DIY - blackout "shadow" (black) kidney grills

mJ335 · 04-07-2008, 08:04 PM

Does anybody's torx screw NOT come out from the hood?? Mine keeps spinning but doesn't seem to come out lol

cgnahc · 04-08-2008, 12:33 PM

You're screwed! JK. If you have the screw a little bit out then grab hold of it with your fingers, pull down hard...to create friction to the female threaded piece, and unscrew. You may try to lubricate, but it will kill the friction strategy...so try the 1st option in different ways if possible.

lkn · 04-11-2008, 10:00 PM

finally got around in doing this mod. thank you OP for the detailed pictures and instructions.

I would advise that a clear coat not to be put on if you want the flat matte look.

Aerix · 04-16-2008, 12:56 PM

I want to paint the chrome parts with my orig. body paint, black sapphire. Has anyone done this. Then paint the slats flat black. Any idea's...

MooseCaboose · 04-25-2008, 02:41 PM

just replaced stock with some matte black grills i ordered. you have to see it to believe it but it looks way better than the stock grills. they're thicker and shaped so it looks more defined.

anyways, removing the top bars was easy. after 1.5 year of owning im surprised it came out so easily. the bottom however is a different story. you have to yank at it with as much power as you can. i did this in the garage so when it finally gave, i got blasted a into the garage door

but a word to guys who are attempting this. when you stick the grills back on. make sure all the latches are aligned or it wont go in properly. i find it easier to line up the bottom ones then the top. i found out the hard way... had to remove it twice.

AllydNYC · 05-18-2008, 04:11 PM

Great DIY, looking to do smoke color grills myself. Definitely will come back to this DIY once I get time to do it.

Aerix · 05-18-2008, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllydNYC

Great DIY, looking to do smoke color grills myself. Definitely will come back to this DIY once I get time to do it.

I just did mine, they turned out very nice, but I really took my time and sanded everything very well. I also used an ultra fine steal wool, then a nice bath in some dawn to make sure there wasn't any oil on the surface from my hands. Then I let them dry completely and gave them 4 very light coats letting them dry completely before touching them. In between coats I gave them a quick once over with the steal wool, to make sure they were completely smooth. This resulted in a great finish in the end. Altogether I would say expect a day for this project if you want to do it right. I think this is a great DIY and this thread really helped me out.

Hope this helps anyone else that's looking to do this project.

P.S. I own the e90 and I did separate the chrome pieces from the grill itself for sanding then reattached them before painting. Made the sanding job much easier.

PaulBailey@ltbmw · 05-24-2008, 03:55 PM

This is the best DIY I've seen so far.
Love the labels and arrows

StarrDlux · 05-26-2008, 05:02 AM

dirty sanchez

Jammin Jason · 07-05-2008, 03:17 AM

very nice

NoSole · 07-07-2008, 04:08 PM

Just finished and installed this past weekend. Looks really good! The process was simple, but sanding was a bitch cuz it took so long. It was worth it thought. I ended up buying a matte clear coat too. I just bought the paint at a crafts store. Now we'll see how it holds up!

acidreign · 07-20-2008, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mJ335

Does anybody's torx screw NOT come out from the hood?? Mine keeps spinning but doesn't seem to come out lol

i've got the same problem!! only the middle screws come off, the rest just turn without coming off!

mj, did you manage to get your out?

anyone?

I've installed the lower grills which are black but can't change the top, been driving around with hybrid grills!

help!!!

dreamk · 07-21-2008, 08:13 AM

needs primer the paint will chip without it

bluespeed117 · 08-12-2008, 06:34 PM

i just did this to my car and had the same problem with the torx screw. The only option i had was to mask the front end of the car and continue from there. Job came out pretty good too.

Hedges · 08-12-2008, 09:24 PM

sub'd

lkn · 08-13-2008, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluespeed117

i just did this to my car and had the same problem with the torx screw. The only option i had was to mask the front end of the car and continue from there. Job came out pretty good too.

you can also "pry" out the screw while unscrewing with a cordless drill.. that way you can help the screw get traction on its thread so that it comes out.

