I want to keep this thread separate from those looking to source the OEM P7 parts, or fabricating from carbon fibre. This is for those of us who are happy to get their hands a bit dirty themselves.

For some good comparison photos of the different front grilles I recommend mshedden's vote thread here: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...le-bar-160279/.

I was chatting to a friend stateside who owns a V6S and wants the P7 open nose. As I made some odd bits for him in the past he has asked me to have a go at making an imitation based on the standard OEM F Type part. I don't (and won't) do this professionally, and I don't know yet if it will work, but in the interests of "have a go yourself" I will document the process here so anyone interested enough to DIY their own grille has the option.

I have used the following so far:

Radiator surround (silver) T2R5053 - £75 - $105 USD
ABS honeycomb mesh grille - ebay - £13 - $18 USD

Obviously if this was on your own car you don't need to buy a new surround. I bought the silver one because it is 1/3rd the price of the black, and it will need repainting anyway.

The mesh is finer than the P7 (which is in turn a bit larger than the factory mesh). (Refer to the photos in the vote thread linked above.) You can get different sized mesh but we opted for the narrower 25x14mm (1" x 0.55") to see if it would reduce the visible effect of the metal front bumper cross member without detracting from the open effect. It is also hopefully closer to the parking sensor diameter so the brackets won't be as intrusive.

To summarise the intended process -

1) Cut the two small lips from the surround where the plastic bar would clip and epoxy fibre glass the roughly 80x35mm slots left behind. There is good access from inside the lip of the surround. Sand flush with surround, strip, prime and repaint the lot gloss black.

2) Template the mesh and 3D print in black ABS two middle parking sensor mounts, a front camera and the filler cup for the Jag emblem. I have a stacker 3D printer which I will use for this, and once the fitment is confirmed I will share the object files. (My friend is not keeping his 'S' emblem, but I suspect a filler piece would be needed to mount that as well, although a washer and screw might work with the 30% smaller mesh.) Prime/paint the mesh gloss black to match.

3) About 80% of the existing grill retention clips on the surround make good contact with the replacement mesh but a few inevitably don't quite line up. The mesh will need to be bonded. A suitable silicone is my first thought so it can still be cut off if it ever needed replacing, and a bit of flex would make it less likely to sheer off in a small impact (e.g. a bird).

4) When done I will fit it to my R to check it fits without fouling anything and show the removal/refit process, but as my friend lives on the other side of the world I will be sending it onwards for final use. I'm keeping mine OEM as the requirement for a wide front number plate in the UK means there is nowhere but the central bar I can mount one.

Some photos of the dry prep work are attached. There is not much to document there - I simply templated the mesh and cut it out to fit. Fibre glassing will not take place for a week or so as I have other commitments at the moment but I will document that too.

 

Great DIY, thanks for sharing

 

Nice work, I look forward to seeing how it looks finished. I'm working on the P7 parts but if that wasn't possible something similar to your plan was on my radar.

Cheers,
Dave

 

Looks like a great start. Will be interested to see your finished product as I too am looking to do something very similar. Hoping to get the P7 parts, but may well introduce a different mesh to the process.

Question: Why have you doubled up the mesh in the one spot? About a 4" x 4" patch in the upper right corner of picture #5. Shown in better detail in picture #4?

Also, are you planning on introducing and slight curvature to the face of the mesh, or will the finished product be in a flat plane - side to side and top to bottom.

.

 

When fitted the mesh is curved to the profile of the surround, just like the original is. I forgot to take a photo from the front with the mesh fitted (in the first photo it is just laid on top hence it is flat). The last photo kind of shows it, but it is from behind so it is not as obvious.

The patch that is doubled up is part of the moulding. For some reason there are six areas spread evenly across the mesh that are double thickness when viewed from behind (you don't see it from the front). I'm guess it is some sort of reinforcement added for whatever original purpose the mesh mould was created for.

 

I finished my work a bit earlier tonight so I have got a bit further with this.

I have cut off the plastic supports for the horizontal bar and done the base bridging layer of fibre glass. To fill the space to prevent the FG falling out I used aluminium tape because you can stretch it just enough so the tension pulls it neatly into the curve of the surround, and it remains firm enough to use as a support till the epoxy starts to set. It does need to be removed while the epoxy is still soft, but not tacky, else it will permanently bond. If you have access to release tape then a bit of that stuck to the alu tape should prevent that, but I don't have any to hand. I templated and cut a few pieces of tissue for the infill and a few larger ones for the rear to bridge the edges. I used West System 105/205.

