I am looking for a mesh grill for my XF but all the ones I see everywhere have a fat border around the outside edge. I do not like this look, I want a piece of mesh that is basically just formed to fit the original grill opening and leave it at that. Anybody make one or can make one up like this? If it absolutely has to have a border or something to make it rigid and mountable why couldnt the border be placed on the inside of the break so that it isnt visible from the front of the car and is simply there to support the grill and provide a mounting surface.

Anyone? Do I have to attempt to make one myself? I would prefer it unfinished as I want to paint it to match my wheels which I painted up this weekend

 

have never seen one without a border

 

I can make one.. I don't see why it wouldn't work.

 

Any ideas what something like this might run if you were to make one?
I know I can get the material for about $13 (plain steel as its going to be painted anyway) and I could certainly give it a go as far as trying to shape it but I would prefer it be made by someone with experience in this type of thing to make it look right. Sometimes 'homemade' isnt the best option. But for the right price it may be......

 

this one has no borders,,billet just found it on e bay
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

 

A cuation on this grill design. The edges of the upper and lower grils dig into the front bumper cover. Once installed you cannot go back to the stock grill without repair and repaint of the facia becuase the billet grill damaged areas are now in front of the stock grill.

 

good to know thanks jim

 

Ask Max Cichon, he made this one for me for my last car. It sits behind the plastic grill and is held in by some screws on the top, and pressure on the bottom, I had to 'play' with it for a while to get it to fit the way I wanted.

If memory serves, he could never get them 'perfect' and after a few tries, decided he was going in another direction...

Chime in here, Max...

 

Thats EXACTLY the look I am after Boiler! That looks very very clean and quite nice with the Chrysler badge remaining on the hood. Doesnt look tacky like the big bordered ones.

Downwardspiral, something like this is what I am looking for, send another PM with your thoughts/suggestions if you get a chance.

 

Hey now, I played nice, now keep the conversation out here so in case DWS does make them, others can see the documented exchange of ideas

Mine was left behind in a watery grave, so I may be interested as well...

 

John,

you dirty buggerer! I have too much on my plate.

BUT, I also have a 48 X 48 sheet of aluminum mesh to start on. In ~ 2014!

That .062" SST mesh is just too darned hard to form, bend and brake!



Max

 

Did not volunteer you to make any, just wanted the OP to see there were some out there and wanted to give credit where it was due, my friend

Now where are my SS parts? LOL J/K

 

Stuck in customs.

Ulan Bator, Mongolia. I sent them a letter, but geez...I don't know!

 

Here's the bulk of the PM I sent:

"I have an existing mesh grille I can make a fixture around, and I would use thin round steel behind the grille to take the shape. You may need to tweak the shape to what you like, but I can get it to a point where it looks good on my car."

I wasn't planning on mass producing them, but if there is enough interest I could make it happen. Once I have a fixture made up, it will not take much work to make another. MoparFreak said he can get the material for cheap, so I was kind of planning on just welding the grill up. I do know places that sell nice woven mesh, but they only sell in bulk, so it would be nice to use up all the material. I am not planning on charging Mopar much for his (not really making money on it), as he requested it to be unfinished.

PS I still have the half finished fiberglass emblem in my garage.. I've been busy and kind of forgot about it lol. I've been busy with work and school, but I should have some time at night now that my senior project is finished... That's where a majority of my free time went last semsester.

 

Interested. Looks cool!
2005 SRT6 Convertible, Black/Black (Rare one!)
Eddie

 

I just didnt want to present DWS's offer out there without his permission. If he is interested in making a batch then I am more than willing to pony up a bit of cash to have one made by him, unfinished of course so I can do my thing to it. I see ones on Ebay with the border selling in the $85-$135 range powdercoated/polished/whatever other kind of finish can be offered, so I would have no problem paying somewhere in that range for one that I really want.
DWS, if you want to do a bit of leg work and possibly work up a batch of these to offer up to the crossfire community I will definitely commit to one. It should be quite simple, I had thought of just making up a quick wood form and using that to form all the edges, but I simply dont have a ton of time right now. If you dont want to take on that endeavor I wont be upset one bit. Being that we are on opposite sides of the country it probably wouldnt make a lot of sense for me to buy the material and ship it over to you to have you shape up, then have you ship it back to me, so having you source the material as well would be the smart option.
Let me know and I will do what I can from my end....

 

I have seen ones like these and they are nice. I had one like that in the grill of my 2000 Ram which looked really really good. The problem is that the style doesnt fit what I want to do with the car. The mesh grill will give me the mean, aggressive, look I am after. I want this thing to tell the person in front of me to "Get the h@!! outta my way, NOW!". Thanks for posting this up though.

 

I actually have the day off tommorow so I will see if I can source some metal locally and get an idea of what it would cost in a materials. I am hoping to keep the price below $100. There are alot of choices as to the style of the mesh.. So it would be cool if we could agree upon a style before I go nuts buying materials lol. If the metal will be powdercoated or painted, it would be cheaper to buy mild steel opposed to stainless.. I don't know how great my polisihing skills are lol, so I'm hoping most people would want black. Here are some examples:

OPTION 1 (woven mesh)



OPTION 2 (expanded steel)


OPTION 3 (circular)


OPTION 4 (honeycomb)


I would also like to mention that the more open area there is in the grille, the more you will see behind it. There is a big ugly support bracket in the center of the grille that will become very obvious when the grille goes on, and should be painted black to hide it. These styles are available with different "open areas", and I would opt for the one with the least open area for that reason. If there is something else anyone had in mind, I am open to suggestions.. but these seem to be common and readily available. I personally like the woven mesh and honeycomb the best.. but would like to see the honeycomb in person first.

 

My first choice would be the mesh in option 1. It follows the look I am after closer. Option 4 is my second choice and would still look pretty nice with the car I think. If multiple people choose option 4 as the material they want their grill made out of I would not object. I dont know if the circular would look right on the car, would have to scrounge up a scrap piece and try to get a better visual (I can get very small scrap pieces of stuff pretty easy/cheap). Lets see what the rest of the group has to say and go from there.
Mild steel is the material of choice for me. Polishing mesh is nie on impossible and any of the rest of the options would probably have to be purchased pre-polished to make it look decent.
Thanks for taking lead on this little endeavor. Hope it works out for all of us!

 

I like the woven mesh look.