Thought I'd post my pics of my grill & how I did it. As for bumper removal, I am not going to explain that, as there is a good guide here already: Fourtitude.com - DIY: front bumper removal and blackout grille install
Bumper removal, follow the above guide for this & remember to have something soft to rest it on! And disconnect your fog light plugs!
I didn't take any pics of detaching the grille surround from the grille itself, but there are a fair load of clips. Just be very VERY careful not to break it & snap it, be patient or you will be very upset with yourself! This was the most stressful part for me. You first detach the grille from the bumper, and then the surround from the grille.
I then put my bumper back onto the car with the grille, minus the surround. It already looked better & less bling!
I ordered two 100cm x 90cm sheets of Vinyl from Vinyl Depot (Matt Black: Matt black - Vinyl Depot) & Gloss Black (Gloss black - Vinyl Depot). Awesome company, used them before & got a great service again, highly recommended. Very cheap too, it was £10 for two large sheets of vinyl in P&P, VAT etc.
The reason I ordered two was in case I either messed up one or didn't like Matt. I didn't think I'd like matt black, but it's more satin than matt really. I still have a sheet of gloss untouched. I also cleaned the grille with a damp cloth & then dried it.
You either need a heat gun (this was a paint stripper one, same thing) or a hair dryer. I did my desk with a hair dryer & this with a heat gun, the gun is better but hair d will work just as well.
Lay the vinyl out, & then cut it to length. Give yourself plenty of excess to work with, although mine did get in the way, so maybe less - up to you. But remember, you can easily cut it away, but you can't add it back in!
I then started to peel it, try to have as many creases as possible on it, however some are fine & air bubbles are no biggie yet. Try your best not to get any but if you do, don't worry yet.
Flip it over, you can see I had a few creases & bubbles, it also looks like a super man badge!
Now for the fun part, shrinking it! When this stuff gets warm (NOT HOT!!), it tends to go stretchy, but at the same time it wants to shrink. It is hard to explain, but it's awesome stuff, very forgiving.
I stretched the inside first, like a drum skin. This is the time you need to remove air bubbles.
Flip it over & cut the inside out. Without cutting it out yet it will just not work, it pulls on itself & pulls if off of the grille & you can't stick it down & wrap it around. I cut out a big sheet & saved it for another project!
You'll now need to start wrapping the inside corners. Remember the cuts you made in the vinyl, they most likely have sharp edged. This stuff will tear & look awful if it does, so round the corners out so there is nothing sharp to start a tear when you stretch it around the corner.
Start stretching around, be very patient. From peeling my vinyl onto the grille to finished wrapping was about 3 hours. Not very quick, so be patient (it pays off!)
You'll start to see how awesome it's going to look... this is good encouragement!
Then wrap the inside corners one at a time, and then the inside edges & then double check them all.
Remember to cut the vinyl off of the clips so you can push it back on later.
Start to trim away the outer vinyl like you did inside. The top corners are big & easy to wrap with no bubbles / creases. The bottom ones are a little harder - stick at it!
Finally I was finished. Clips clear & all vinyl wrapped & glued to the back. Remember to heat it up to shrink any & make it tight.
Finished product - very pleased.
Pushed it back onto the car, bit tough to do but have patience again.
Low front view - very pleased!!
I think it looks nicer than the gloss would do, as my car is black already, contrasts nicely.
Any questions / comments, let me know!
Good luck!
Bumper removal, follow the above guide for this & remember to have something soft to rest it on! And disconnect your fog light plugs!
I didn't take any pics of detaching the grille surround from the grille itself, but there are a fair load of clips. Just be very VERY careful not to break it & snap it, be patient or you will be very upset with yourself! This was the most stressful part for me. You first detach the grille from the bumper, and then the surround from the grille.
I then put my bumper back onto the car with the grille, minus the surround. It already looked better & less bling!
I ordered two 100cm x 90cm sheets of Vinyl from Vinyl Depot (Matt Black: Matt black - Vinyl Depot) & Gloss Black (Gloss black - Vinyl Depot). Awesome company, used them before & got a great service again, highly recommended. Very cheap too, it was £10 for two large sheets of vinyl in P&P, VAT etc.
The reason I ordered two was in case I either messed up one or didn't like Matt. I didn't think I'd like matt black, but it's more satin than matt really. I still have a sheet of gloss untouched. I also cleaned the grille with a damp cloth & then dried it.
You either need a heat gun (this was a paint stripper one, same thing) or a hair dryer. I did my desk with a hair dryer & this with a heat gun, the gun is better but hair d will work just as well.
Lay the vinyl out, & then cut it to length. Give yourself plenty of excess to work with, although mine did get in the way, so maybe less - up to you. But remember, you can easily cut it away, but you can't add it back in!
I then started to peel it, try to have as many creases as possible on it, however some are fine & air bubbles are no biggie yet. Try your best not to get any but if you do, don't worry yet.
Flip it over, you can see I had a few creases & bubbles, it also looks like a super man badge!
Now for the fun part, shrinking it! When this stuff gets warm (NOT HOT!!), it tends to go stretchy, but at the same time it wants to shrink. It is hard to explain, but it's awesome stuff, very forgiving.
I stretched the inside first, like a drum skin. This is the time you need to remove air bubbles.
Flip it over & cut the inside out. Without cutting it out yet it will just not work, it pulls on itself & pulls if off of the grille & you can't stick it down & wrap it around. I cut out a big sheet & saved it for another project!
You'll now need to start wrapping the inside corners. Remember the cuts you made in the vinyl, they most likely have sharp edged. This stuff will tear & look awful if it does, so round the corners out so there is nothing sharp to start a tear when you stretch it around the corner.
Start stretching around, be very patient. From peeling my vinyl onto the grille to finished wrapping was about 3 hours. Not very quick, so be patient (it pays off!)
You'll start to see how awesome it's going to look... this is good encouragement!
Then wrap the inside corners one at a time, and then the inside edges & then double check them all.
Remember to cut the vinyl off of the clips so you can push it back on later.
Start to trim away the outer vinyl like you did inside. The top corners are big & easy to wrap with no bubbles / creases. The bottom ones are a little harder - stick at it!
Finally I was finished. Clips clear & all vinyl wrapped & glued to the back. Remember to heat it up to shrink any & make it tight.
Finished product - very pleased.
Pushed it back onto the car, bit tough to do but have patience again.
Low front view - very pleased!!
I think it looks nicer than the gloss would do, as my car is black already, contrasts nicely.
Any questions / comments, let me know!
Good luck!