Bumper Removal and Mesh Installation

For this project, we opted for stucco mesh--an aluminum-coated steel product that's typically used in home building behind stucco or masonry.

Steps:
Remove the front bumper cover from the car. Most bumper covers are attached with several screws across the top, plus two in the fender wells and a couple underneath. Once those are removed, the cover will slide right off.
Once you get the bumper cover off, you'll see what you have to work with. Some covers have built-in tabs where you just slide the grilles on and bend over the tabs. Others have no tabs at all. If the inside of your bumper cover has no tabs, you'll have to glue the grille pieces into place.
First, take rough measurements of the grille openings.

Transfer the measurements to the mesh and cut it out a little larger than you need.
Important: When cutting, leave about an inch of overlap on all sides.
When the piece is ready, test the fit on the back of the bumper cover. You can always trim it down if you need to.

Once you're happy with the size, fold the edges of the long sides forward. The mesh should fit snugly around the outside of the flange.
The vents at the top of this cover only overlap on three sides so they don't interfere with sliding the bumper cover on.
Continue this process for the other vents until all of the unfinished areas are covered to your satisfaction.
When you have them all cut and shaped, you're ready to glue them into place.

Before gluing, clean off the attachment area with degreaser and a clean rag to remove any contaminants.
Then, run a bead of silicone around the outside of the flange, and set the mesh in place.
Go back over the top of the mesh with a second thick bead of silicone.
Repeat this process for the other pieces to complete the install.
Silicone takes a while to dry, so once you have the pieces in, let the cover sit overnight to fully cure.