I removed the lower grille piece and then cut out the center of the grille along the border with a jig saw. That left me with just the flat plastic border on all sides from the inner edge to the fog lamp. Just a square border with outer the corner and fog lamp bezel still intact. This way. the original shape of the grille was retained and the fog lamp and adjacent corner were easier to cover.
I purchased 2 sheets of diamond aluminum mesh from 'customcargrilles' on Ebay. Each sheet is 4" x 36" which is the perfect height to fit inside the empty plastic shell I created by removing the guts of the original grille. It comes unpainted as seen below.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/190992827812?ss ... 1439.l2649
They have a variety of different styles and this mesh is also available with larger openings. Here is a link to the assortment they offer:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/customcargrills ... pg=&_from=
Mine allows 65% air flow, so it's an increase in air flow with this mesh instead of the solid plastic it replaced.
It was just a matter of trimming the mesh so it fit neatly in the shell, cutting around the fog lamp bezel. I used tin snippers and the mesh cuts very easily. Once the mesh fit nicely, I used thin plastic zip-ties along the top and bottom to hold it snug inside the frame.
Once this was done I used Krylon Color Master paint & primer in one - gloss black. I painted the entire piece - the frame, the mesh, the fog lamp bezel - front and back. The zip ties are only visible if you bend over and stick your face in the grille and look for them. The entire grille matches the car perfectly as if from the factory. It's hard to see the mesh in pics but it looks great to the eyes.
Total cost for the project was about $25 for the mesh and the paint.
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outer corners:
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Mesh installed with space left to re-install the DRL:
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Now the entire lower grille is glossy and black instead of the grey filler piece inside the main bumper. What a brilliant change for just $25 !!
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