FallBlau · 08-29-2008, 08:22 PM

had the same issue with screw. female piece spins with screw in it and screw do not come out.top grill piece is two parts, top chrome attached to a plastic bottom with clips. plastic bottom is screwed to hood. i seperated upper chrome piece from the bottom by pulling the clips and leave the spinning screw in place. 5 min job took almost 45 minutes because of a stupid screw

teej361 · 09-19-2008, 01:06 AM

couldn't get the screw out either, used FallBlau's method. Worked pretty well.

Saigon · 09-19-2008, 02:41 AM

will this work on e92?

iheartsole · 09-19-2008, 10:53 PM

wow. nice DIY. well put together

kuvesh · 10-01-2008, 04:32 AM

just did this on my e92.

torx 30 screwdriver is the right fit.

found the most difficult thing to be unclipping the grill because there is not much space to work with...

Yoshii · 10-23-2008, 01:42 PM

I just installed my matte black grills on my e90 and this was a very helpful DIY thread. Thanks for posting this up. I probably wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for this thread. Thanks a lot.

04-07-2008, 08:04 PM	#67
mJ335 Amateur Post Whore 114 Rep 3,036 Posts Drives: 07 E90 SparkLiN G. 335i Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: SocaL iTrader: (17) Garage List 2007 e90 335i [0.00]	Does anybody's torx screw NOT come out from the hood?? Mine keeps spinning but doesn't seem to come out lol __________________ Go WiTh ThE FLoW. \|BL\|RS\|PIAA\|CFE\|CFMC\|SSM\|CFG\|CFDP\|ABG\|M6\|AFE\|MTECH \|RPI\|JB+\|CSLT\|KWSC\|
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04-08-2008, 12:33 PM	#68
cgnahc Major 84 Rep 1,263 Posts Drives: TiAg E90 ZSP Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Westlake Village, CA iTrader: (9)	You're screwed! JK. If you have the screw a little bit out then grab hold of it with your fingers, pull down hard...to create friction to the female threaded piece, and unscrew. You may try to lubricate, but it will kill the friction strategy...so try the 1st option in different ways if possible. __________________ Need someone to install angle eye bulbs December 2018
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04-11-2008, 10:00 PM	#69
lkn Lieutenant Colonel 23 Rep 1,549 Posts Drives: 335i Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Orange County iTrader: (4)	finally got around in doing this mod. thank you OP for the detailed pictures and instructions. I would advise that a clear coat not to be put on if you want the flat matte look.
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04-16-2008, 12:56 PM	#70
Aerix Private First Class 6 Rep 171 Posts Drives: 2006 330i, Sport, Premium Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Austin, TX iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 E90, 330i, Spo ... [0.00]	I want to paint the chrome parts with my orig. body paint, black sapphire. Has anyone done this. Then paint the slats flat black. Any idea's... __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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04-25-2008, 02:41 PM	#71
MooseCaboose First Lieutenant 29 Rep 367 Posts Drives: with a doge Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Vancouver iTrader: (1)	just replaced stock with some matte black grills i ordered. you have to see it to believe it but it looks way better than the stock grills. they're thicker and shaped so it looks more defined. anyways, removing the top bars was easy. after 1.5 year of owning im surprised it came out so easily. the bottom however is a different story. you have to yank at it with as much power as you can. i did this in the garage so when it finally gave, i got blasted a into the garage door but a word to guys who are attempting this. when you stick the grills back on. make sure all the latches are aligned or it wont go in properly. i find it easier to line up the bottom ones then the top. i found out the hard way... had to remove it twice.
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05-18-2008, 04:11 PM	#72
AllydNYC Loading... 341 Rep 2,187 Posts Drives: 91' E30 318is Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Location iTrader: (15) Garage List 1991 BMW 318is [0.00]	Great DIY, looking to do smoke color grills myself. Definitely will come back to this DIY once I get time to do it.
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05-24-2008, 03:55 PM	#74
PaulBailey@ltbmw General 663 Rep 26,878 Posts Drives: 2-325 330 2-335 2-Z4 2-135 X5d Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Huntington Beach, CA iTrader: (34) Garage List 2008 BMW 335i E90 [7.00] 2011 BMW 335i E92 [7.96]	This is the best DIY I've seen so far. Love the labels and arrows
