Strictly European Autosport - Features - DIY - How to do a mesh grille on your MKIV GTI



How to do a mesh grille on your MKIV GTI By: Steffenme1

I want to be very clear about this. I did not invent this mod, nor do I with to take credit for it. I got the original idea from a guy on the 'tex. His write-up can be found here. www.stripethree.com With that said, I do feel that my grille is an evolved version of his design, and my grille certainly does differ from the ones that I have seen previously done, and therefore I deceided to write this DIY. I apologize in advance for the length, but dammit I do so love to take pictures. Those of you who have seen my previous DIY's will notice that I've not only mastered the word box, but now I figured out how to make arrows! the world is mine for the taking! It all started with my acquisition of an eBay stock grille. My grille project also required the addition of a broken (but new) wheel liner. The liner will make it's appearance later.


After I had disassembled my eBay aquired donor grille, the first thing to do was start trimming. you have to remove the support structure that used to hold on the painted horizontal grille pieces. I used a hacksaw and a razor blade, a dremel would have worked too, but I didn't feel like busting out the big guns yet.


I left the vertical support structures for rigidity, you know 'cause in a front end collision, those supports are gonna save my arse.


I left the vertical support structures for rigidity, you know 'cause in a front end collision, those supports are gonna save my arse.


And then trimmed the remains with a dremel.


I then disected my wheel liner to begin stage 2. I was looking for a few flat pieces. the damn thing was tough, but nothing my newly aquired tin snips couldn't handle.



I deceided to use pieces of liner trimmed to fit to cover the holes caused by the removal of the wingy thingys. I figured I would have to use less bondo, and it would make for a stronger piece. I started by tracing out the design I would need.



I then just transferred the tape to the liner and cut it out.


Then it was sanded, shaped and glued into place.



Then it was time for the bondo. Here's a tip for you, I only use playing cards to smooth bondo out on small projects like this, they're disposable, you get 54 for like a dollar, they're slick and have rounded corners. I only used a putty knife to mix the stuff. I suppose you could also use a glossy business card. cough cough Just kidding Ruben, I only had to give up a few cards to the cause, and then I used the photo for my similar write-up that I posted on the 'tex. Eh, free advertising. I'm a damned genuis I am. Here's the photo I used for the 'tex. I kill me. Seriously though, don't use business cards cause they suck, the edges are pointy, pointy edges are bad when your working with bondo. Bicycle deck.


Anywho, It took two light coats of bondo and roughy 187 hours of sanding, but I think it came out pretty damn fine.


Always with the test fitting.....


Okay, so the blue tape. Check out this photo.


The other grille designs I have seen partially obscure the intake duct, see the link at the top for reference. This is NOT in any way meant to be a critical of anyone elses design. But merely to explain my reasoning to do mine differently. Let me be the first to say, that duct probably doesn't do a damn thing, but it was a reason to make my grille more complex than it needed to be. So I was in! First to see if my modified intake duct would be visable. So I blue taped the factory inlet (remember the tape class?) and took a look.


Nope, I was going to pour all this extra work into something no one was going to notice. Perfect! I cut out the old mesh with a dremel and soldiered on in my plan to replace parts with small pieces of whel liner.


The other thing I wanted to change about my grille was the edges. Every grille I've seen had the edge simply trimmed, and sitting almost flush to the painted fascia. It looks fine, but I wanted mine to have a more definitive edge. Back to the liner!!!!


I used the template I made out of the folder and fabbed up the edges. I used a piece of arched liner so I had to do very little bending to get it to fit. By this time I could have made the eiffel tower out of wheel liner.


I think it gives the piece a nice finished edge.


Final test-fitting before the bondo work.


The first of way too may layers of bondo, I was mostly just trying to fill in the big spots at this point. I figured that several thinner layers was better than one super thick layer.


Bondo tip #2, I usually use paper plates to mix bondo on, but I ran out of them, so I had to find a new mixing apparatus. A glass cutting board turned out to be super! You can reuse it immediately, the bondo scrapes right off, and your girlfriend won't get mad at you for using up all the dixie plates. And it looks stunning in the garage, it really does.


More bondo, another 700 hours of sanding.


I was really hating bondo by the end of this project. I still had two more skim and sand layers after this photo.


Whoo Hooo I'm finally painting Painting in a closed garage always makes me feel special Two coats of primer on each side.


Two coats of flat black paint on the back, four on the front. I was getting woozy. I slapped on the R32 emblem and it was off to the garage to install it.


It was finally on! Time for a cold one!