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Not too hard for a hobbyist car painter if you want a perfect job. Lots of ways it can go south. I had all the top studs break off in the grill during removal and no real way to prevent it. I just used the plastic to reset the studs which required several test fittings. The four stars rating is only because I had to trim the bottom sides for clearance to shut the hood. I wish I would have figured out to install the factory/dealer added bug deflector mount supports BEFORE I glued in the grill, I cut off enough to slip it back on and still hook on the grill. Too bad there is no way to add a picture, it looks pretty good for a 16 year old vehicle! No luck finding the Valvoline plastic locally as shown in the video. I used jb weld which was very runny but had almost no air bubbles found during the sanding/shaping process. In the end I used some jb weld buddy for some support. The other option of a new grill housing is probably the best route for most people. It took me about three days due to letting the plastic and paint dry as much as possible and I have way more paint/body work skills than the average person. I like doing little paint work jobs like this so I did everything myself.

I set off to make a Satoshi grille for my 4Runner about a week before I found CustomCarGrills. I carefully plotted my course and set my plan in motion, first ordering the emblem I wanted and then finding some mesh at a local HW store to fab up. I quickly abandoned ship when I couldn’t find a mesh I liked. So I turned to the ole google machine and after a couple tries at bleep bloopin I came across CustomCarGrills. When I realized they’re made right here in Michigan it was hook, line and sinker. Matt was extremely helpful not only in his video but also with a couple questions I had prior to install. He walked me through some tricks he’s learned along the way and filled my noodle with the confidence I needed to get going. I’ll echo what Matt told me. This job is A LOT of sanding. I am used to my fair share of sanding as a woodworking hobbyist but jeez ole Pete this is another level. In the end I learned a thing or five and the grille turned out fantastic. I don’t understand why there is a negative review about the mesh ruining one customers grille. This is a material used for a DIY project. The results are going to be as good or as bad as the customer is at DIY projects. If this person feels their grille looks like someone went at it with a dull beaver then they can only blame themselves for deciding not to purchase a full bolt-on grille, which Matt also sells. All in all it’s a fantastic product and made for a fun weekend project with a great end result. If you’re in the headspace of updating your grille, Matt at CustomCarGrills is the best at what he does. Whether you want to tackle yourself or just go bolt-on, his products are the beans and I’ll be back for future builds.

The grill is awesome good quality and looks great. its definitely a project to install though and takes time.. no fault of the grill but know what your getting into. this really transforms the truck and I love it. I'm glad I paid the extra to have the lettering installed its perfect and straight and I dont gotta worry about it. 10 / 10