05Single's virgin build thread. 03 tahoe

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05Single

05Single

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Been working on a hd grille. Same one I skinned the chrome off with a razor blade by hand. Didn’t have much time to work on it all year. When I bought the grille it already had some cosmetic and structural damage to it. But being in Alaska and seeing a HD grille pop up for sale once a year I grabbed it anyway with hopes of fixing it.
Passenger side had small crack on the cross bar, there was a chunk missing from the mesh on top, both mounting clips on the bottom cracked and broken , and a larger crack on the drivers side that was growing. Guy wanted $120, I talked him down to $50. Still paid too much :nono:
I patched the mesh area and the small crack on the passenger side. The drivers side was been difficult tho. So I used some plastic filler and fiber fix rigid patch, like a fiberglass patch, to fix everything. Tried to line up the grille bar and use a metal brace to hold it over night.
Well this happened56DAC9C6-B8AB-45F9-B020-7DFD2BE494B1.jpeg
Passenger side set fine...51C1F126-4946-45E5-930D-505EFE111379.jpeg
Drivers side...C84443FC-DB9F-4FD1-8BA1-842A4AB4004F.jpeg4B9C9FBB-49E2-4BA4-9C60-B77B95C5C696.jpeg DBEAD474-588C-465A-BEC7-36877B774F20.jpeg As the patch dried the crack grew and the plastic became brittle and created more cracks. It’s weird because the entire center bar seemed super weak and brittle even before I scraped all the chrome off. And it was an oem grille not a cheap aftermarket grille so idk:shrug:

Next time I’ll use good ol’ faithful fiberglass and resin instead of being lazy and cheap with these patches. Patches not worth it imo.
 
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05Single

05Single

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So here it sits lol. Frustrating but can’t be mad. Looking at grilles online. $120 plus $300 for shipping is what makes me mad. But I won’t stop looking , I might have a lead on another grille hopefullyCE6927E2-9A42-4395-B291-7468E97B880B.jpeg
But still I don’t mind posting fails so people who come across the same problem can learn or try different ideas. But as far as I’m concerned this grille is a total loss and I will be tossing it.
 

adventurenali92

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So here it sits lol. Frustrating but can’t be mad. Looking at grilles online. $120 plus $300 for shipping is what makes me mad. But I won’t stop looking , I might have a lead on another grille hopefullyView attachment 217269
But still I don’t mind posting fails so people who come across the same problem can learn or try different ideas. But as far as I’m concerned this grille is a total loss and I will be tossing it.
Damn that’s crazy! I know you won’t give up on it haha
 
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05Single

05Single

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Damn that’s crazy! I know you won’t give up on it haha
Yea I had plans for it , maybe not meant to have an HD grille lol. I should’ve kept the last one and tried to fix it. The chrome bar broke on that one if you remember but it was a much tougher plastic that this one.
So right now I have a paintable z71 grill

D03C1F7C-A262-4706-A71E-4D403BDF4729.jpeg 818BC6A2-E6F8-49E4-8698-45C51FC471E1.jpeg603758E0-A36B-4691-AB64-DCF7BD0476EF.jpeg


....that I still need to paint lol
 
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05Single

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I did fix a mounting tab on another chrome grille I had with the same fiber patch. Seems to work great. Grille is much more rigid. Pretty easy to install if the area is flat or if there’s a small curve. Not really bendable for tight corners. Just sand the area down and apply a patch, cut to to the size you want. After it dries you can sand it and apparently paint it too.
I tried to air dry it for a couple days but it never dried. It only dries and hardens with UV light. So I went to the hardware store to find a UV light and couldn’t find one under $50 (grow lights). Finally had a day with sun but it was 30 degrees out. Set the grille inside the garage with the garage door open in the sunlight and it actually hardened after about 30 minutes lol B2E0EC09-4D3F-4C25-A331-0E42E84063F1.jpeg
 
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05Single

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I almost picked up an HD hood for $300. But decided against it. No HD hood for this hoe.
 

Tonyrodz

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So here it sits lol. Frustrating but can’t be mad. Looking at grilles online. $120 plus $300 for shipping is what makes me mad. But I won’t stop looking , I might have a lead on another grille hopefullyView attachment 217269
But still I don’t mind posting fails so people who come across the same problem can learn or try different ideas. But as far as I’m concerned this grille is a total loss and I will be tossing it.
I wouldn't toss that grill yet. Gotta be a way to patch it up to make it work. The 2 pieces that are broken look like they can be lined up. Maybe line them up and hold them together some how and pour some liquid 2 part epoxy in there. Maybe the 5 min kind. Won't be perfect but it'll hold together, and maybe sand it down a little. Give it a shot.
 

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