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Repainting '65 grille - on the car


65VerdeGS

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The front grille on my '65 is in good shape, no broken tabs and the chrome is still bright.

 

But, 54 years on the silver paint inside the fins needs repainting.

 

I don't want to remove the grille from the car to refinish it.  I removed the grille once.  That involved a lot of cussing, so I'm not eager to risk damaging the grille or the surrounding paint to repaint its insides. 

 

Has anyone repainted the silvering inside the grille while it's still on the car?  How did you go about it?

 

Lastly, what rattle-can paint is the correct match for the OEM finish?

 

Thanks,

 

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You can't do that job with the grill on the car. Once the grill is off, you will need to mask off the chrome areas on the front with narrow masking tape.

To prep the grill I would  just wipe all the silver areas down real good with Berryman's B12 chemtool on a rag, then wipe it down with a tack rag to remove all lint.

You will need to spray the front part of the silver egg crate areas from the front, and the rear half from the rear. For paint, use the argent silver ralley wheel paint

from Eastwood......it is an exact match.

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I'm guessing that the first time you removed the grill and had problems it was with trying to get it out and the mounting studs along the bottom were a PITA to deal with.  Those studs can be removed from the grill before you try to remove it.  Double nut each stud making a jam nut. Then turn the nut closest to the grill and remove the stud from the grill. Remove all the other bolts and the grill should just slide out.

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   Removing the grille may be easy for some....on my Riv it is a huge PITA. Second time around I opted to leave it on & glad I did. Repainting the grille while still on the car is not what you would call easy. It requires some painstaking masking in an uncomfortable position, but if you throw down a blanket & a six pack & get into zen-like zone, you can do it.   Step1: cover everything but the grille. I use an old sheet to cover the engine bay & fenders, & you can stuff excess sheet behind the grille to prevent overspray. (I leave that area open. On my silver car I find the proper silver color gives a washed out look w not enough contrast. My engine bay is all satin black & that is also the color I prefer on my grille, so overspray is not a prob. I also use satin black finish black on my rally wheels, clams,& rocker trim)   Step2: Masking. Some recommend applying petroleum jelly to the chrome parts of the grille, paint, then wipe off the jelly to reveal the chrome. I have tried this & do not recommend it. It ended up a greasy mess. I have also experimented w pin-striping tape of a similar width with less than satisfactory results. The easiest technique Ive found is to use 3/4" to 1" blue tape.Tape the top horizontal rib 1st, taking care to follow the chrome line, then press the tape firmly to the outer surface of the rib. Next take a razor blade & using the rib itself as a straightedge slice off the strip you just attached. If done carefully this will a leave relatively straight edge for the next rib, and so on. Using this method, one length of tape will cover 3 or 4 ribs. Then mask the surrounding frame of the grille. Next comes the most painstaking part, which is masking the vertical ribs. (Now if you want a cool resto-mod look you can paint over these, leaving only the chrome horizontals. For years my verticals were blackened & the nerf bars under the bumper were removed, giving the Riv a very modern look. Later, when I decided to go back to normal, I just scraped the paint off.) I found the best way is to mass-produce short strips of tape of the exact length & then apply. You can even do half at a time & reuse the pieces.    Step3: Paint. As for me,  Krylon Satin Black is the go-to paint for a million purposes. There might be something better but I find you get an almost perfect finish every time w the Krylon. I prefer to use short, close, well aimed bursts, being careful to cover all 3 visible surfaces. If you over-apply the Krylon is very forgiving. I then follow up w a coat of Krylon clear for extra protection. For me the job took around 2 hrs. Results.....near perfection. Good luck

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I recommend you apply a matte or satin clear exterior grade paint over the silver argent.

I’ve never seen a rattle can silver paint NOT fade to gray over time.

The exposed metallic particles corrode/tarnish.

 

 

Good luck

 

 

 

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