What type paint for 68 taillight housing and bezels?

[bull]

Looking to get a decent rattle can-type flat black and silver; black for the inner part of the housings and that little bezel stripe, and silver for the outer part of the bezels.

Also, just to be sure, is the silver an argent? And it is flat black inside the housings, right?

[bill440rt]

Housings were flat/satin black, the silver is argent.

SEM's Trim Black is probably a good choice for the black.

[bull]

Housings were flat/satin black, the silver is argent.

SEM's Trim Black is probably a good choice for the black.

I've got plenty of the SEM trim black. Does SEM make an argent silver that you know of?

[bill440rt]

Not that I know of, but that doesn't mean they don't.
Perhaps Eastwood?? 
Or, check down at your local auto parts store for something in a rattle can.

[jaak]

Bull,
Please post before and after pics when you do this. What part of the bezels are argent?

Jason

[bill440rt]

The fluted part of the bezels are painted argent.

[jaak]

The fluted part of the bezels are painted argent.

Cool!
Thanks Bill! Still learning those small details on 68's.

Jason

[bill440rt]

Bull, my tail panel & tail light housings are painted flat black. It kinda matches the flat black sheen of the R/T stripe, it that helps you.

[HeavyFuel]

Housings were flat/satin black, the silver is argent.

SEM's Trim Black is probably a good choice for the black.

That's what I used.   Be sure to scuff the areas to be painted if you had the housings replated, unless you want to do it twice.  

I used 1/8" pinstriping to border and it followed the corners really nice.

[bull]

The silver I used first is too silvery, too metallic and too shiny. It almost blended in with the chrome. So I grabbed a can of Krylon gloss pewter gray at the store and shot a coat of that on one bezel and it actually looks pretty close, if maybe a little too light.

Not sure what's right. The original silver that's on it looks like a matte or almost flat. I'll wait and see what this gray looks like when it dries.

[twodko]

I used SEM titanium silver.

[bull]

I used SEM titanium silver.

And it looks right I assume?

The only thing I'm converned about now after getting a good look at the bezels is there's a fair amount of pitting along the bottoms. I've got another pair of tail light assemblies I'll have to look at and see if I've got something decent. I might end up buying some BEA bezels.

[twodko]

Well that's what I ended up doing too. I didn't have a set good enough to match the rest of the work. At $295 per set for my 69 you'd have thought they were made of gold.
As for the SEM titanium silver (maybe its called grey), if you have a similar piece of material spray some out and compare its with what it should look like. 

[bull]

Ok. Well, I cleaned up two sets of bezels over the past couple of days and I think I ended up with 2-3 that are pretty good, or should I say, decent. Most of the rest of them are pretty well pitted to the point of ruin on the painted part and the chrome is either seperating with the black lines or covered with those little white spots.

That gray pewter paint I mentioned before didn't work out at all. Looks like crap.

[twodko]

You're in a pickle, everything you have done to the car has been the right way the first time, pristine restoration work. Hanging a part(s) on a car that has enjoyed such meticulous attention will drive you crazy. No one else may ever notice the less than perfect bezels but you will and, speaking only for myself, it would chew on me until I bought new.

Love my 69 but it makes me crazy sometimes......until get behind the wheel and fire up that big block.

[bull]

You're in a pickle, everything you have done to the car has been the right way the first time, pristine restoration work. Hanging a part(s) on a car that has enjoyed such meticulous attention will drive you crazy. No one else may ever notice the less than perfect bezels but you will and, speaking only for myself, it would chew on me until I bought new.

Love my 69 but it makes me crazy sometimes......until get behind the wheel and fire up that big block.

Well, if I do put an old/semi-refurbished set on the car it would be temporary. I think the old housings can be cleaned up pretty good but I know I'll be getting a new set of bezels eventually. I can swing the cost of bezels but the housings are going to be tough at $600+.

I used SEM titanium silver.

To you happen to have the product number? Those guys at the paint store can't figure it out without the number.

[twodko]

I check to see if I still have the can.

[bull]

I check to see if I still have the can.

Thanks. It's probably moot since the bezels are a little too pitted to reuse for long but I still may paint and install the best of them until I afford new ones.

[bull]

I went to a paint store that carries SEM products yesterday and found what I believe you were telling me about. SEM Bumper Coater Light Titanium Metallic 39283 is about as dead-on as it gets. This morning I taped off a section of an original bezel, scuffed the paint and sprayed this stuff on about a three-inch area. You can't tell where the original paint ends and the SEM begins, other than the spot that was sprayed looks smooth and new.

This was basically an exercise in finding the right stuff since I'm getting new bezels now anyway. That's assuming the new bezels work out.