I have been following the very helpful DIY closely here is what I've finished today...

Removed emblem



Metal added for support (epoxy used to attach)



Sanded bondo



Side shot






Now a member on G35NYC has brought it to my attention that I (we) may be useing too much bondo...he said under stress too much will crack ie. everyday driving/hitting pot holes. His suggestion was to use thicker metal for supports or a spray foam center with bondo on the exterior.

what do you guys think???
how are yours holding up???

anyways thanks for lookin!!!

 

looks like a good start man make sure you use a sanding block or other flat edge when you sand...it will help you match the contours.

my grill has been on my car for almost 2 months now and i haven't had any cracks. unless the grill is subjected to a lot of twisting i doubt you'll see any cracks. that being said, all you have to do is repatch / sand if any cracks ever develop.

 

awsome job! cant wait to see it finished.

 

for thick filling a product called marglass or tigerhair will work better. it has strands of fiberglass for a little extra. better than just bondo

 

Thanks - Yeah I am going to get the sanding block tomorrow. I tried sandpaper wraped around a piece of wood today and had mucho problems with it =/ the damn paper kept sliding everywhere lol

 

+1 on the fiberglass body filler. bondo makes a similar product - just be careful when using it. it can cause skin irritation if you don't use gloves or get some on your hands.

just take it slow man. there's no need to rush and all your hard work right now will payoff when you start to paint

 

i can tell you a trick. take a peice of plastic wrap and put it around one of the fins whatever you would call them.
1 wrap the plastic around it
2 put bondo over the plastic
3 spread it over the top front and bottom
4 right before the bondo is full hard (lol) pull it off
5 spray glue a peice of sandpaper on the newly made block

 

Good Luck

 

I don't think that grille gets that much stress from everyday driving.

You might be able to get away with it.

I would use Marine bondo with fiberglass in it.

something like this
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...ss+Resin+Jelly

Oh I see ppl posted about this already.

I use to use that type of bondo of container doors. They had a wooden frame and when the corners would rotten out I would fix them with bondo. And on top of that I had to screw some screws in it later to hold the seal.

And that bondo did really good job holding on for quite some time. Fiberglass strands really do a good job holding it together and preventing from cracking.

 

Maybe forming a piece of fine wire mesh and then the bondo on top. The bondo would be able to attach itself to the mesh screening, and then I don't think it would really crack.

As the bondo really cures....a couple of days, you may get a small amount of shrinkage.....this is where you may see cracks develop.

 

Duraglass is another filler that could be used instead of "bondo".

 

Just put the first coat of primer on. I can see already I need to apply some more spot putty and do some light sanding.






once I get this as close to perfect as I can, I'm going to figure out how to replicate those damn bumps. lol

 

hey man, what color did you decide to go with? if you choose any color besides black you should consider cutting out the areas that used to hold the emblem. those areas will stick out like a sore thumb if you go with a lighter finish.

a dremel is the best way to cut out the backing. i'm sure someone in the NY G community has a dremel you could borrow.

 

+1 on that but in the end i decided to paint it black haha

 

you should be all set then