When preparing the cut-outs for the infill I found that the silver version is metallised plastic, i.e. they etch the ABS, apply copper and nickel and then chrome it. The copper layer is clearly visible when cut/sanded. I need to investigate painting techniques for that finish, but worst case scenario a bath in white vinegar or even flat coke may strip it off acording to Google. I might get away with just abrading and priming it? I need to research that still.

The purpose of the infill FG is to provide a solid structure for the top layer which will provide the finish to sand down and blend in. It will not be the final surface. Everyone has a slightly different preference for doing this, but where I will be doing final reshaping with a grinder I typically use MDF fibre as a thickening agent for the epoxy with no tissue layer. It is possible to sand it down to a glass-like finish if needed and is not as abrasive as glass fibre.

Once the initial epoxy has cured enough (between 8h and 24h) I will add that top layer. It's important not to leave it too long between layers else the epoxy can't chemically bond with the previous one so I am hopeful I will get a chance to do it either at lunch or in the evening tomorrow as it is only a ten minute job including cleaning up.

I took another photo of the rear with the mesh clipped in to try and show the curve it adopts as well.

 

Great work. Just a thought but what about wrapping the surround? I was thinking of doing that on mine and it would eliminate needing to get too carried away stripping the chrome off, etc. ....just another idea.

Dave

 

Wrapping would certainly be possible, but painting would likely be cheaper. If you're going to DIY one paint it probably going to be more accessible to you.

I've vinyl wrapped some things before, but never with the perimeter curve on the surround. Would that present a problem, or can it just be shrunk back over a sharp curve with a bit of heat?

 

I don't know but I think I'll find out; My P7 surround is grey and I'd rather not scuff and paint it plus I think the wrap would hold up better for chipping, etc. My F type is in the shop right now getting some XPel applied to the rockers so I'm going to ask them when I pick it up.

Dave

 

That would be great; please let me know what they say!

 

Will do. :-)

Dave

 

They said.....maybe. they were a little concerned it would pull in the corners but figured if they could wrap it right around it should be OK. not sure if fitment will be an issue then. I told them I'd bring them the part when it arrives and they can see/try it.


Dave

 

In the FWIW dept - paint for projects like this - I recently used some SPRAY MAX 2K high gloss clear over a 1K gloss black basecoat and it worked really well. These are 'body shop' quality paints, but in a spray can, and they have a nozzle that actually works as opposed to producing a pathetic FOG of paint.

The gloss clear is a 2 part paint in a can - you release the second part by depressing a button on the bottom of the can, then shake to mix - has a limited lifetime once mixed, but putting in the fridge extends that for a couple of days. Should use an organic type respirator ($20) as the clear contains cyanide compounds.

The clear is UV resistant, unlike auto store clear coats.

Any how, this will give much better results than auto store type spray paints for a project like this - definately worth it.

SprayMax 3680061 Urethane Clear coat Spray

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll order some in.

I had time to finish the fibre glassing after eating my lunch today so that is now finished and curing. No photos this time as it looks the same as before. I'm not sure I will get the time to prep for painting this weekend so I shall pick it up again next week.

 

Just note that 2K clear coats are compatible with 1K base coats, and won't necessarily work with 'regular' paint. That said if you find someone selling spraymax (its German originally) in the UK they can probably fill a spraymax can with 1K black or whatiever color. You might need an appropriate primer as well.

OK, this:

SprayMax | new dimension in spray painting | available at Ayce Systems

 

Update?

 

I bought the paints from Ayce Systems. So far I've done the primer, filler, sand, and base coat. April showers from a blue sky decided to spoil the base coat so I sanded that back lightly and have redone that today. All being well the painting should be finished over the weekend and I'll get the clearcoat done early next week.

On the mesh-side, I'm still waiting for the camera to arrive from my friend and then I can work out how to mount it. I will pick up some parking sensor rings when I drop mine in for its service next week and then look to get the brackets printed for the sensors and the emblem. I'm going to hold off painting the mesh until I've finished cutting holes in it to avoid the need for any refinishing.

So far it looks good - I'll try and get some photos when I'm home later.

[ edit ]

Photo added.

 

So how much to make me one? Pretty please.

 

Bumping an old thread since OP is still an active member. Did you ever finish this project? Curious to see how it looks on the car. If you could post some pics, that'd be awesome.