Changing the IS250 Grill

JapCarForum Car Manufacturers Lexus/Toyota Changing the IS250 Grill

Pages (4): 1 2 3 4 Next

Cous3
Member

211

30-01-2018, 06:18 AM

With the removeable "L" piece, I would say because of the way it has been molded the "L" piece is seperate. If you were using this with the OEM standard "L" emblem you would need to glue this piece in place, but it is a good fitting.
[Image: 395633539.jpg]

3mm plasic sheet from Ebay to make the centre piece.
[Image: 395633469.jpg]

Shaped centre piece, filed and sanded with wet and dry, quite easy to do.
[Image: 395633466.jpg]

Glued in place with two part epoxy resin, ready for filler.
[Image: 395633463.jpg]

Filler started, more to do then more sanding etc.
[Image: 395633460.jpg]

In primer after a few rounds of filling & sanding.
[Image: 395633542.jpg]

Ready for Satin Black and "L" emblem.
[Image: 395633541.jpg]

Carbon inserts.
[Image: 395633543.jpg]

After a few coats of Satin Black.
[Image: 395688490.jpg]

More pics to come when I get the "L" emblems next week.

Keith

Cous3

30-01-2018, 06:18 AM #1

I have been looking around to change the grill on my IS250 SE-L but couldn't find anything that I wanted. Alot of the American sites that sell updated grills are ....well......awful, all tend to have far too much chrome going on. Those on Ebay I just kept coming across were knock offs either plain or carbon which looked okay, but after I contacted a guy in the US who had bought one and then forwarded me some pics, decided it was not for me.

I like the grill on the IS-F and Ahmed's grill thread where he managed to make a grill fit from an IS-F was just what I was looking for, and so started to look around for an original IS-F grill. That's when came across this grill on Ebay US, specifically made for the IS250 manufactured by Konzept Automobiltechnik and taken from the IS-F style......Perfect!

So I bought the grill via a friend in the US because the seller didn't sell outside the US (yeah I know you got to love these guys!!)....plus it was repackaged as a gift so I didn't get stung for import duty.

The quality is quite good and actually better than I expected, the only thing was that I wanted to use Carbon inserts and so the front section had to be made solid or the insets would not fit into the "L" emblem, hence my work so far below.

This is the IS-F style grill for the IS250, it's not cheap but the quality is pretty good, obviously copied from the IS-F original and molded into the IS250 fitting.
[Image: 395633472.jpg]

With the removeable "L" piece, I would say because of the way it has been molded the "L" piece is seperate. If you were using this with the OEM standard "L" emblem you would need to glue this piece in place, but it is a good fitting.
[Image: 395633539.jpg]

3mm plasic sheet from Ebay to make the centre piece.
[Image: 395633469.jpg]

Shaped centre piece, filed and sanded with wet and dry, quite easy to do.
[Image: 395633466.jpg]

Glued in place with two part epoxy resin, ready for filler.
[Image: 395633463.jpg]

Filler started, more to do then more sanding etc.
[Image: 395633460.jpg]

In primer after a few rounds of filling & sanding.
[Image: 395633542.jpg]

Ready for Satin Black and "L" emblem.
[Image: 395633541.jpg]

Carbon inserts.
[Image: 395633543.jpg]

After a few coats of Satin Black.
[Image: 395688490.jpg]

[Image: 395688489.jpg]

[Image: 395688488.jpg]

More pics to come when I get the "L" emblems next week.

Keith

Cous3
Member

211

03-02-2018, 02:28 PM

The "L" emblems arrived today, brand new and shiny OEM parts:thumbup:

Tried out the carbon inserts by just placing them in, I really like the look with the chrome "L". I'm still going to spray one of the "L"s gloss black so I can compare the look.

Here's the one I got today:

[Image: 395770403.jpg]

Keith

Cous3

03-02-2018, 02:28 PM #2

DaveEdin
Posting Freak

5,657

03-02-2018, 02:38 PM

That looks pretty cool... though it looks like the weave isn't all going the same way (if you know what I mean), is that the way it's meant to be? :confused:

DaveEdin

03-02-2018, 02:38 PM #3

That looks pretty cool... though it looks like the weave isn't all going the same way (if you know what I mean), is that the way it's meant to be? :confused:

Cous3
Member

211

04-02-2018, 04:14 AM

Well spotted, you saw the deliberate mistake Dave lol.......I placed the wrong smaller section from the other inserts D'Oh. Glad it was picked up here and not after I'd stuck it! Cheers Dave.

Cous3

04-02-2018, 04:14 AM #4

Well spotted, you saw the deliberate mistake Dave lol.......I placed the wrong smaller section from the other inserts D'Oh. Glad it was picked up here and not after I'd stuck it! Cheers Dave.

