[Shiny]

What was the original coloring on a 70 Tempest/LeMans grill?

All black?

Black egg crates, silver surrounds?

Black egg crates, silver front on egg crates, silver surrounds?

Photos would obviously help.

Thanks,

Mike

[hawkins69]

The whole grille is silver argent. No blackouts

[Shiny]

Thanks

The best ones I have are apparently painted black.

Any easy way to strip them without damaging the part? Is there such a thing as "plastic-safe" stripper?

[Mister Pontiac]

I actually glass-bead blasted some grills many years ago, and that worked very well. But be careful if you do the same. Try on a small, inconspicuous area first.

Others may have other ideas, but that did work for me.

Hope that helps.

[Shiny]

Thank you.

It would help if that were an option for me but I don't have a blast cabinet.

Hopefully the oven cleaner will work and if not, I can think about glass beads or walnut shells.

Mike

[1965gp]

I blacked mine out= really looks good with the silver

[CraigGT37]

When I repainted my 71 grilles, I used a cheap soda blaster from Harbor Freight to blast them, then repaint them argent silver. It does not have a cabinet and did not damage the grilles.

[Shiny]

Originally Posted by 1965gp

I blacked mine out= really looks good with the silver

Yes, I agree, looks great!

There are many painted black when you search photos online.

[Shiny]

Originally Posted by CraigGT37

When I repainted my 71 grilles, I used a cheap soda blaster from Harbor Freight to blast them, then repaint them argent silver. It does not have a cabinet and did not damage the grilles.

Thank you. Good idea.

If I can't get it done with oven cleaner, that sounds like a plan. I do have a cheap blaster that I used with slag but I had a place to do it back then. I guess soda will disappear and be less messy than walnuts. And no chance for it to be trapped and cause rust later on the grills.

[Shiny]

I had a good day... found some good grills I tucked away and forgot so the work just evaporated !!

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Here's a black one I was going to strip. It was on the car when I bought it. It has some damage in addition to being ugly:



Here's a better one that I could refinish without much work:



And here's the best one, even has all mounting tabs intact and paint is good enough for me:



This never happens.

Then it did.

And I like it.

Mike