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08-02-2010, 06:05 PM | #1 |
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DIY: Kidney Grille Removal and Custom Silver Painted 23d Kidney Grilles :)
Hello everyone,
This weekend I was working on changing my kidney grilles to 23d ones. Since the original parts are 66 Euros in dealer and a lot more for installation i thought that I can do it myself. And since the operation was successful i wanted to share my experiences with you. Tools needed: Torx T30 Silver Metallic Spray Paint Spray Varnish There are two ways to remove the grilles. 1st is to remove the bumper and 2nd is my way There are 4 T30 screws that holds bumper. Those have to be removed. After that, if your car is equipped with the headlight washers, you also have to remove the covers of the nozzles. You have to be very careful while removing the covers. Nozzles have to be pulled straight up, or else there is a great possibility that you might brake them. Just pull straight, remove the covers without moving nozzles up and down, and slowly leave the nozzle to its original place again without moving up and down. If you get help from someone at this stage, it should be much more easier. Nozzle covers removed: After that, you can stretch the bumper from upper side and release the 3 latches with the help of a screwdriver. After that you have to release the latch on the outer side. (Near the headlight). At this point you again have to be careful not to screw the paint of the bumper. The reason is that, that latch can only be removed with the help of a long screwdriver. As you can see in the picture, the latch is right behind the rubber where it has a curve because I've loosened it. You can also see what I've done to the bumper paint No worries, the other side was perfect, just be careful After that you can loosen the grille since it is half removed and release the other latches with hand. You might think that it might get broken bot no worries, bumper is so elastic Just be careful not to hurt your hand. The grilles are removed, now it comes to paint them. To paint the them, it is better to remove the chrome lining from the grilles. You can also secure them with blue tape. You may have difficulty releasing the latches of the chrome lining since there are too many and they are very tight. I come up with an idea. I insert screws to latches so they didn't snap in again when loosening others. Then paint the grille with the spray paint. Apply 3-4 thin layers. If you wait 10-15 minutes between each layer it will be better. 3-4 thin layers are better than one thick layer. Before starting paint job don' forget to wash and clean the grilles carefully. And lastly you have to carefully insert the chrome lining back. While doing this do not completely snap-in one side or you'll be in trouble. Try to equally snap-in from both sides. And here is the final product. Hope that helps!!! Last edited by mozdal; 08-02-2010 at 08:31 PM.. |
08-02-2010, 06:29 PM | #2 |
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Looks good!
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08-03-2010, 07:54 AM | #3 |
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Good write up!
Are the roads in Turkey that bad or do you do lots of off-roading? Your engine compartment looks like you just completed the Dakar Rally!
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08-03-2010, 02:45 PM | #4 | |
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By the way I washed the car myself today after reading your post I spent 2 hours just for the exterior. Tomorrow I'll do the interior and the engine |
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08-03-2010, 05:14 PM | #5 |
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Hi THats simpler then I expected. Good work! I Think the Marakesh brown is the nicest color but a little dark. With extra silber like accents the color is even more beautifull.
For the lack of silber on the 'smaller'engines I decided to order the 23D |
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08-07-2010, 07:12 PM | #7 |
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Amazed at your ingenuity. Well done because it looks good! And yeh, there's a lot of dust around in your neck of the woods. Does it get into the interior of the car?
Nash |
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08-10-2010, 04:47 AM | #8 |
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Thanks Nash I was so obsessed with removing grilles, luckily everything went well And no, there is no dust in interior. I'm hoping that someone will write up a how to clean your engine compartment DIY
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08-10-2010, 06:20 AM | #9 |
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Actually quite easy, something I do as I tend to hyper-clean (detail-ish) my cars. The are a number of products on the market that go some way to helping you clean out an engine bay. Not sure if you can get them in Turkey (my brother lives in Istanbul and always complains about how difficult it is to source things) but the engine cleaners made by Meguiars and AutoGlym are very good. You can normally just use the water from a hose with the cleaners but they do work better if coupled with a steam cleaner. I have a Karcher that I use around the house that works very well.
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12-05-2010, 02:37 PM | #12 | |
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Did your dealer quote a fitted price?
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12-08-2010, 02:15 PM | #13 |
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12-11-2010, 04:06 AM | #14 |
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I asked my dealer to install the silver grills on delivery, the cost was only 70€ so I think it is not worth for doing yourself risk to damage something and all those things
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05-22-2011, 10:01 AM | #15 |
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[QUOTE=jaxxsson;8481349]I asked my dealer to install the silver grills on delivery, the cost was only 70
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10-09-2012, 12:50 PM | #20 |
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My work!
Hello everyone.
I luckyly found out this topic. Similar to the work above, i have done the same thing to my lovely BMW X1 and almost every single person who saw it, loved it. Its the same process. After removing four screws on top of the bumper, i relased the 8-9 clips that hold the kidney grill. And then i started to do it myself. So that is the result. I uploaded the photos of it. It has been 3-4 months since this application. And there was no peel off or anykind, still same lovely bright colors, still same lovely looking. I just wanted to show you all guys. I hope you'll like it as well. Thank you. |
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12-04-2013, 05:38 PM | #21 | |
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Great write up and pics. I have asked here and elsewhere if those covers for the headlight washers have to come off and you answered the question in your DIY. But I'm still a bit confused as to how you take those covers off and NOT break the lines or whatever for the washers?
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12-11-2013, 10:12 AM | #22 | |
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