Grille refurbishment

mchristyuk · Mar 30, 2012

The previous owner of my car had very carefully <ahem> driven into something square on the front of the car. To the untrained eye you wouldn't notice but having had her a while now it was starting to bug me..

So as the sun was shining when I finished work today I decided to pop the grille out and see if I could straighten it up a little. Whilst I was at it I popped to B&Q and got a Â£3.50 can of chrome paint.. quick bit of masking.. and hey presto! Have to say I think the chrome grille really works well.

Few stone chips to look into next and a fill/respray of one of the bonnet vents.. but that can wait for another week.

Cheers

Mark

safrane · Mar 30, 2012

Nice and Shiney!

Fat Arnie · Mar 30, 2012

Did you not realise the mesh comes off with a few screws?

mchristyuk · Mar 30, 2012

Hi Arnie,

I could see it 'should' come off... But mine wasn't willing to shift easily. Decided masking tape was better than damaging the grille...

Cheers

Mark

Woody · Mar 30, 2012

great bit of DIY. Mine needs doing as there's a couple of chips on it.....

Out of interest, don't 3200's have a Maserati badge on the nose? I've never noticed that before!

mchristyuk · Mar 30, 2012

Hi Woody,

Wasn't sure what you were on about.. until I had a quick google! Does appear that 3200's didn't have the badge but 4200's did.. though I do see some pictures of a few 3200's with the badge.. maybe the owners retro-fitted it or it was an option at build time?

Cheers

Mark

Woody · Mar 30, 2012

mchristyuk said:
Hi Woody,

Wasn't sure what you were on about..

I find that happens a lot!

OK, cool. Looks cleaner without one, to be fair.

hodroyd · Mar 30, 2012

Hi Mark,

If your bonnet grille is cracked, which they tend to do if overtightened, you can get a new one for around Â£70 from some Maserati Dealers.

Cheers
R

mchristyuk · Mar 30, 2012

Hi,

The grille is a little gone in one corner but not noticeable. The biggest issue is the deformation of the entire chrome surround (Â£Â£Â£Â£!). I've straightened it enough now that to the untrained eye you wouldn't know.. only a Maserati eye would spot it.. so I'll leave it at that until I see a decent one pop up on eBay at a sensible price.

Cheers

Mark

Danny · Mar 31, 2012

Mark, how did you remove the front grille/chrome surround?

mchristyuk · Mar 31, 2012

Hi Danny,

There's a few photo guides on the forums but I'll give you my version of what I did:

1) Take out the 4 screws along the top of the chrome surround.
2) Look through the bottom of the grille and you'll see 4 metal clips. Each clip has a post from the chrome surround going through into it.
3) Spray said clips liberally with WD40
4) Wiggle, push, pull.
5) Try lifting the clips a little with a small screwdriver through the grill to release the posts.
6) Pop!.. out comes the grille and surround.

It's pretty straight forward and took me about 5 minutes to get it out.

Cheers

Mark

Danny · Mar 31, 2012

Thanks, will try to remove mine tomorrow!

hodroyd · Apr 1, 2012

I thought the front grill was chromed stainless steel, or at least polished S/S?

mchristyuk · Apr 1, 2012

Robert,

The outer surround is a substantial piece of chrome metal.. however the meshing (the grille itself) is just black wire as standard.. Certainly on the earlier 3200's like I have.

Cheers

Mark

hodroyd · Apr 1, 2012

I think they were all pretty much the same, apart from the AC which part of it is coloured titanium as they call it, but I'm sure it was S/S.

CPTSmith · Apr 1, 2012

mchristyuk, what type/brand of paint did you use for this? Also, is your hood vented? If so, were can I get one?

mchristyuk · Apr 1, 2012

CPTSmith,

The paint was just a small can of enamel spray paint, think it was Â£3.50. One coat was all it took so the can should last the life time of the car!

By hood I'm guessing you mean the "bonnet"? That was standard on the 3200's to cool the turbos.. which of course the later 4200's didn't have.

Cheers

Mark

mchristyuk · Apr 1, 2012

Robert,

All the standard 3200's I know about have plain black meshes.. hence there's a number of threads like this on the forums showing how to take it apart and replace the grille. A lot of people use Jaguar meshing.. until some bright spark realised it's far easier, cheaper and quicker just to give a quick spray of paint

Cheers

Mark

Parisien · Apr 1, 2012

Yes...agree it is a design/finish flaw on the car......spray her and be done with!!!!!!!!

P

hodroyd · Apr 2, 2012

Quick and cheap way is good for me!!

Grille refurbishment

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