3rd gen grile pieces.

[charger_cody]

Has anyone painted them black??? Just straight up black on every piece?

Im wanting to know because they are sitting out in the garage waiting to either be painted back silver/grey, or black.

Whats wrong with painting them black??

Cody

[Ponch ®]

Has anyone painted them black??? Just straight up black on every piece?

Im wanting to know because they are sitting out in the garage waiting to either be painted back silver/grey, or black.

Whats wrong with painting them black??

Cody

I've seen some that looked pretty cool, and some that looked like crap. It probably depends on the color of the body and how it goes with it.

[charger_cody]

Well the most I can tell you is the color of the car is petty blue. I wanted to "murder" the car out by painting all the trim black and the bumpers the same color as the car. Because black just POPS out with petty blue.

Cody

[FLG]

My grille was painted sometime in its life all black. I plan on keeping it black just doing it the right way instead of the shoddy way it was done.

[charger_cody]

Will you send me a pic of it???

Either post or email.

dkbug@cox.net

Cody

[FLG]

At school but heres the pics i have ATM.

[jaak]

Here's a pic of a 73 I looked at for sale about a year ago...it had black grilles. This is the only pic I had of the front of it.

Jason

[charger_cody]

My dad sais what if i were to paint then that they wouldnt ever look original again. Should i or should i not?


Cody

[Ponch ®]

My dad sais what if i were to paint then that they wouldnt ever look original again. Should i or should i not?


Cody

the way i see it, its not like most of our 3rd gens (especially one like mine that's a 74 with a 318) are the most exotic of all mopars to begin with, so messing around with the car's originality isn't exactly a deadly sin.

If you're still worried about the originality, find a set on ebay and then paint whichever is in "lesser" condition.

[NHCharger]

I have a split opinion on this. My 72 is Petty Blue and I repainted the grille the original color, argent silver with black on the inside of the outer edges. I think the grilles on the 73/74's are terrible looking compared to the 71/72's so painting it black might make it look better.
My 71 is Hemi Orange with hideaways and I don't like the amount of chrome on them so I am going to paint the grille black. Not sure if I should go flat or semi gloss.

[quapman]

I can't count the number of 3rd gens with black grilles I've had to repair, repaint (SILVER) or replace.

To me, it looks like the car just came from some bored kid's dad's garage.

Just my 

[viper r/t]

Mine,,,

[Nitrox]

Mine are black.

[451-74Charger]

I have my original silver ones, and a spare set from an SE that I plan on painting Black with Grey trim

[charger_cody]

I mean because io have painted my tail light bezels black and they came out great. Is it possible to paint them black and actually make it look nice without the paint chippnig or scuffing away?

Cody

[73chgrSE]

I did mine a couple years back. You have to clean them up really good before and start by spraying a really light coat. Use good paint, oil based is tougher and will last longer.

[Nitrox]

Yeah guy! Its no problem. You have to have a paint and primer that has a flexible additive in it. This additive will allow the paint to remain ductile as the grill flexes in the wind. Anything that says "plasitic" on it means it has that additive. I painted mine with stuff bought from Wal-Mart. Its been that way for years and Ive won plaenty of show trophies and, I drive this car nearly everyday of the week.

[charger_cody]

Clean with water? And is there a better brand than others for this "plastic" paint. I painted my door panels and they are scratched to shit now. The paint was worthless.

cody

[Mr.Woolery]

How about powdercoating the parts?  All the parts are metal, right?  Powdercoat would be much more durable than paint.

[charger_cody]

How about powdercoating the parts?  All the parts are metal, right?  Powdercoat would be much more durable than paint.

Grile pieces are plastic.

Door panels are plastic.

Cody

[73chgrSE]

My lower door panels didn't hold up well when painted either. they just needed to be replaced. That plastic is softer than the front grill plastic obviously and got touched and scuffed more.

You can use water and dish soap that cuts grease. that should be fine to clean the bug guts and stuff off the grill. if you have stubborn spots use some denatured alcohol to disolve the crudd off then rinse it off with water.

[Brock Samson]

 Prep is so important, 
for the interior panels I'd use simple green to get rid of surface contamination, then light scuff with a 3m pad to give a bit of texture for the primer to adhere to, then a light dusting coat to start the final layers contact, then at least two light surface coats, with the final coat a compatable clear of either gloss, semi gloss, or flat - to seal the deal. No amount of prep or finish will protect against serious abrasion. and do not apply too much primer paint or clear at any one time/coating.
All your steps must be oil/grease/dust free or as they say free of contaminates,.. and all the products used for primer painting and clear/finish MUST BE COMPATABLE... other wise a gooey blob mess will result and the crap will never dry.
allways a good idea to test first on a similar or unseen material like the back of the panel for example,.. care must be taken and use the correct tools or your wasting your time and will achive an unimagined work of crap.
Good luck but better prep... 

[charger_cody]

Prep is so important, 
for the interior panels I'd use simple green to get rid of surface contamination, then light scuff with a 3m pad to give a bit of texture for the primer to adhere to, then a light dusting coat to start the final layers contact, then at least two light surface coats, with the final coat a compatable clear of either gloss, semi gloss, or flat - to seal the deal. No amount of prep or finish will protect against serious abrasion. and do not apply too much primer paint or clear at any one time/coating.
All your steps must be oil/grease/dust free or as they say free of contaminates,.. and all the products used for primer painting and clear/finish MUST BE COMPATABLE... other wise a gooey blob mess will result and the crap will never dry.
allways a good idea to test first on a similar or unseen material like the back of the panel for example,.. care must be taken and use the correct tools or your wasting your time and will achive an unimagined work of crap.
Good luck but better prep... 

Quite substantial.

Appreciate it.

Cody

[Nacho-RT74]

not a big fan of PLAIN BLACK grilles... make them look headlight floating or hanging out just there...

Maybe black and some detail to make it "flush" ( dunno if that will be the right therm ) a little bit

[Bob]

Cody,
Mine were pretty fugly before I redid mine. Now remember you can use any color you want.
Here's the steps I took.

Removed the rubber buckets and SE trim.
Cleaned with 409 and green scratch pad.
Sanded smooth all rough edges.
Taped up all the chrome with painters tape. Takes time.
Took to my local body shop and he painted them close to the original color and clear coated
($60).
The reason I took to the body shop was because of all the nooks and crannies.
The rubber buckets I did the same way but bought my own spray paint and clear.
Overall they came out great.