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

I am willing to bet that the fault is mine...I did something wrong...
Now, how do I get the paint off....I need to soda blast it...saw a picture of an aluminum coke can where they sodablasted the paint off and didn't even scratch the aluminum can.....:eek1::eek1::eek1:
 
well, we sodablast boat bottoms all the time.. it's all the rage these days.... :haha:

BIG dif between an alum can and plastic.... not even a comparison... alum is a MUCH harder surface than the plastic.... best bet is gonna be a glassbead cabinet..... a much more controlled, less aggressive approach than a full size blaster.... glassbeading is a little more aggressive than soda, but pretty mild... a fullsize blaster could bust thatthing up pretty easy, let alone eat the plastic..

might wanna call around to any local machine shops and see who has a blast cabinet.... most will blast parts for coin, like an intake manifold might cost ya $25... whether they'll be willing to blast a plastic grill is another story... might not wanna take that responsibility....
 
Oh well....I bought it for the emblem anyway...maybe I'll just get a heat gun and remove the emblem and put it on my original grill...

But if I do that and decide to try to paint my original grill...what's the way I should do it? How should I prep it and spray it? I do not want to ruin my original grill...
 
Bolt-on bowtie from the eBay link.
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'73-'74 grille. See how the center section of the bowtie is wider and shorter?
73_74_truck_grille_2.jpg
 
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I won this NOS Grill off eBAY...I will be installing it tomorrow. I can't believe that there were two on eBay at the same time.

Mine is definately NOS...it has never been installed but you can tell it has been handled over the last 37 years...it has a couple of dull scuffs but the emblem is what you buy it for.

Anybody know if there is something you could coat or spray the emblem with to prevent fading or at least slow it down?
 
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Nice! Been wanting to get one of those myself, only for the pristine emblem. Do you mind us asking how much it cost? Every time I see that style grill on eBay in that condition the price goes beyond $150.
 
Craig Artzner said:
Nice! Been wanting to get one of those myself, only for the pristine emblem. Do you mind us asking how much it cost? Every time I see that style grill on eBay in that condition the price goes beyond $150.
Click to expand...

In the last 6 months I have seen 3 of these...as with most other parts for the 1973 -1974 I can't help but know that they are dwindling. It very well could be that you don't see another one for a year, maybe two years, maybe five years...who knows....and considering that LMC wants $300 or $400 for a replica (without an emblem) I still feel like I got a steal.

I paid $237 for this one, and I watched the auction for the other one...it went for almost $400....

I talked to guy who sold it to me, he said he got it at a large swap meet.

I know it's a lot of money, but to me it is a key part of the restoration...the "face" of the truck if you will. It is one of those items that cannot be found and could be remedied real quick by somebody manufacturing these thin stamped emblems.

I am beginning to be scared that I am not going to find a set of 15x6 steelies that will clear my calipers...I have been looking every day...cannot find them.

Anyway, I am with you...I originally decided I wouldn't go above $150 for a grill, but the stark reallity of the rarity and the fact that I absolutely had my heart set on one coerced me to bid up to $237.

If we could get to some of the giant swap meets, maybe one could be had for under $100.

I have alerted you when I have seen them, because of all the K5's on this Forum, yours is the most "minty"...yours deserves a nice oem NOS grill. Mine will never match yours in purity, but will be close enough that it too deserves a real grill.

I will still keep my eyes open for them and other irreplacable oem parts.
 
that's cool, it sucks that you had to pay $237, but for a grille in that condition that's just how much they go for unfortunately. I have two '73-'74 grilles here (one on the truck, and one hanging on the wall) that are in perfect shape (no cracks or broken pieces, except for the bowtie. One emblem is faded, the other is missing.
 
Craig Artzner said:
that's cool, it sucks that you had to pay $237, but for a grille in that condition that's just how much they go for unfortunately. I have two '73-'74 grilles here (one on the truck, and one hanging on the wall) that are in perfect shape (no cracks or broken pieces, except for the bowtie. One emblem is faded, the other is missing.
Click to expand...

I still got to scratch my head as to why LMC or somebody can't get these emblems out on the market. The grills are apparent readily available out there but the emblems are faded. Those companies could manufacture a $3 piece of metal and sell them for $70...

In fact, if you could make them you could make a killing by sticking them on grills and calling them NOS...:doah:

I now have the NOS grill and two old grills that need an emblem.

As I've already covered in this thread, I tried to get one manufactured...the machine shop said "Yeah..that would be real easy"...then he said "But it's a copyrighted logo..we won't touch it".
 
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