71 Restoration

[nj7000]

All right, here's the deal, my dad is currently restoring a 1971 vette. It looks like the car was repainted previously and they were sloppy around the grills on the sides. I was wondering, anyone who has gone through this, what you did with the side grills? How did you repaint them, clear old paint off them, since it seems like you can't buy new ones. Thanks!

 

[nj7000]

Anyone? Ideas???

 

[hodgesgi]

I'd remove them and dip them in paint remover, then clean em' and repaint em', they're made of pot metal, so that wouldn't be too difficult. One caveat though, I seem to recall two styles of grills on 71' models, the old style would be easier to paint, but on the late 71's the outside edges of the dividing fins were chromed. This would probably mean more $$$ to your chrome man and or painter to achieve the original appearance. I think the NCRS tech & resto manual makes note of this.
Good luck, it's always nice to see another shark coming back to life.
Steve

 

[rainman]

You can look at the grills and tell if you have early or late (the change occurred between VIN 1450 and 3600). Early grills have raised chrome bars on only the horizontal portion. Late grills had raised bars on horizontal and vertical. The raised bars should be masked before painting to show bare chrome when complete. Grills should be painted off the car. Sometimes non painted grills are for sale on ebay, but they shouldn't be too hard to strip and repaint.

 

[nj7000]

Yeah I took a look at the grills and they definitely have the chromed bars running both directions. The car had been painted once before, so there's some paint on the chrome also. Is there a good way to get that off? So the best way is just to tape it and spray it, since the metal isn't solid steal I don't believe it can be rechromed.

 

[rainman]

When I bought my 71 it had been painted and the bars were also painted. I just scraped the paint off and it turned out pretty good. If you are repainting anyway I think stripping, masking the bars, and then painting is the best way to do it. I believe that is how the factory did it.

 

[Jack]

While I've never had to remove paint on 71 side grilles ... here's my take on it. Most paint strippers have a very caustic formula. Most older grilles will likely have some pot metal exposed (pits at least) and not chromed. Caustic chemicals can wreak havoc on pot metal and can be nearly impossible to neutralize/remove completely ... it gets down into the pot metal's pores and you can't get it all out ... and it'll keep leaching out and haunting you. I suggest soaking the grilles in straight lacquer thinner ... it'll take longer but you won't risk contaminating the pot metal with caustics. There's an old chemistry addage that usually holds true ... "likes dissolve likes". G'luck.
JACK:gap

 

[James1970]

While I've never had to remove paint on 71 side grilles ... here's my take on it. Most paint strippers have a very caustic formula. Most older grilles will likely have some pot metal exposed (pits at least) and not chromed. Caustic chemicals can wreak havoc on pot metal and can be nearly impossible to neutralize/remove completely ... it gets down into the pot metal's pores and you can't get it all out ... and it'll keep leaching out and haunting you. I suggest soaking the grilles in straight lacquer thinner ... it'll take longer but you won't risk contaminating the pot metal with caustics. There's an old chemistry addage that usually holds true ... "likes dissolve likes". G'luck.
JACK:gap

Jack:

The left side grill on my 70' has paint on the horizontal chrome. Will lacquer thinner damage the chrome?

Or, as Rainman stated, should I just chip the paint off the chrome?

Appreciate your input

James

 

[Jack]

Jack:The left side grill on my 70' has paint on the horizontal chrome. Will lacquer thinner damage the chrome? Or, as Rainman stated, should I just chip the paint off the chrome? Appreciate your input James

If you can pop off the paint with say a PLASTIC fork tip then go ahead ... a metal tool/metal knife may scratch or lift the chrome. Lacquer thinner will not damage chrome-plated METAL parts but it won't INSTANTLY remove cured paint. If you can get a lacquer thinner-soaked Qtip on it and rub a bit ... without touching ajoining body paint ... it'll work. So will ACETONE-based nail polish remover. Either will BURN body paint upon contact. Other cars & vette aftermarket parts sometimes use chrome-plated (or vacuum-metalized) PLASTIC castings ... Lacquer thinner will destroy many plastics. Make sure you're working with a metal part before stripping paint with lacquer thinner or similar solvents.
JACK:gap