HOW TO: JDM Style Front Upper Grill
JDM STYLE FRONT UPPER GRILL.
Here is a another cheap little mod. I probably wont be doing any worthwhile How-tos until I get the old style JDM tail-lights and document the installation. =P
Basically all you have to do is pop off the black portion of the upper grill. You dont need to take off the whole grill or mask to paint this piece, it pops right out. This is for mp5s but it should be the same for protgs
5 snaps hold it in place, they are pictured below. For removal I used a screwdriver but broke the left female snap and the middle male part. 2 broken pieces out of 10 aint bad but still. A member of mpsport.net recommends using a L-shape tool to pop it off. Whatever you use, ust work slowly and all should be fine.
Here is the pieces I broke:
Now that it is off you can paint it yourself or bring it to a body-shop to paint it for you. If you have a factory paint job open your driver side front door and on the door it will say the color code of your car. for a 2003 silver mp5 the color code is 22V. You can bring the piece to a body shop with the color code and they should charge you cheap for it ($30-$40). Maybe you can haggle since you took the piece off for them and know the color code so they dont have to do matching.
You can also use the color code to buy spray cans of automotive paint online that are the exact color. They are like$15-$30 for just the paint though! Yikes.
I did mine myself. I started off by sanding with 350 grit sandpaper and going to 600 and putting on some light layers of primer and sanding again. For paint I went to kragen and got Duplicolor brand silver that was only like $3 a can. There motto is they match original paint and it worked pretty well. I also got duplicolor 500 degrees clear coat. When painting ALWAYS follow the instructions on the can. Go light coats and give it plenty of time to dry.
for black p5 owners your out of luck unless you want to paint the strip silver like on a protege
Here is is all done with a comparison of a silver JDM sport 20:
edit in-i changed the grit for sandpaper because i accidenly put 150..don't use that, its very rough. also, i know the car isn't a sport20 familia s-wagon. i couldn't find pictures of a silver one on mazda.co.jp, but trust me, the upper grill is body color on them
JDM STYLE FRONT UPPER GRILL.
Here is a another cheap little mod. I probably wont be doing any worthwhile How-tos until I get the old style JDM tail-lights and document the installation. =P
Basically all you have to do is pop off the black portion of the upper grill. You dont need to take off the whole grill or mask to paint this piece, it pops right out. This is for mp5s but it should be the same for protgs
5 snaps hold it in place, they are pictured below. For removal I used a screwdriver but broke the left female snap and the middle male part. 2 broken pieces out of 10 aint bad but still. A member of mpsport.net recommends using a L-shape tool to pop it off. Whatever you use, ust work slowly and all should be fine.
Here is the pieces I broke:
Now that it is off you can paint it yourself or bring it to a body-shop to paint it for you. If you have a factory paint job open your driver side front door and on the door it will say the color code of your car. for a 2003 silver mp5 the color code is 22V. You can bring the piece to a body shop with the color code and they should charge you cheap for it ($30-$40). Maybe you can haggle since you took the piece off for them and know the color code so they dont have to do matching.
You can also use the color code to buy spray cans of automotive paint online that are the exact color. They are like$15-$30 for just the paint though! Yikes.
I did mine myself. I started off by sanding with 350 grit sandpaper and going to 600 and putting on some light layers of primer and sanding again. For paint I went to kragen and got Duplicolor brand silver that was only like $3 a can. There motto is they match original paint and it worked pretty well. I also got duplicolor 500 degrees clear coat. When painting ALWAYS follow the instructions on the can. Go light coats and give it plenty of time to dry.
for black p5 owners your out of luck unless you want to paint the strip silver like on a protege
Here is is all done with a comparison of a silver JDM sport 20:
edit in-i changed the grit for sandpaper because i accidenly put 150..don't use that, its very rough. also, i know the car isn't a sport20 familia s-wagon. i couldn't find pictures of a silver one on mazda.co.jp, but trust me, the upper grill is body color on them
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