Project pretty prius grill block

[talonts]

Originally Posted by ps2fixer

Why not just glass in some rare earth magnets? I have played around with them, and slightly larger ones are amazingly strong. I have seen hooks with them that can hold over 60 pounds of weight!

So far it is looking great, I'm still brainstorming some gril blocks for my 92 camry and looking for a similar setup... removeable and looks fair to good.

I've played with attaching REMs to various things, and from experience, getting them stuck to something isn't that hard. Getting them to STAY stuck is a whole different level of difficult. If you don't completely cover them with a layer of glass cloth, they WILL pull out of resin either 1 - over a few removals or 2 - the very first time you try to break the magnets free from the steel plate or other REM.

If using REMs, you need ones strong enough to grip through 1 layer of glass if fastening to a steel plate, or 2 layers if using 2 REMs.

Velcro really will be the best overall fixture method. As I noted, you can embed the base cloth of the Velcro directly into resin (you want the resin nearly tacking to avoid soaking through and completely filling up the hooks or loops). And Velcro will allow slight movement. Glue some split clear vinyl or rubber tubing to the edge of the glass blockoff plate to avoid having it rub through the paint on the grille, and you'll have a plate that sticks like crazy, but is still relatively easy to remove.

If I had to make one (not likely living in FL), I'd just heat form some ABS sheet to the right shape and Velcro it down.

BTW, I've seen entire body panels on a car stuck on with Velcro - full *steel* panels. So this featherweight glass panel will work well with it.

[LeanBurn]

Have you considered computer hard drive magnets, they are very very strong, despite their small size. Just throwing it out there..

[Andrew63]

Originally Posted by euromodder

I could see these work as attachments for removable wheel skirts.
Do they grip tightly ?

I am contemplating my rear skirt design. I plan on using Dzus 1/4 turn (quick disconnect) captive hardware.

[Sven7]

So, I just realized this thread has no ending. Do we have finished photos of it? I'm planning on doing one for Ren, sans the fiberglass, sometime soon.

[Daox]

It is not finished. I never really came up with a good way of mounting it. Right now the back of it is all jagged fiberglassed / fiberglass soaked foam which would scratch the heck out of the paint job. It is going to need something on the back side to stop this from happening. Perhaps some stick on weather stripping or something. There is also no way (yet) to center it on the grill. That was going to be part of the mounting provisions and just hasn't been done.

I have been thinking about it a lot since getting the grey Prius. Its one of those things that looks great and I'd love to finish up I just haven't had the time.

[Sven7]

1. Plasti-dip the back of the block
2. Drill 4 eye hooks into it at the corners
3. Pull a zip tie through each pair of eye hooks, tightening them around the back of the grille slats.

$10, 20 minutes.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Sven7

1. Plasti-dip the back of the block
2. Drill 4 eye hooks into it at the corners
3. Pull a zip tie through each pair of eye hooks, tightening them around the back of the grille slats.

$10, 20 minutes.

True, but that might not meet the "pretty" standard marked-out as a priority in the OP. I think the weather stripping is a good idea. Then you might also glass onto the back some sort of hooking or strapping hardware, cushioned so as not to scratch the OEM surfaces.

[Sven7]

To me, as long as it looks pretty on the outside and stays on... that's all you'd need. The plasti-dip would "cushion" it plenty.

[Daox]

California98Civic is correct. I don't want anything protruding. I want it to look like an OEM body panel. Usually I can deal with fasteners and zip ties (that is what is on the car now). But, I wanted to make this one as close to a nice flush 'pretty' panel as possible.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Daox

California98Civic is correct. I don't want anything protruding. I want it to look like an OEM body panel. Usually I can deal with fasteners and zip ties (that is what is on the car now). But, I wanted to make this one as close to a nice flush 'pretty' panel as possible.

Maybe some sort of band, lke a small bungie, could hook between two spots on either end of the inside of the block and be laced through the current OEM grill work somehow to fasten the grillblock gently... and still be easily removed.