DaveEdin
Posting Freak

5,657

04-02-2018, 05:52 AM

:biggrin: Happy to help Keith... :wink:

DaveEdin

04-02-2018, 05:52 AM #5

:biggrin: Happy to help Keith... :wink:

Cous3
Member

211

05-02-2018, 04:04 AM

neaky2:

Anyway back to the work in hand, just a small update of me having rubbed down the other chromed OEM "L" emblem, primed it and then given it a few coats of gloss black, see below drying:

[Image: 395794093.jpg]

And here are two examples of the black "L" look. One is with the OEM original grill but is all in Satin Black, including the bezel and "L".
(Borrowed from another forum)

[Image: 395794096.jpg]

And this is from the sellers auction pics, not sure if it's been painted, but if it has it looks Satin Black all over to me to:

[Image: 395794094.jpg]

Not 100% if I like it, especially all Satin black, I think a Gloss Black "L" will look better. Anyway I need to let it dry for a few days then take some pics of both the chrome and the black to compare. I should just point out that my outer bezel is colour coded to the car, not black like those in the above pics, so I am only really talking about the actual grill/mess part.

If they were not so expensive I'd probably go for the Black Chrome sets which I really like the look of.

[Image: !BZ8gg(w!2k~%24(KGrHgoOKiQEjlLmEZt(BKpHw5eT8g~~_12.JPG]

[Image: !BZ8gg(w!2k~%24(KGrHgoOKiQEjlLmEZt(BKpHw5eT8g~~_12.JPG]

Keith

Edited 19-03-2011, 01:43 PM by Cous3.

Cous3

05-02-2018, 04:04 AM #6

Actually Dave it is a mistake, it appears the two sets of Carbon inserts I recieved (four pieces) have one odd piece with the weave going the opposite way. Too late to contact the seller to exchange them as it's been well over the 7 days allowed in his auction. So I went to buy another set, won, paid, then the seller tells me they are out of stock..........but he's still running auctions for them :confused1: US seller.

There is another seller in Thailand, but they are for slightly bigger "L" emblems, otherwise I might have bought from him.

Oh well, just means if I do the rear "L" on the boot then it will get the odd weave, not sure too many people will notice neaky2:

Anyway back to the work in hand, just a small update of me having rubbed down the other chromed OEM "L" emblem, primed it and then given it a few coats of gloss black, see below drying:

[Image: 395794093.jpg]

And here are two examples of the black "L" look. One is with the OEM original grill but is all in Satin Black, including the bezel and "L".
(Borrowed from another forum)

[Image: 395794096.jpg]

And this is from the sellers auction pics, not sure if it's been painted, but if it has it looks Satin Black all over to me to:

[Image: 395794094.jpg]

Not 100% if I like it, especially all Satin black, I think a Gloss Black "L" will look better. Anyway I need to let it dry for a few days then take some pics of both the chrome and the black to compare. I should just point out that my outer bezel is colour coded to the car, not black like those in the above pics, so I am only really talking about the actual grill/mess part.

If they were not so expensive I'd probably go for the Black Chrome sets which I really like the look of.

[Image: !BZ8gg(w!2k~%24(KGrHgoOKiQEjlLmEZt(BKpHw5eT8g~~_12.JPG]

Keith

Cous3
Member

211

06-02-2018, 06:24 AM

Okay here are the two styles, Gloss Black & Chrome emblems:
(the inserts are only laid inside the emblems for the pic so ignore the weave pattern)

What do you think?

[Image: 395810597.jpg]

At the moment I'm swayed towards the Chrome version.

Keith

Cous3

06-02-2018, 06:24 AM #7

Okay here are the two styles, Gloss Black & Chrome emblems:
(the inserts are only laid inside the emblems for the pic so ignore the weave pattern)

What do you think?

[Image: 395810597.jpg]
[Image: 395810596.jpg]

At the moment I'm swayed towards the Chrome version.

Keith

parthiban
Posting Freak

4,925

06-02-2018, 06:37 AM

Like them both actually, would be nice to see them on the car but I agree I think the chrome is winning at the moment.

2002 '02' IS200 SE Auto - DVD Satnav with Voice Activation - [COLOR="Blue"]Strathcaron Blue - Parking Sensors - 5000K HIDs with Anti-Glare Bulbs - PIAA 6500K Main Beams - LED Sidelights - Mirror/Sunroof Closure - TTE Styling Kit - 18" Styling Kit Alloys with nitrogen filled Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric Tyres - Bluetouch Multimedia Kit - Gromaudio AUX in - Black painted calipers with silver Lexus decals - 12 LED Dome Light - 96 LED Boot Light - Stainless Steel Sport Sill Plates - PIAA Silicone Wipers[/COLOR]