Nissan Frontier Grille Removal and Painting

from nissan offroad

I have provided this How-To because the chrome plating on the Frontiers grille is notorious for bubbling and peeling.

Many people also replace their front bumpers and wish to paint their grille to match.

Grille Removal

1. Open your hood and undo the four clips that secure the top of the grille to the hood latch cross member.

To release these clips insert a flat head screwdriver into the slot on each clip and turn counter clockwise.

You will also have to pull outwards on the grille while releasing these clips.

2. Loosen the front turn signals by removing the screw located directly above the lens.

You don’t have to completely remove the lenses; you only need enough room for the grille to be able to slide past the lenses.

3. The 3 clips that hold on the bottom of the grille are designed differently than the clips on top. The bottom clips are a bit tougher to get off. One at a time place your hands as close to each clip as possible and pull outwards. It takes a good deal of force to get them loose and when they come out it sounds like you broke something. You can’t really see how the clips operate when the grille is on so check out the pictures in figure 2 and figure 3 to get a better idea of what you are working with.

4. Remove the Nissan Emblem from the center of the Grille by gently prying upwards around the edge with a small flathead screwdriver.It should come off fairly easy since it is only held on with double-sided tape.

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Painting the Grille

1.Prepared the grille for painting by spraying it with WD-40 and scrubbing it with an abrasive pad. You can use whatever you like to remove the bugs and tar but I have found that WD-40 works better than Bug and Tar remover.
2. Wash the grille with soap and water to remove the WD-40 residue.
3. Scuff the entire surface of the grille (give the chrome extra attention) with a scotch-brite pad or fine grit sandpaper. I purchased a scotch-brite pad/sponge at my local grocery store.
4. Wash the grille again with soap and water.
5. Rub the grille down with an alcohol soaked lint free cloth. Once the alcohol has evaporated you are ready to paint.
6. Be careful not to touch the surface of the grille with your hands. Oil from your hands will cause the paint to be repelled from the area that was touched.
7. Choose a high quality paint such as Rustoleum and most importantly…Take Your Time! If you have completely covered all of the chrome with paint on the first coat then you are going way too fast. I applied 8 coats of paint over a two-day period. The grille was completely covered with paint by the sixth coat.

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Grille Re-installation

1.Reinstall the grille by removing the black clips from the hood latch cross member and inserting them into the grille.
2. Once the clips are installed in the grille simply snap the grille back into place.
3. Reinstall the turn signal lenses.
4. Reinstall the emblem using automotive double-sided tape or a weather resistant glue.