Practicality and rugged durability are the most important properties of any truck, but just because your truck is used for heavy, dirty work doesn't mean it can't look stylish while it does it. A wide variety of decorative accents can give your truck a distinctive look, and one of the cheapest and most effective ways to spruce up your truck is by inserting a new front grill.
However, truck grill inserts are made from a variety of materials, which react in different ways to the beating they can expect to take while our truck is in use. As such, you should choose the material your grill is made from carefully, to ensure your grill stays looking stylish for years to come.
Plastics
Plastic truck grills can be made from a wide variety of different plastic materials, but all have more or less the same properties. These grills are durable and capable of taking punishment from collisions and road debris without showing the damage, They are also lighter than most grills made from metal, and even the most robust bar grills will not dramatically alter the riding weight of your truck.
Despite these advantages, plastic grills are far from expensive and are usually the cheapest options available on the truck grill market. This makes them a very attractive option for heavy-duty trucks that take serious punishment, as damaged grills can be replaced without breaking the bank.
Unfortunately, plastic grills are far from aesthetically versatile -- virtually all of them are made from matte black plastic which cannot be effectively painted or chromed, so they will not provide the visual 'wow' factor of a highly polished metal grill. Their dark surfaces also tend to show scratches caused by grit and other detritus.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel provides all of the immense strength and durability of regular steel, but is completely immune to rust -- as you can imagine, this makes it an ideal for making truck grills. However, stainless steel grills aren't all substance and no style, and the are particularly attractive when buffed to the high mirror sheen made possible by the stainless steel's chromium content. They are particularly striking when combined with combined with other stainless steel accents, such as exhaust stacks and fenders.
However, the looks of stainless steel often come at a steep price, and although the durability and longevity makes them an excellent long-term investment, they can be expensive to purchase. Stainless steel is also one of the heaviest materials used fro truck grills, and a particularly robust bar grill may also the riding weight of your truck.
Aluminium
If you seek the metallic pizzazz of stainless steel, but want the lightness of plastic, aluminium truck grills may be your best bet. Like stainless steel, aluminium is completely immune to rust, but it is also considerably lighter, making it an excellent choice for smaller, short wheelbase trucks that cannot afford to ride too front-heavy. It is also less expensive than stainless steel, and retains its value as scrap even if badly dented, so a used-up aluminium grill can generally be sold on for a tidy sum.
What aluminium does not provide, however, is the gleaming mirror shine of stainless steel; the natural coating of oxide the aluminium creates to protect itself from rust also tends to dull its appearance unless meticulously cleaned and polished, Aluminium grills are therefore less visually striking than their heavier steel counterparts. The difficulty of welding aluminium without special tools and equipment also makes them difficult to repair if they take severe damage.
For more information, contact a business such as Moore Truck Parts.
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