Personally, I would paint the mesh black and use drawer knobs that are around 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" and use a bunch. It was a custom trend in the early 60's. That's what I plan on doing when I find a GMC or a 60-61 grill that's not $500.
Here's a thread on the HAMB all about it.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...7578&showall=1
That's just my 2 cents