Topic: Recessed Grill Pictures- Pre-Install

[spicy3480]

I arrived home today to find a package from Rudy and Aftershock on my front porch.  I was excited to open it up and see what we have been waiting for all this time while Rudy put his effort into making these perfect...and perfect they are!!!!

The material is solid and seems very strong, but should still be handled with care.  The tabs look good.  The inserts need to be glued to the outer frame, or the other option would be to drill a small, inconspicuous hole through and wire them together for easier removal. 

The grills will need to be smoothed for paint, and there is some excess material in the honeycomb that will be taken out when prepping for paint.  Everything Rudy has said was accurate.  I am super excited to get these painted and installed.  I will probably glue the inner honeycomb to the outer inserts, rather than drill and risk cracking the material. 

Kudos Rudy!

Here are some pre-install pictures:

Packaged


The two pieces together


Front


Back


Excess silicone that needs to be removed before paint (on rear side of grill)

[Sly Bob]

VERY nice Steve. Anxious to see what they look like when they are cleaned up and painted.

[Frank I]

I arrived home today to find a package from Rudy and Aftershock on my front porch.  I was excited to open it up and see what we have been waiting for all this time while Rudy put his effort into making these perfect...and perfect they are!!!!

The material is solid and seems very strong, but should still be handled with care.  The tabs look good.  The inserts need to be glued to the outer frame, or the other option would be to drill a small, inconspicuous hole through and wire them together for easier removal. 

The grills will need to be smoothed for paint, and there is some excess material in the honeycomb that will be taken out when prepping for paint.  Everything Rudy has said was accurate.  I am super excited to get these painted and installed.  I will probably glue the inner honeycomb to the outer inserts, rather than drill and risk cracking the material. 

Kudos Rudy!


Excess silicone that needs to be removed before paint (on rear side of grill)

Steve:

Does it appear that glass beading the grills and the Honeycomb back side to remove the silicone would be appropriate?  If not, how are you going to prepare the grills and remove the silicone?  Does Rudy give any instructions?  Thanks

Frank I

[Kelu]

Steve they look sweet, put them on faster

[spicy3480]

Steve:

Does it appear that glass beading the grills and the Honeycomb back side to remove the silicone would be appropriate?  If not, how are you going to prepare the grills and remove the silicone?  Does Rudy give any instructions?  Thanks

Frank I

I'll be honest and say that I don't know what the glass beading process is.  I am just going to have my body shop prep it...they would know the correct way...probably a fine sand paper.

[Sol Asylum]

Having done some plastic casting myself I know a little about what needs to be done. 

First I suspect that these parts are cast using a silicone mold so its possible that there could be little pieces of the mold that can tear free and remain on the part.  This tends to be pretty easy to clean up you can rub it with your hand or use a stiff scrub brush.  The silicone pieces will stretch and pull free of the part no big deal. 

Spiky what you refer to as silicone in the picture may not be silicone but actually "flash" which is just a little excess plastic that ends up flowing over the edge of the mold lines/mating surfaces, its a little hard to tell from the picture.

More likely the silicone that is being referenced here is actually a release agent used to prevent the mold from sticking to the part and causing the above problem.  In this case you will need to use a solvent to remove the release agent.  Bead blasting may work but then again it might only just move the silicone around and not remove it, it will however change the surface texture of the part and you might not want that.  As for solvents use something like a wax and grease remover they tend to be less aggressive and don't cause damage to the plastic parts.  Another good solvent that I have used is made by SEM and it is a plastic prep which is used as the name implies to prep the part for paint.  Also for those that want to paint the parts themselves SEM makes a plastic and vinyl dye which works quite well for this sort of application it adhere nicely and then remains flexible so it doesn't chip and flake off.  It also offers a UV protection which may be needed depending on what type of material Rudy had the parts made from.

Most of the better auto parts stores will carry SEM's product line.  Here is a link to their site for those that want to know more.

http://semproducts.com/Catalog.asp?prod=190

Rudy when things settle down for you and you get a chance drop me a line I have a few tricks that can help remove those little air bubbles, also depending on the material these are made of you can cast them in a rainbow of colors including glow in the dark.

[SOLster]

Having done some plastic casting myself I know a little about what needs to be done. 

First I suspect that these parts are cast using a silicone mold so its possible that there could be little pieces of the mold that can tear free and remain on the part.  This tends to be pretty easy to clean up you can rub it with your hand or use a stiff scrub brush.  The silicone pieces will stretch and pull free of the part no big deal. 

Spiky what you refer to as silicone in the picture may not be silicone but actually "flash" which is just a little excess plastic that ends up flowing over the edge of the mold lines/mating surfaces, its a little hard to tell from the picture.

More likely the silicone that is being referenced here is actually a release agent used to prevent the mold from sticking to the part and causing the above problem.  In this case you will need to use a solvent to remove the release agent.  Bead blasting may work but then again it might only just move the silicone around and not remove it, it will however change the surface texture of the part and you might not want that.  As for solvents use something like a wax and grease remover they tend to be less aggressive and don't cause damage to the plastic parts.  Another good solvent that I have used is made by SEM and it is a plastic prep which is used as the name implies to prep the part for paint.  Also for those that want to paint the parts themselves SEM makes a plastic and vinyl dye which works quite well for this sort of application it adhere nicely and then remains flexible so it doesn't chip and flake off.  It also offers a UV protection which may be needed depending on what type of material Rudy had the parts made from.

Most of the better auto parts stores will carry SEM's product line.  Here is a link to their site for those that want to know more.

http://semproducts.com/Catalog.asp?prod=190

Rudy when things settle down for you and you get a chance drop me a line I have a few tricks that can help remove those little air bubbles, also depending on the material these are made of you can cast them in a rainbow of colors including glow in the dark.

Thank you Sol Asylum for your brief and excellent explanation of the process.  Yes bead blasting is similar to sand blasting except you're using tiny plastic beads vs. sand.  And depending on the size of the granuals, you can control the type of texture on the surface of the inserts.  However, I believe it would be the fastest way to clean up the excess flash material and clean the hexagon tunnels much move evenly.  If you have access to a blaster then start with the smallest granual and slow pressure.  Then if it's not making a fast enough impact to the finish, then turn the pressure up and /or increase the size of your granuals.

In terms of the silicone residue, as Sol Asylum had recommmended, any degreaser or even paint thinner can clean the residue off the surfaces.  It's not going to harm the plastic parts.  Just apply solution to rag and wipe parts down where you expect to apply primer and paint.

Thanks Sol Asylum, I'll take you up on that offer as soon as thing calm down on my end.  Much appreciated!

rudy

[Frank I]

  Yes bead blasting is similar to sand blasting except you're using tiny plastic beads vs. sand.  And depending on the size of the granuals, you can control the type of texture on the surface of the inserts.  However, I believe it would be the fastest way to clean up the excess flash material and clean the hexagon tunnels much move evenly.  If you have access to a blaster then start with the smallest granual and slow pressure.  Then if it's not making a fast enough impact to the finish, then turn the pressure up and /or increase the size of your granuals.

In terms of the silicone residue, as Sol Asylum had recommmended, any degreaser or even paint thinner can clean the residue off the surfaces.  It's not going to harm the plastic parts.  Just apply solution to rag and wipe parts down where you expect to apply primer and paint.

rudy

Rudy:

Thanks for the reply and our prayers are with you and your father.God Bless.
Frank I