Grille frame restoration questions?

[rikubot]

Hi all. Couple quick questions:

What paint/primer do you suggest for the grille frame?

Does anyone have any pictures of the process they'd like to share?

Thanks,
Mike

[Houston-Toe-Cutter]

Dude ive been working on mines for lil over 3 years off and on rebuilt it , fixed cracks you name it and i just got back online. Its been a while since ive last been on here i had to resend my password. Ive gone to model car websites and gained a lotta info as far as painting plastic and man my grille looks nice.  Im getting ready to start posting as much as i can remember  about all the steps i took. Tons of pix. But i didnt know what section to post it in so i did a search and you popped up so imma go where you posted your question. But for primer actually it was clear!!! I bought it at Hi lo ori . Its called  Klean Strip , Bulldog Adhesion Promoter. Works perfect for plastics so you paint stays on. My bad you asked about grille support , i used krylon mate black home depot. I hat to replace mines also.

[rikubot]

That's good to know. I'm nervous about doing the plastic portion so I'm just working on the frame for now. What finish did the factory use for the frame? I'm going to probably go with a paint that needs a hardener just to make the finish a little more durable. I plan to get some stripping and sanding done on it tonight. It's cold here so I don't won't be able prime or paint for a while.

[birdsandbees]

Dino and another have threads here with grill restoration in them. Do some searching.. if I get more time after supper I'll do some digging myself..

HELL.. just noticed many are already pinned at the top of this section!

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,39926.0.html

[rikubot]

Yes I am going to follow Dino's plastic repair to a T. I did some repairs on my console using his method and it worked pretty well and holds strong. I got some paint stripping and sanding done tonight.

[rikubot]

Does anyone know where to get reasonably priced headlight screws? I've seen different variations that look like they might fit but the only ones I've seen that look exactly like these are $12/pair.

[Lennard]

Classic Industries sells a kit.

[68moparbob]

The metal frame is a medium black, maybe even a satin. I used single stage with a flattening agent. Definitely not gloss. I saw a beautiful '69 nut & bolt restoration back in the summer.  Looked under the hood and the grill frame was gloss black. It just doesn't look good if you are trying to achieve the  original look. I painted my grill plastic with Eastwood's argent silver.  It looks great. On the hlight. adjuster screws check Auveco Hardware online. They might have them.

[rikubot]

Classic Industries sells a kit.

Thank ya! 19.99 plus shipping. I can live with that. I'm 95% sure I'm going to break every one of them getting them out.

[rikubot]

The metal frame is a medium black, maybe even a satin. I used single stage with a flattening agent. Definitely not gloss. I saw a beautiful '69 nut & bolt restoration back in the summer.  Looked under the hood and the grill frame was gloss black. It just doesn't look good if you are trying to achieve the  original look. I painted my grill plastic with Eastwood's argent silver.  It looks great. On the hlight. adjuster screws check Auveco Hardware online. They might have them.

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I agree that the gloss black stuff looks bad under there. I can't remember what I used a while back when the car was together but I was really happy with it. I think it was satin from a wal Mart rattle can.

[HeavyFuel]

The metal frame is a medium black, maybe even a satin. I used single stage with a flattening agent. Definitely not gloss. I saw a beautiful '69 nut & bolt restoration back in the summer.  Looked under the hood and the grill frame was gloss black. It just doesn't look good if you are trying to achieve the  original look. I painted my grill plastic with Eastwood's argent silver.  It looks great. On the hlight. adjuster screws check Auveco Hardware online. They might have them.

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I agree that the gloss black stuff looks bad under there. I can't remember what I used a while back when the car was together but I was really happy with it. I think it was satin from a wal Mart rattle can.

The black on my frame was pretty shiny.  Definitely not satin,  semi gloss would probably be a good choice.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,95015.msg1126857.html#msg1126857

I used a farm implement paint in a rattle can from Runnings, I think Majic is the brand name. The stuff is tough as ever and I'm very happy with my choice.

[rikubot]

That looks great. I've just about got mine stripped to raw and have a couple of holes to patch up. I gotta do a little bit of body work then shoot it with some semi. That looks perfect

[cincyboy]

I agree its Satin to Semigloss.  I'm going to use Southern Polyurethanes epoxy primer in black.   It dries to a good match for this.  I've put one coat on and found some pits so I'm filling these and will repaint 2x.  I have used this primer as the topcoat for all the black components on my 2009 Wrangler (bumpers, light bar).  2 years in the sun so far so good. 

SPI claims they have hundreds of cars with this primer on frames and underhood parts.   I was skeptical at first because its a "primer".   But it looks good when sprayed right and dries to a satin to Semigloss.   I read you can add a retarder to the mix and increase gloss. 

[5wndwcpe]

x2 on the SPI products.