Here are some pictures of my recent chrome mesh installation. All the technical info is below the pictures...

http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z1.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z2.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z3.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z4.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z5.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z6.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z7.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z8.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z9.jpg
http://home.attbi.com/~derek-kelly/element/grill/z10.jpg

Technical info:

Plastic plug info:

1. These are pretty rugged.
2. I used a thin, flat screwdriver to gently pry each one up. Someone on another forum posted a pic of a tool specifically for this task made from a pair of tweezers - I found that it's probably unneccessary - but there's certainly something to be said for making life easy.
3. If you have a stubborn one, try using another screwdriver from each side of the peg to pull it up evenly.
4. While I did not break any, when they pop out it is possible to lose one in the engine compartment - be careful!
5. It may also be possible to slip with a screwdriver and gouge something - I used wide, low-tack, blue, painters tape around anywhere I needed to be careful.

Fasteners on the bottom:

6 plastic plugs in the middle
2 10MM bolts on each side (4 total)

Fasteners on the wheel well:

1 Phillips head screw on each side (2 total) - these are just inside the wheel well lip where the nose panel joins up with the side panel.

On the top with hood open:

12 plastic plugs (11 are immediately visible - 1 under plastic shroud right in the center)

Hole placement/drilling info:

I used a 3/16" drill bit and drilled holes 1/8" from the edge of the surfaces about every 6-8" on the top and bottom, 1 in the center of each side. and one hole in the middle of 2 fins on either side of the middle fin. The whole grill is super secure and it will not go anywhere, ever.

Again, use some blue tape here to protect surfaces in case the drill slips.

Purchasing info:

There are a lot of people offering mesh but I used a specific seller (racedreamz) after doing some research - here's one of his auctions:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...item=2406972651

I used Buy It Now on a Saturday and by Tuesday it had arrived.

Whole deal cost me less than $13 bucks shipped.

Misc. notes:

I don't know if anyone noticed from the pictures but I did not have enough black wire ties, but plenty of blue ones - so they would not show I just used them on the top.

Another thing the pictures don't capture well is that I used some very small cable ties in the middle of each fin - this sucks the mesh right into the middle contour of the grill.

Hope this helps. :D
eMass

eMass:: Good job on the install. You did a good job. I know the pics and run down on removing hte bumper will help other out a lot. Just one thing. You can buy that material at Home Depot for $5 for a 4'x6' section. I used that exact same material on my Civic when I made grills for it. Eventually it will fade some, but not much. Its pretty hard to clean due to all the mesh. All in all, good job.

[quote:e637b7489f="Turtle"]eMass:: Good job on the install. You did a good job. I know the pics and run down on removing hte bumper will help other out a lot. Just one thing. You can buy that material at Home Depot for $5 for a 4'x6' section.[/quote:e637b7489f]

Thanks! I do want to clarify though, I've seen the stuff at Home Depot that you speak of and this is not the same material. :D

Best,
eMass

Is the mesh chrome?

The home depot stuff is for stucco and tile and is made of steel and will rust.

[quote:ddff3e0334="boneheadz"]Is the mesh chrome?

The home depot stuff is for stucco and tile and is made of steel and will rust.[/quote:ddff3e0334]

Yes - the stuff I used is definately chrome.:D

Hey EMass, I looked at your pics a while back and looked like a wonderful idea! I did buy a roll of gutter screen 6"x 20 ' for about $4.00 and installed it alone, it was very easy. Looks nice too! Trying to keep rocks from putting holes in the radiator was one of my biggest concerns after I bought the Element. Now I have no worries, and if somthing happens to the screen I still have 17 more feet of it to work with.

Thanks for the helpfull pics.

Brian
SLM 5-speed

looks good! saw a guy on another forum that did the exact same thing-(his was a little better though!) :P LOL looks great cant wait to see the whole E at the meet!

[quote:e95fb3014e="Inmyelement"]looks good! saw a guy on another forum that did the exact same thing-(his was a little better though!) :P LOL looks great cant wait to see the whole E at the meet![/quote:e95fb3014e]

That guy on the other forum is my brother.:wink:
He still thinks that the "other forum" is best but I know this one is the real deal.:D

See you at the meet!

->eMass