Refurbishing the front grill (S1)

[trcm]

Just a small sample of the flaky paint brushed off my rusty front grill.

I have a bottle of 'Kurust', which eventually I will go over the grill with carefully before a new layer of topcoat goes on.

I wish it were easier to remove the grill without having to take the whole front clam off!

 

Edited September 10, 2018 by trcm

[pete757]

Is your car a MY16???

If so, this rust on the grill is just crazy... 😡

[trcm]

Registered in 2016, but I believe its probably a 2014 model. I store it in a dry garage too, it seems the rust creeps along under the paint and isnt really noticeable until you touch the grill and it starts to flake away.

[pete757]

I would go and see my local stealer about that... something not right there.

 

[Techyd]

I wonder if there's an aftermarket, plastic alternative.  Mine is a MY12 and is also a bit flakey.  I might be taking front clam off over the winter and re-doing this as well.  I've not tinkered with my car much yet, does the clam come of quite easily?  Any delicate parts to be wary of when removing?

[trcm]

About 48 nuts, bolts and screws (and a second person to help) to remove the front clam, so no, it does not come off 'easily' sadly.

I can't dedicate the time to doing this currently, so the grill is going to remain rusty for a while yet.

[21gg]

I did my old one whilst still on the car, mask round it, wire brush then harmerite,  personally wouldn't bother taking the clam off to do it unless it's coming off anyway.

Gav 

[electro_boy]

@21gg is this the product you used?

https://www.hammerite.co.uk/product/direct-to-rust-metal-paint-satin-finish/

Does it cope with the heat from the radiators OK?

Edited September 11, 2018 by electro_boy

[andyj007]

i uses that too, was recommended from another forum member.... even if you have to give it a quick brush over every two years its still easier than removing the clam..

i used gloss i think..

works perfect looks great, obviously if you stick you nose up against it you can see its hand painted,  but from a couple of feet away its ace

 

[trcm]

I'm going with Kurust and then "Hammerite 5084863 HAM6722001Metal Paint - Smooth Black", bit concerned the parts I can't see will rust away to nothing if I don't remove the clam and do a 'proper job'...

[red vtec]

Flag rust converter is really good, it leaves a nice mat black finish that can be top coated, or left as. 

[21gg]

2 hours ago, electro_boy said:

@21gg is this the product you used?

https://www.hammerite.co.uk/product/direct-to-rust-metal-paint-satin-finish/

Does it cope with the heat from the radiators OK?

Can't remember if it was satin or gloss but yes that's the stuff.

Gav 

[electro_boy]

thanks for the tips guys, think I know what I'm up to this weekend! 

[Alfa2Evora]

I painted mine (21gg's old one) with Kurust about a year ago and didn't bother following up with any topcoat of paint as the rust-converter left a nice satin finish and, more importantly, I'd reached the limits of my will to live by that time.

Here's a pic taken this morning - there are a few tiny spots of fresh rust starting to emerge but overall it has lasted quite well.

[trcm]

One of the lower side vents is absolutely fine strangely, and the paint coating feels a bit thicker...

Maybe different batches?

[trcm]

It's not a quick or fun job, pretty impossible to get coverage to both sides of the grill...

The Kurust goes on easily though, a little goes a long way!

[trcm]

Painting was quick once I realised a sponge was a good idea.

(Lets pretend the reverse is evenly covered too)

[Miguel]

Hope okay to post here: I have a spare, unused set of OEM front grilles if anyone is interested? 

[sellman]

If anyone is interested in replacing their grill with stainless steel mesh I have spent some hours online and took a punt with this:

https://www.vidaxl.co.uk/e/8718475519119/vidaxl-stainless-steel-expanded-wire-mesh-panel-100x85-cm-30x17x25mm

It turned up today and is IDENTICAL spacing and thickness to the original grill, just needs a bit of cutting, forming, etch primer and paint now..... Oh and the bumper removing to do all this... I'll post pictures once I get round to doing it... Could be a while before it happens 😁

[Craig Red Evora]

Having sorted the grills on the top of the car I started looking at the front bumper. I repainted one of the small side ones but still wasn't happy. I also knew that eventually I would have to do the whole thing again so looked for an alternative that I wouldn't have to keep repainting.

Found a plastic version on Amazon which whilst not being the highest quality moulding looks pretty good on the car I think, definitely more modern, and lighter too.

 

 

 

I need to sort the cut out for the towing eye but the front of the car is coming apart again soon for a new radiator/bumper bracket repair so can either do it then or just carry a set of wire cutters and if I ever need to use the towing eye cut the hole.

For anyone interested it was under £18 for enough to do the whole front bumper.

[Celica]

Good work

what did you do to the top grills

 

 

[Craig Red Evora]

They just got painted as trying to replace would be too difficult due to the three dimensional shape. 

I had brush painted them before but it was really time consuming and there was always the danger of the grill scraping the paint off the brush into a blob which drips.

This time I masked up all the surrounding paint work, gave them a good wire brushing and then painted using a small foam emulsion roller.

As long as you don't overload the roller the paint goes on really nicely and it takes a fraction of the time.

[TdM]

Out of interest, for the top grills, can you replace the S1 grills with the E400 set back ones?

I suspect it would mean taking the whole clam off so you would want to do it when you are doing something serious like the clutch but is it just a sleeve and set back grill or is the whole clamshell different?