OFFICIAL DIY: CTR Style Grill Modification To Stock Grill

itsmycookie

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DIY: CTR Style Grill Modification To Stock Grill

Applicable Years: Fits on all 96-98.

Difficulty: 1 of 5

Estimated Time: 2 hours + Time for paint to properly dry(depending on your paint choice)[

Required Parts

Factory 2 Piece grill
Expanded Sheet Metal
Paint of your choice
Primer for Metal surfaces

Required Tools

Tin Snips
Phillips Screwdriver
Dremel Cutting tool (Optional)
Hack Saw (Optional)
Optional Tools make it easier but aren't needed.

Read through the ENTIRE post before you start.
This DIY will keep all of the bolt holes and tabs so it will bolt right back up just like the original grill. This DIY also assumes that the grill is already taken off the car.

Steps:

1. First unscrew the nine tiny screws on the back of the grill and separate the two pieces. you should have this so far.



2. Next you will be cutting out the center of the back pieces. (the one on the top in above pix)

Where it is RED is the outline and where it is YELLOW is going to be the Final cuts you need to make.


If you have a dremel cut off wheel it should be very simple. However I didn't have a dremel so i got some tin snips out and cut it to the best of my ability. For the top and bottom of the "H" since the snips won't fit you can cut out the middle area slowly until you have access or you can use an hack saw to cut through it

(Optional) Use a box cutter to remove some of the rough edges and try to smooth it out. You can use some sand paper to remove any other nicks, but remember it doesn't have to be perfect.

3. Next you should have something that looks like this. Clean any debris off it at this point.



(Optional) you can paint this piece if you want a more conformed color

4. Next get your mesh. Try to leave enough material for you to make another grill piece if you mess up the first time.



5. On the back side of the front piece (the painted one) there should be a small lip. Cut your mesh, tin snips work very well, to sit nearly even with this lip. Be sure before you cut the mesh it will sit flat, and those little tabs will not get in the way (look at the pix).


6. Next assemble them in this order and then screw in the nine little screws in the back. This is just a test fit to make sure it will fit together. Do not to over tighten the screws in the back.


You should have this so far.



The little tabs hold it in place



7. Your next step is to disassemble the grill and paint the mesh. I used Color Place Rust Control Spray Enamel Satin Black. Be sure to read the instructions on the back of the can so you know how to correctly use the kind of paint you have. Make sure to let it dry for an adequate time before moving on to the next step.

8. Next, reassemble the grill and be sure not to over tighten those little screws. This should be your final product.



9. Reinstall your grill back onto your bumper using the original bolts and then put your bumper on your car. This is what my car looked like after i was done. Don't rush the project and you should end up with a quality piece.



Review:
I didn't run into any troubles while I did this. The tin snips can be a bit clumsy in tight spaces but they work well for the plastic and the metal.

Have fun with your DIY custom grill. =)
 

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itsmycookie

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here's the before picture
 


itsmycookie

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this is just sorta an update. the paint is still holding up and it still looks great
as well as my headlight i resealed with 3 dollars of clear seal i bought at walmart
 

c0ld29

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for those of you with chrome outline, I say go to ebay. Mine had the chrome and I hated it, took a shot at at Ebay (all black style) I think they called it type-R i dunno but it criss crosses and I love it. I've had it a while with no fading and it fit perfectly for only 20 bucks shipped. I say take a chance.

*also its one single piece
 


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isak

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do you know where i can find the screws and the screw holder from the top of the grill?? cuz i lost themm.....
 

House Special

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i wish I could do that to my grille but it has that silly chrome on it.
 

itsmycookie

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isak said:
do you know where i can find the screws and the screw holder from the top of the grill?? cuz i lost themm.....
huh? you mean the small screws on the back? or the plastic things on the top. for the screws i dunno i would think that you could find some small screws that would work. for the plastic things i would have to say dealership would have em.

does this help?
dramysx said:
i wish I could do that to my grille but it has that silly chrome on it.
indeed. perhaps you could find one off of a sedan or hatch or maybe get that piece painted.
 

itsmycookie

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DEVIN EM1 said:
Where'd you buy the mesh ? Mines not metal and it sucks
i got mine at lowes. explanded sheet metal. you can call around to hardware store to see if they have it i would imagin they;d know what it is.
 

itsmycookie

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Sweetducklet8 said:
Do you happen to know how to put mesh grill on the bottom grill so it matches the top?
you mean in the bumper? no i do not know how that would be done.
 

itsmycookie

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MugenShox said:
this all 6th gens or just 96-98?
this is for the style of grill that fits on the 96-98 models. the 99-00 models grill is built differently.
KJMagnum said:
it will work on all oem 2-piece grills.
i can;t say for sure, i;ve only done it on mine.
 

qwikxr

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back from the dead, cookie, but what year/model grill did you use? My 96 CX grill is one-piece...
 

itsmycookie

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qwikxr said:
back from the dead, cookie, but what year/model grill did you use? My 96 CX grill is one-piece...
yeah the 96 grill is one piece, it was weird for that year. the 97-98 year model grills are two pieces, but fit on all the 96-98 models. i dunno why honda did that the first year.
 

Redline57

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Additional ideas

I did mine the same way a few years ago. I recently painted the mesh a gunmetal grey and glued on the H on the back after cutting the two tabs. I used gutterguard since they say it never rusts (it doesnt.)


Same thing you did cept I cut up an extension cord and uses the tiny pieces of rubber to keep the mesh from scratching the inside of the chrome (for us sedan drivers.)
 

Xx96CoupexX

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how do you get the Mesh to stay inside, is it just so tight it wont fall out or is it held in by something? I wanted to change the grille, i was thinking of
 


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