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05-26-2008, 05:02 AM	#75
StarrDlux Pussycat's Meow 9 Rep 682 Posts Drives: '08 335i montego \| Stock Join Date: May 2008 Location: Midtown (Altanta) iTrader: (0)	dirty sanchez __________________ 2008 335i montego \| stock 2002 A4 1.8TQS \| APR 1+ 1990 VW Corrado \| Stage 4 by SNS
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07-05-2008, 03:17 AM	#76
Jammin Jason We run LA 94 Rep 352 Posts Drives: Slow E90 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Socal iTrader: (0) Garage List 06 E90 [0.00]	very nice
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07-07-2008, 04:08 PM	#77
NoSole Bearquin by nature 16 Rep 280 Posts Drives: E90 N54 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: LA iTrader: (3)	Just finished and installed this past weekend. Looks really good! The process was simple, but sanding was a bitch cuz it took so long. It was worth it thought. I ended up buying a matte clear coat too. I just bought the paint at a crafts store. Now we'll see how it holds up!
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07-21-2008, 08:13 AM	#79
dreamk Banned 122 Rep 9,946 Posts Drives: 335i Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: south nj iTrader: (2) Garage List 2007 e90 335i [0.00]	needs primer the paint will chip without it
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08-12-2008, 06:34 PM	#80
bluespeed117 Lieutenant Colonel 116 Rep 1,528 Posts Drives: e90 328i Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: so-cal iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 e90 328i [0.00]	i just did this to my car and had the same problem with the torx screw. The only option i had was to mask the front end of the car and continue from there. Job came out pretty good too. __________________ Muffler Delete/ Tien S-tech Springs / De-badged /BBS LM Reps 19"/ Nexen tires/DTM M5 Front bumper/ Injen Intake/Blacklines/M-tech Rear/Custom Muffler Tips.... More mods to come
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08-12-2008, 09:24 PM	#81
Hedges Major General 116 Rep 5,178 Posts Drives: 12 C63 AMG Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Toronto iTrader: (8)	sub'd
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08-29-2008, 08:22 PM	#83
FallBlau Enlisted Member 0 Rep 35 Posts Drives: 2009 E92 335xi Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: USA iTrader: (1)	had the same issue with screw. female piece spins with screw in it and screw do not come out.top grill piece is two parts, top chrome attached to a plastic bottom with clips. plastic bottom is screwed to hood. i seperated upper chrome piece from the bottom by pulling the clips and leave the spinning screw in place. 5 min job took almost 45 minutes because of a stupid screw
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09-19-2008, 01:06 AM	#84
teej361 Private First Class 5 Rep 198 Posts Drives: 06 e90 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Texas iTrader: (5) Garage List 2006 E90 [0.00]	couldn't get the screw out either, used FallBlau's method. Worked pretty well. Last edited by teej361; 09-19-2008 at 01:30 AM..
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09-19-2008, 02:41 AM	#85
Saigon Brigadier General 234 Rep 3,525 Posts Drives: BSM E92 335i Coupe Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: SoCal iTrader: (47)	will this work on e92? __________________ 07' Alpine White E93 335i M-Sport \| BMW Performance \| Beige l Piano Black l Sport l Premium l Heated l Navi \| Steptronic l Comfort Access l Logic7 l iPod & USB \|
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09-19-2008, 10:53 PM	#86
iheartsole Brigadier General 85 Rep 4,929 Posts Drives: 08 335i coupe Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: San Diego iTrader: (2)	wow. nice DIY. well put together
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10-01-2008, 04:32 AM	#87
kuvesh Lieutenant 26 Rep 513 Posts Drives: e92 335i juiced Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: singapore iTrader: (1)	just did this on my e92. torx 30 screwdriver is the right fit. found the most difficult thing to be unclipping the grill because there is not much space to work with...
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10-23-2008, 01:42 PM	#88
Yoshii Major General 140 Rep 8,650 Posts Drives: 2008 Titanium Silver 335i Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Corona, Ca iTrader: (2)	I just installed my matte black grills on my e90 and this was a very helpful DIY thread. Thanks for posting this up. I probably wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for this thread. Thanks a lot.
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