Repop 79-81 grilles
 

So opening the hood the other day on the 81 the GM grilles I put in maybe 10-15 years ago one crumbled. Got new repops an they are firmer plastic and shiny!

Anyone have a good paint to be factory flat?

I repainted my 77 grills, years ago. Used Krylon semi flat black. Looked good to me!

SEM Trim Black...

Skip, make sure you prep them well. Had a set a few years ago and they took a little more effort for paint adhesion.

are factory 79-81 grilles supposed to be flat when new? i know its hard to tell the original color on 40 year old parts. i bought some of the nicer more expensive repro grilles for my 81 & they were not anywhere near flat but also not "glossy" more of a semi gloss that has changed to a more satin sheen after a few years of washing & sunlight. looks correct to me unless i can compare to NOS originals. can you post a pic of the shiny grilles?

& being shiny, they will need good prep work to paint, probably has lots of mold release agents on them making them shiny. try to wash them real good & see what they look like?

if you decide to paint them, scuff them up with a scotch brite pad & wipe with alcohol a couple times to be sure theres no oily residue left, then use a good paint designed for plastics like SEM, trim black is very flat, maybe try the landau black usually used for interiors. do not use krylon paint for these, its a good looking paint for other metal parts but not good for plastic... especially exterior things like grilles that see a lot of abuse & heat changes. also any paint on exterior flexible plastic parts like this can & probably will eventually start to flake off... i'd probably leave them as is & see if they dull up over some time.

The original GMs I got when they were available were a slightly flat . These new ones do feel pretty "slick" like adhesion maybe an issue.

Original owner here of my 79. They weren't flat when new. They had a sheen to them. I can't say if you would call it gloss but it is typical of what is found in black plastic.

Warren thanks. Looking at the GMs on it now there is definitely some flat black as you can see the edges they did not paint it. I bought them through Ames 15-20 years ago. Probably going to leave the new ones as is afraid any paint will peel off. It is a SE car but I don't have the gold pinstripine so won;t outline the grilles either. I like them little plain!

Bringing this back up because I am going to buy a set.

Do these repops fit well? I see them on ebay for around 100 but also see them for more from the various vendors. Is there a difference? Can't imagine there is more than one manufacturer for these.

Also saw a review with pics at Jegs showing a very poor fit on the sides where it doesn't fit the shape of the bumper.

i would avoid those in the pics, never seen grilles fit that bad!

from what i found buying these about 10 years ago there is definitely more than one manufacturer, i bought a set of the cheaper ~$100 ones from trans am specialties for my 81 & they didnt fit good at all & the holes were off, sent them back & got the more expensive ones at about $225, they fit much better, actually look almost as good as OEM. neither set had a brand visible on the box & i didnt inspect them for a name stamped on them. i would suggest looking at ames or one of the other bigger vendors & buy the ones that arent $100, or if you want to gamble on the cheap ones at least be sure they will accept a return if they dont firt right.

Good question on fit. In those pics it may be the front has moved also. That old plastic goes every which way but loose. I know the repro 77 grilles ( I know they are a different product type altogether) dont fit very well at all. I had to do some creative 'sanding' to get them in place. I was lucky enough to find a set of nos for my 79. They are just black. Cant say they are shiny but not flat either.

Mine fit OK some is in the front nose urethane opening moving deforming with time. The freaking double sticky tape form the previous GM grilles was terrible to remove! I did not pull off the plastic to stick the new ones on!e

I bought a set about 10 years ago for my TATA (can't find any vendor info, so I'm not going to guess and tell you the wrong one), but between the new grilles and the new turn signals, it looked like a new car up front.

So there are some that fit nicely, but I can't help you with where to get them. :)

a helpfull tip on "shiny" plastic PREP:
take a paint brush (cheap) and cut the bristles to be HALF as long making them a little stiffer....then mix up some baking soda and water mix. Dip your brush and get some "mud" on it then use that to knock off the shine. Once you have dulled everything, clean and paint!

Update:

Ok so I went ahead and bought the more expensive set from the Graveyard guy on FB since he was a bit cheaper than the usual suppliers.

They arrived today.
Made by OER in China which was no surprise.

Went and installed them and although the tops and sides fit ok, the bottom fits like total ass. The lower edge has an upward curve and is not even close to fitting how it should.

Very disappointed. :mad:

did these come with double sided tape? looking at the pics it doesnt look like there is any on the bottom, the tape is required to hold that area down since there are no screws in that area. if it is there then i agree they fit like a$$, if its not there, buy some 3M double sided tape & reinstall them. GM used the tape too & my repro grilles came with it pre installed.

Yes there is tape but it is nowhere near strong enough to hold that down. Thought of putting more tape on but it's just not going to hold as the gap is too wide.

Contacted the guy who sold them to me and he agreed they are FUBAR. Says he'll contact his rep.

.

You can CARFULLY heat gun the grilles and bend down some. You can also bend then tighten the screws on the corners togive it some bend there.

The GM replacement ones I used the tape was so bad ass I destroyed the brittle grilles getting them out and took forever to soften, scrape it off!

3M tape will hold that down, mine had a gap in that area as well & the tape held it down as intended. & as skipfix said, it can almost break the grilles when removing them its so strong. heat gun will help too. but if the seller will replace them thats good, hope the next set fit better.

this tape?