but I HTH someone anyway.

Trimmed and pre-paint


Cutting snips


Hardware



Test fitting with old grill vents in place


Pulled mesh off and shot the PD base coat


Used heavy-duty cut off wheels to take out the vents, then used a grinder attachment to level out the base.


Smoothed out after grinding (more like melting)


Finished product:


Id say that was a 2 out of 5 in difficulty, and for the end result this mod has a lot of bang for the buck. I spent less than $12 total and about 3 hours (stopped to eat dinner) and I'm pretty happy with it.

I'll get that driveway pic tomorrow sometime.

Thanks for all the ^Above^ tips and pics for guiding me through this one.
 
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#432 ·
A few months ago while on my way into work, a small bird flew out in front of my Jeep and broke one of the inserts. I debated on purchasing an SRT grill but never found one at the right price. This was the look I wanted and it was a simple and inexpensive mod. I was tired of the chrome look but I didn't know if I would like a black grill. I used Plasti-dip on the grill and rustoleum satin finish on the mesh. Next I need a shorty antenna and painted mirrors/side trim!
 

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#433 ·
Looks great!! Such an effective mod and there are so many variations! Thanks for posting...would highly recommend a shorty...black, billet or sumtin else?

Just finished mine tonight.

Didn't use the aluminum foil method, I just made some guestimates and trimmed until everything was in perfect place. I ended up bending the mesh around the edges, top and bottom and then securing the mesh in the harder to reach places.

I think it turned out well, however I will need to get the gratuitous driveway shot.

I shot it with 3 coats of leftover PD from my wheel project.

Here are a few shots, I kept forgetting to grab the phone as always but I HTH someone anyway.

Trimmed and pre-paint


Cutting snips


Hardware



Test fitting with old grill vents in place


Pulled mesh off and shot the PD base coat


Used heavy-duty cut off wheels to take out the vents, then used a grinder attachment to level out the base.


Smoothed out after grinding (more like melting)


Finished product:


Id say that was a 2 out of 5 in difficulty, and for the end result this mod has a lot of bang for the buck. I spent less than $12 total and about 3 hours (stopped to eat dinner) and I'm pretty happy with it.

I'll get that driveway pic tomorrow sometime.

Thanks for all the ^Above^ tips and pics for guiding me through this one.

Wow great write up! If I had that handy dremmel tool or adapter I would have made the finish smooth like yours! This was one of the easiest mods I have done and you have just made it even easier! +rep :thumbsup:
 
#434 ·
Def. goin with a black shorty....gotta find a good one.
 
#437 · (Edited)
Thanks for the idea of the mesh grill. I also did this a couple weeks ago and it was very cheap and easy to do. I also got the mesh from Home Depot; Lowes had the same one, I tired to find some different patterns but just wound up going with this one.

My grill and emblems were chrome, so I plasti-dipped them the day after I bought the Jeep. (few months ago) I also recently added a Plasti-dip Glossifer coat to the entire grill and mesh to give it a nice glossy shine. I think it came out pretty nice looking.

 
#439 ·
Ive read all the pages on here twice, but there is one thing I cannot figure out.

I want to do both my upper and lower grille. I understand how to stitch the upper pieces together to form a piece 35.5" long behind the grill bars.

But the bottom opening is 32x8. And its a wide open space. How in the world would I find a piece of mesh big enough to do that if the biggest piece you can get is 24x24? That means you would have to stitch two pieces together somehow, but you'd see the line as clear as day with a 32" opening.

Am I missing something here?
 
#442 ·
Ive read all the pages on here twice, but there is one thing I cannot figure out.

I want to do both my upper and lower grille. I understand how to stitch the upper pieces together to form a piece 35.5" long behind the grill bars.

But the bottom opening is 32x8. And its a wide open space. How in the world would I find a piece of mesh big enough to do that if the biggest piece you can get is 24x24? That means you would have to stitch two pieces together somehow, but you'd see the line as clear as day with a 32" opening.

Am I missing something here?

I also did the bottom grill too. I custom ordered a large sheet of mesh from http://www.mcnichols.com/viewer.htm. they had a huge selection, it was cheap, and they shipped in two days. Check them out. You can order a look closer to the SRT mesh from there than what HD and Lowes has to offer.
 
#448 ·
If I could do it all over again (well I still can haha) I would have probably bought some better mesh and had it powdercoated like some others have done on here...BUT @ under $20 total for the top and bottom including hardware and paint, you can't really beat the cheap mesh. Had it on for years now and only re-painted them twice. No rust (SoCal) and still looks a lot better than stock...
 
#453 ·
For my first mod to do to my new Jeep, I'm feeling pretty proud of myself! So glad to get rid of that cheap-looking plastic slit crap! I went with the thicker-gauge grill like someone earlier had - the 12"x24" sheets sold at Lowe's. I used a rubberized black spraypaint (Rustoleum "Undercoat") after priming, which gave it a neat texture, added to the hardiness of the paint job, and also should help prevent any possible rattling. I topped that with a couple of layers of clear-coat to add the glossy look I lost by using the rubberized paint.

Anyways, here's my finished product:



 
#460 ·
Just did mine this past week after reading through this thread. Went to home depot and bought gutter mesh, primer, and rustoleum black paint. I decided to cut out 7 individual slots instead of roll a whole sheet over the back. It came out great in my opinion. Let me know what you guys think. I also re plasti dipped my grill matte black.



 
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