# Cleaning RS grille



## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

Calling all folks with an RS grille! Obviously this grille looks great, but being a honeycomb appearance and leaving the stuf behind the grille quite open to road spray, dust, etc., I have the following questions:
a) How easy is it to keep the grille looking good?
b) Does the stuff behind the grilled get to look grubby after a while?


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## brittan (May 18, 2007)

a) Tedious work. Even after just a normal wash it takes time to properly dry each individual hole in the grille. Polishing and then waxing each hole took several hours, but hopefully will make subsequent cleaning easier.

b) Yes, so then you have to clean it. I did mine a few weeks ago removing the bumper, polystyrene bumper bar cover, engine undertray and all the scoopery behind the side grilles that feeds air to the side radiator and the gearbox. The radiators, condenser and IC were all cleaned, insect/stone damage to the fins straightened and then given a coat of matte black paint to make then look smart again. All the plastic scoops were treated with plastic polish so hopefully that shiny finish will make them less likely to collect dirt.

All parts removed









Dirty radiator









Intercooler before painting









While I was at it I removed the grille, removed its surround, which is matte silver as standard, and painted it gloss black which is what Audi offer as the Black Pack option. 









Still want an RS grille?


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

Nice work mate it looks so much better all black


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## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

brittan said:


> a) Tedious work. Even after just a normal wash it takes time to properly dry each individual hole in the grille. Polishing and then waxing each hole took several hours, but hopefully will make subsequent cleaning easier.


I like a clean car but..........











brittan said:


> b) Yes, so then you have to clean it.


Presumably you can't just give it a blast with a pressure washer as this may damage some of the stuff behind the grille or get water in places that shouldn't get wet? That said I give mine a go at the local service station from time to time and it doesn't seem to do any harm. Perhaps I've been lucky?



brittan said:


> I did mine a few weeks ago removing the bumper, polystyrene bumper bar cover, engine undertray and all the scoopery behind the side grilles that feeds air to the side radiator and the gearbox.


There's no way I'm doing that! :-|



brittan said:


> Still want an RS grille?


Nope! :lol: :lol:


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## brittan (May 18, 2007)

ScoobyTT said:


> brittan said:
> 
> 
> > b) Yes, so then you have to clean it.
> ...


A blast with the pressure washer used with care should do no harm. The only electrics are the horns and the outside temp sensor. Anyway, what happens when you drive it in heavy rain? Sadly the pressure washer will not easily remove dead fauna from the radiators.



ScoobyTT said:


> brittan said:
> 
> 
> > Still want an RS grille?
> ...


Sure? :lol:


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## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

Wellllll, maybe, but something would need to be done to make the crash bumper look nice behind it. If it's just polystyrene them I'm assuming paint would just dissolve it like petrol does. The grille needs a few cuts to fit.. do I trust my dealer to do all of that and produce a good result? Probably not now they've given me a leak. Then there's number plate fixings, cleaning, the sheer cost of the grille... the sheer cost of fitting... it hasn't got a lot going for it :wink:


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## davelincs (Jan 1, 2010)

brittan said:


> a) Tedious work. Even after just a normal wash it takes time to properly dry each individual hole in the grille. Polishing and then waxing each hole took several hours, but hopefully will make subsequent cleaning easier.
> 
> b) Yes, so then you have to clean it. I did mine a few weeks ago removing the bumper, polystyrene bumper bar cover, engine undertray and all the scoopery behind the side grilles that feeds air to the side radiator and the gearbox. The radiators, condenser and IC were all cleaned, insect/stone damage to the fins straightened and then given a coat of matte black paint to make then look smart again. All the plastic scoops were treated with plastic polish so hopefully that shiny finish will make them less likely to collect dirt.
> 
> ...


A good job done there Brittan, i always find giving the car that little extra whan it comes to cleaning very rewarding
obvoiusly your the same, time consuming but worth it, especially on such a car


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## brittan (May 18, 2007)

ScoobyTT said:


> Wellllll, maybe, but something would need to be done to make the crash bumper look nice behind it. If it's just polystyrene them I'm assuming paint would just dissolve it like petrol does. The grille needs a few cuts to fit.. do I trust my dealer to do all of that and produce a good result? Probably not now they've given me a leak. Then there's number plate fixings, cleaning, the sheer cost of the grille... the sheer cost of fitting... it hasn't got a lot going for it :wink:


The aluminium crash bar is completely covered by the polystyrene which is black. You can paint it; I did using Halfords primer and matte black spray cans. 
The RS bumper has a wide plastic "strap" spanning the gap for the grille and this strap is immediately behind the grille when assembled. The strap is immediately in front of the polysyrene and so hides it well. If you look closely at my last pic you may be able to see that the holes either side of the number plate have a back to them; that is the strap which is part of the bumper moulding. These items are further hidden by the number plate holder. 
BTW, the holes with the back to them are even more difficult to clean effectively. :x



ScoobyTT said:


> Then there's number plate fixings, cleaning, the sheer cost of the grille... the sheer cost of fitting... it hasn't got a lot going for it :wink:


Nah, I wouldn't bother.


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## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

brittan said:


> The aluminium crash bar is completely covered by the polystyrene which is black. You can paint it; I did using Halfords primer and matte black spray cans.
> The RS bumper has a wide plastic "strap" spanning the gap for the grille and this strap is immediately behind the grille when assembled. The strap is immediately in front of the polystyrene and so hides it well. If you look closely at my last pic you may be able to see that the holes either side of the number plate have a back to them; that is the strap which is part of the bumper moulding. These items are further hidden by the number plate holder.
> BTW, the holes with the back to them are even more difficult to clean effectively. :x


I can just about see that the holes along the middle have black immediately behind, yeah. Judging from your description this is just a flexible or mostly detached piece of plastic that sits between the crash bumper and the grille. As it's attached to the bumper (how? part of it?) this must be why people who've retro-fitted the RS grille have an issue with the polystyrene being visible. They're missing the camouflage  I suppose a rigid case for the polystyrene would be the way to go, or just prime it and gloss it, but that might look naff if the polystyrene has an uneven surface or odd shape.


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## dooka (Apr 28, 2006)

These grilles can be a pain to keep clean, especially the chrome/silver ones. It is a pain staking slow job to get really clean, but once clean, keep it sealed. Werkstatt Jet Trigger is a good sealant, as it is spray on wipe off, or some Optiseal, just spray a little bit on to an applicator, wipe on and walk away, job done..


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## brittan (May 18, 2007)

ScoobyTT said:


> I can just about see that the holes along the middle have black immediately behind, yeah. Judging from your description this is just a flexible or mostly detached piece of plastic that sits between the crash bumper and the grille. As it's attached to the bumper (how? part of it?) It is part of the bumper moulding so not detachable this must be why people who've retro-fitted the RS grille have an issue with the polystyrene being visible. They're missing the camouflage  Yes I suppose a rigid case for the polystyrene would be the way to go, Possible or just prime it and gloss it, but that might look naff if the polystyrene has an uneven surface or odd shape. It will look naffer than naff


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