What would happen if I used wheel spraypaint on my grille?

[Craig Artzner]

I have been looking everywhere for GM Argent silver paint for my '73s plastic grille. All I can find is GM Argent silver urethane spray paint for wheels, which I believe to be the same color. What would be the downside of using this paint on my grille (if any).

I don't want it to look like I repainted it, so I'm wanting to get the color dead-on. Any suggestions?

 

[ryoken]

nothing wrong with using that.. wheels vs this vs that mean nothing.. It's all a function of what kinda paint it is... urethane, enamel, lacquer and what components they have added to them . flex additive, flattening agent, reducers, etc...

It's best to not go heavy on your first coat on plastic, and allow that first coat to flash off awhile before recoating.. wait like a 1/2 hr..

Just be aware that how it looks when done will be more a function of gloss and finish than anything... You may need to "knock down" the gloss a tad when done... couple ways to go about that, easiest is just hand rub it down with some lacquer compound on a rag...

In a bodyshop, you have specifac rattle cans for plastic work, but in a pinch, they can just throw some flex additive in their gun sprayed urethane to be on the safe side... flattening agents too if it's a semi-finish.. Regular rattle can urethane will be fine tho..

 

[4xcrazy]

it would change colors ???

 

[Craig Artzner]

Hey! Thanks for the info, 4xcrazy! I did this after I read your post

Ryoken I was hoping you would respond, and ya did. Seriously thanks

 

[ryoken]

Anytime....

 

[BigBen]

Hey Craig,

Do you want a 'practice' grille to paint first?

I've got 3 for my '74

1) The original on the truck that someone painted flat black.
2) An Ebay find that was faded, but the original color (in my K5 now).
3) A NOS grille that I got from Ebay a few years ago.

I'd definitely be willing to give you the old one (flat black right now) for the cost of shipping it to Ohio.

I want to keep my current one in the truck and the NOS one will go in when the restoration work is getting done.

If you want an original, keep an eye on Ebay. I see them come up about once every 6 months or so. (They go for about $100 each when they come up)

The painful part is that nobody on the reproduction circuit makes 73-75 specific parts (grilles, emblems, etc) so you're pretty much stuck shopping for NOS where you can find it.

-Ben

 

[BigBen]

OK, a little pic-whoring on my part here:


First, what you can get off Ebay. (and maybe a good color ref Craig?)







Oh, there is another level of Grille I have seen a couple times. It actually has a rim of chrome around the outer lip. They seem to be even more pricey and rare. My Blazer probably came with that stock since it has everything else, but I actually prefer less chrome.

This one will be going in once I finish the restoration work.

 

[BigBen]

Below is the black one that came with my K5 (it's been painted) along with (on the Blazer) the one I got for $10 on Ebay to replace it.










Craig: The black one isn't in very good shape. (I forgot a fin was broken out and a couple of the tabs were broken off when I got the Blazer).

It's probably not worth much more than a practice piece for painting. Take a look at the pictures. If you still want it, it's yours for the shipping!

 

[Craig Artzner]

WOW . I'm drooling over that NOS grille. I'm starting a favorite search on eBay right now. Heck I'd settle for just a new gold bowtie applique to replace my old, faded one. If you ever sell your Blazer (which I doubt you will), I would love to make a deal for that . I saved all those pictures to my computer for color reference. That will be a big help .

I'll pay postage to get your black grille for paint testing. Let me know what the postmaster wants. Thanks for all your help pardner!

 

[BigBen]

Craig,

I'm just glad I can help out.

I can't believe I never threw out that old grille before moving back from California, but its pretty fortunate now that you can use it!

The odds of me ever giving up my Blazer are pretty darn slim... but if I do, you've got first dibbs on that NOS grille! That gold emblem is what drove me crazy. I don't know of ANY source for them other than NOS grilles. Just watch the price. I've seen several of them go for between $80 and $100, but I even saw one go for upwards of $400 one time!

Anyway.

PM me with your address and I'll see what I can do.
I think I can get down to the Post Office on Tuesday and find out what's going on.



-Ben

 

[Craig Artzner]

OK, a little pic-whoring on my part here:


First, what you can get off Ebay. (and maybe a good color ref Craig?)

This one will be going in once I finish the restoration work.

Well I got my grille all painted over the past 3 days. I nailed the argent silver on the grille part. For anyone who wants to know, GM Rally Wheel Argent Silver is the same color as your GM grille.

The only thing that didn't come out perfect (and I didn't expect it to) was the bowtie. In the pictures it looks like I just shot it with yellow paint. I actually only dusted it with yellow Krylon to bring back some of the original yellow. I could not fully preserve the "prismatic" effect seen in Ben's mint condition NOS grille. But overall I'm pleased with the result. The grille now matches the condition of the rest of my truck.

And some before pictures...

 

[BigBen]

Nice work Craig!

If I'd thought to spritz a little yellow Krylon before, I might have saved myself some cash on Ebay!

Did you say you found that paint at Summit? I've got some other stuff around here that could use a nice coat of that color.

 

[BigBen]

Actually,

I'm always amazed that we can't purchase that prismatic decal anywhere. I'd love to know if anyone has found one before. (I searched long and hard and couldn't locate one)

Another idea I had was to purchase some mylar in the silver/black/gold colors to try to re-create the emblem. I never did it though because I got hung up trying to locate embossed mylar to get the right 'look'.

Anyway, just my ramblings on different ways to possibly get that emblem look back to 'original'.

 

[Craig Artzner]

Yeah I picked up at Summit on my lunch break the other day. It's VHT GM Argent Silver for Rally wheels.

 

[Craig Artzner]

Here's an installed shot...

 

[75-K5]

Looks awesome!

 

[TSGB]

I just spent a good amount of time looking at that picture to figure out if you had a twin or photoshopped yourself into it.

 

[Craig Artzner]

What was your conclusion?

 

[TSGB]

Shopped. Very well.

 

[BigBen]

Shopped. Very well.

x2.

It's been bothering me.