Custom Grille v3.0

[originalcyn]

lol, fair enough. The gutter mesh looks ok on mine. I was playing with a couple different things, but gutter mesh seemed to be the most unique looking.

[originalcyn]

Went with the garbage can like Apex suggested, it looks pretty nice. it's a lot harder to shape then the gutter mesh though. fiber glass is done and the epoxy is done and sanded. I'm just epoxying in the mesh now. Once this thing is painted and done i'll post a picture. Once that's done i think i'm going to try and to make a process write up on it, just for kicks. grilles are one of those things that seems like it's fun to figure out by yourself, so maybe it won't be that helpful, but fun none the less. self gratifying tripe.

[originalcyn]

Alright. Let's get some opinions on this. Imagine this thing is black, or the color of the body. And let's also imagine that the badges are black and yellow. And finally, Let's pretend that i have either a 2003 wrx subaru emblem OR one of the normal legacy subaru emblems, which are considerably smaller than the ones in the pictures.

THAT all being said: Which One do you like best?

Badgeless:


Subaru Badge:


LS Emblem:


BOTH:



Maybe this calls for a vote...

[kimokalihi]

You're askin for a lot, what with all the imagining and stuffs. No badge. Nice and clean.

[Apex3]

Went with the garbage can like Apex suggested, it looks pretty nice. it's a lot harder to shape then the gutter mesh though. fiber glass is done and the epoxy is done and sanded. I'm just epoxying in the mesh now. Once this thing is painted and done i'll post a picture. Once that's done i think i'm going to try and to make a process write up on it, just for kicks. grilles are one of those things that seems like it's fun to figure out by yourself, so maybe it won't be that helpful, but fun none the less. self gratifying tripe.

Nice! I feel all innovative and stuff

But yea it's pretty tough stuff, I bent mine by sticking it in a vice then folding it over(by hand, it's not that tough), that's what I wanted though with mine, that means it won't be moving around and deforming with wind.

Personally I like it best with no badge. Originally I was wishing I left the badge in the middle of mine, but the more I look at it the more I like it without anything. The little badge in the corner isn't bad either though. One thing to keep in mind is that I've had 3 or 4 people ask me what kind of car mine was because of the lack of a badge, so I guess it depends on what you're going for, I like to be unique though so it doesn't bother me.

Also I like the look of a body color grill, mine's only black because I don't want to buy body colored paint

[evolutionmovement]

I think the badge is too large, so on mine, I used the small badge from the center of the steering wheel and mounted it on a bracket at the front bottom of the grille, rather than on the mesh so it looked less like a gaping hole. I thought it was too aftermarket looking and plain without anything.

[originalcyn]

Thanks, guys! I hadn't thought of using a bracket, that might be the way to go. If the badge itself was smaller i wouldn't mind going with both of them, but it might just be the ls emblem when all is said and done.

More Input!!

[Legacy777]

What you could do is find a local shop that does vinyl and have them make up a badge size that you want. Then take that and stick it on a piece of plexi glass cut to fit the vinyl. Then affix that to the mesh. I was thinking primarly about the LS badge.

[evolutionmovement]

Here's what I'm talking about:



The bracket is angled back a little to match the slope of the grille.

[originalcyn]

I was thinking primarly about the LS badge.

Ie, make a new LS badge? Do you think that one is too big?

Looks nice evolutionmovement. I like the mesh you chose.

[Legacy777]

Ie, make a new LS badge? Do you think that one is too big?

Looks nice evolutionmovement. I like the mesh you chose.

Yes, I think the LS badge is too large in contrast to the grill and subaru badge......but that's just me.

[originalcyn]

Well, hell, i imagine that besides me there's an entire forum of people who value your opinion quite a bit. lol.

[evolutionmovement]

Along the lines of what Josh was saying—you can make almost anything you want into a badge. This is an in-progress picture of a bike I did this summer. All the graphics were printed off the computer with an inkjet onto white background inkjet decal paper. Print it, cut it out, spray it with clear coat, apply it, clear coat it some more until you get it how you want it. You could also apply it to a hard material backing or even to the back of clear acrylic, maybe even sandwiching it between two pieces for protection.

[originalcyn]

Nice job on those graphics! I might go ahead and try that. though i have been wanting to find a good vinyl shop for a while.

[Apex3]

Nice job on those graphics! I might go ahead and try that. though i have been wanting to find a good vinyl shop for a while.

If you can get me vectors my friend in Renton has a vinyl cutter.

[originalcyn]

Thanks for the offer Apex, i'll keep that in mind!

Anyone else have preferences on the way this grille will look?

[originalcyn]

bump for opinions.

[evolutionmovement]

What are you looking for? I'm odd, but I'll tell you what I'm doing in case it helps with ideas or whatever. Subaru is no longer the company I loved, so I'm ditching all the badges. The rear garnish on the tailgate is going to say "Duchess" and the constellations are going to be replaced with the Death's Head Coastline badge of the fictional Cape Ann Motors from my books. I was going to make it with silver wire and enamel, but I think I'll just apply a decal to a piece of aluminum and cover that with a piece of acrylic, beveled on the edges, for protection and finish. The grill will otherwise be the same.

[originalcyn]

Thanks for the ideas evolutionmovement. i'm not sure exactly what i want yet, which is kinda why i'm getting ideas. i don't want to make the grille completely badgeless. On the 92-94s it seems like the amount of space where the mesh would be is bigger than on the 90-91s, which make it look like a giant, gaping hole, especially if the grille is black. I learned this from the previous grille i tried to make. So i'm thinking it needs some kind of badge. i might just go with the LS badge, kinda like how some audis have their s4 badge on the right side of the grill, or how stis have one there too, but it's still up in the air since i'm getting a feel for the community's opinion.

[Apex3]

90-91 is bigger, here's mine.

[originalcyn]

90-91 is bigger, here's mine.

Yeah, i phrased that terribly. Or it sounded different in my mind, or something. i guess what i meant was that, on the 90-91 models, the amount of bezel that surrounds the mesh seems to be less, making it look like there's more mesh. But on the 92-94 models, there's more bezel and for some reason, in my mind, that makes it look like a giant hole.

That doesn't even make sense, but it's still how i feel.

Anyways Apex, like i said before, you grille looks great. But i don't think i could pull it off with mine.

Or maybe it's because your car is grey. Anyways, i want to fill in the space just a tad with some kind of badge. I might be able to badgeless, but not if the grille is black. If i can find body colored paint and paint the grille the color of the body and the mesh black, i might not need a badge. But finding body colored paint is a hassle on a car that's nearly 20 years old. i can't account for fade and all that jazz. but it would be rad if i could find a rattle can of pre faded Phoenician blue.

Man, that is the lamest 100th post i've ever seen.

[Apex3]

I like it better on the 92-94 without anything than on the 90-91, but that's just me. I say drive around with it plain/cheap for a little while, then make a decision later, you'll start to notice little things and figure out exactly what bugs you, or you'll decide it looks good the way it is. You're gonna be making those decisions either way, might as well start cheap and add things, rather than spend money and get rid of things.

Also, on such a small piece it won't stand out all that much if the paint doesn't match perfectly, as long as it's the same color code you should be fine.
http://www.paintscratch.com

[originalcyn]

Cool! thanks for the link Apex. have you ever used their stuff?

I'll prolly just get some double stick tape and roll around a week at a time with the different combination of badges and see which i like. this grille is still just a test, so most of the badges can't be permanent on it.

[originalcyn]

[gijonas]

nice!