E46 front grille removal

[andy-mcq]

really easy this one guys

i removed mine to paint the chrome section matt black.

first step is to use a flat headed screw driver to pull forward these clips

each grille side has around 5-6.

be very careful with these though as they are very fragile and easily snap

mine had already been removed at some point previos to me owning and some were sadly missing, still stays on perfectly though :P

the grille comes apart in two sections

the chrome bit comes off from the front, the black section comes off from behind

the bonnet release side actually comes off from the front to, but also could be pulled off from beind, just a bit of wiggling.

then your left with this

[andy-mcq]

cont'

all to do then is put it all back together by reversing what you have just done to be left with

(if painting grille)

[Steve]

great how-to guide mate!

What did you do to prep the chrome?

[andy-mcq]

great how-to guide mate!

What did you do to prep the chrome?

cheers steve

il be doing a 'how to prep/paint' thread soon B)

[Luke]

i just painted mine matt black on sunday and looks wicked, to prep the chrome you have to get it right first time if you wanna save time and not make a mess of things. what i did was used a sandpaper sponge pad and gave it a good sand down then make sure you use plastic primer on this type of plastic as it is very very smooth plastic, and give it at lest 2 good coats of primer and leave it to dry then 2-3 good coats of matt black. i will post a pic of mine tomorrow.