Personalized Front Grille

If headlights are the eyes of a car, then the front grille is the mouth.  Like a tween adding colored bands to their braces, a lot can be done to customize a car's grille.  Some people like to remove the badges, others like to black them out.  My preference is to add a touch of detail to compliment the car itself.

My S40 saw multiple iterations, each one representing a modification-style phase I was going through.

Factory chrome egg crate grille

Blacked out grille frame

Carbon fiber vinyl wrapped slash

Grey carbon fiber vinyl wrapped slash and "R-Sport" center badge

Elevate badge added once I got the tune

Even the 850 has had some personalized details added.

Factory chrome waterfall grille

Blacked out inner grille portion

Prancing moose center badge with a carbon fiber background

Upon purchase of the C30, the previous owner had plastidipped the entire grille.  I liked the blacked out frame, but I did not like the blacked out Volvo slash; it masked the car's identity.  If I paid money to drive a Volvo, then I want others to know what I bought.

Blacked out grille with prancing moose center badge

Personalized C30 grille

I contemplated painting the Volvo slash cosmic white, to coordinate with the rest of the car.  But the white stood out in great contrast to the black grille and I was not about to leave it "stock."

While having a strong hatred for shiny car bling, I used a fine sand paper to gently brush the chrome slash until it had a more aluminum appearance.  Gloss black vinyl was overlaid to add a stylistic touch to the slash as a whole, and my Elevate tune badge was then mounted in place using a grille clip.

There is no guarantee that the grille will remain unchanged over time, but for now, I am very please with the results.  It maintains that recognizable Volvo styling, while adding a touch of unique personalization.