Hello Gang.

I'm in need of a bit of advice from those who have painted or have had their 70-72 egg crates painted. My painter is a perfectionist and did an incredible job on my 70. Final wet sand and buff to follow completion of reassembly and the last of the engine work in case a scratch or scuff her in the process. Seems logical. But he is reluctant to tackle the grills, and suggested an airbrush guy who does a lot of Harley's. Also sounds logical, except this guy is super pricey. I could have the parts completely rechromed for about what this guy wants for the "labor intensive job". (All that sanding?) Their egg crate grills for crying out loud.... So the question is about how you did yours.

Along the way I toyed with the idea of just chrome grills, but the original chrome that was under the paint was never of a good enough quality to stand bare and look good. I did strip them all the way down to the chrome using the not-so-potent current version of Aircraft stripper (took a few apps, but all bare now). The crates themselves have a couple minor nicks and a touch of pitting, so I came back around to doing body color with the proper chrome edges bare.

Any recommendations expert panel. The paint where it has been cut and buffed around handles and chrome trim looks freakin' fantastic, so I have to have the grills done right.

Any direction and help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

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I would paint them completely and then go CAREFULLY over the top of the chrome edges with a rag dipped in lacquer thinner to remove the unwanted paint.

 

There are 3M fine-line pin striping tapes commonly available. Wouldn't be that difficult to apply it to the egg crate since it's well defined and on the top surface.

 

First off if it matters too you, 1970 grilles are different in design than late 1971 and 1972. You may already know that, the process that was used to paint my grilles was stripping the paint then stripping the chrome. Next the the grilles where sand to remove imperfections to allow a smooth finish. Next they’re re chromed, primed and painted prior to the paint setting up the paint was removed from the edges with a craft knife then the grilles received multiple coats of clear. Very expensive endeavor just glad the painter had no problem performing the task.

 

Wonder how the factory painted them and exposed the chrome edges. They probably had a technique to do it quickly.

 

I have had several egg crates painted over the years. I find this the easiest way; as long as the chrome on the edges is in good shape and not pitted, I have the whole thing painted. Then, when dry, run a super sharp blade over the same outer edge. The paint comes off very easily with no damage at all to the chrome. Fast, easy and good results.

 

Mine were already stripped when I purchased the car. I wiped them down with acetone then primed them and used the razor scrape method to test before going any further...it was a pain in the *** I then taped off the edges with 3m fine line tape and sprayed the base and clear. I felt the tape was easier and has less chance of screwing up your work.

 

It's too much work with a high risk of damage to clean off a layer of epoxy primer, base coats and multiple clear coats with the finger tip rag and lacquer thinner technique. It work well for perfecting the masked off finished paint job though.

I regretted having 70's replated, too aggressive on the chrome edges for my liking. This is one of those parts that looks crude when it's right in your face but fine when installed. My original 70 castings were very rough on the internal passages, but you didn't notice it installed.

 

I have used pin stripping tape on applications like your egg crates with good success. Easy to put on, comes right off, no bleed through, this tape will not remove any of the finish underneath, comes in different widths from 1/16" up to I believe 1/4"

https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail...EaApGbEALw_wcB

 

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I still have a few questions, not so much about the masking, but about the application of the paint itself.
1.) Does the chrome need to be stripped? Couldn't a self etching primer be used on areas that are to receive paint, then sanded then paint?

2.) Does the part require rechroming before paint? (Wouldn't that make the paint harder to get to adhere?) My edges are in ok shape.

3.) In order to prevent runs or dry spray, is a finer sprayer necessary. In other words, would an airbrush gun or similar gun be needed or have any of you had good results with a conventional spray gun?

Again, thanks a lot for the info.

 

What ever you do, do not leave them unpainted. To me that just looks too "Bubba".

 

I stripped and had the egg crates on my 70 repainted recently. I applied a good quality masking tape to the edges, then ran a razor blade along each side of each fin to trim the excess masking away. Hardest part was masking around the corners and front edge where there was no edge to use for a guide.

Prepping was the worst part, sanding every tube, time consuming, tedious.

There was quite a build up of materials, primer, base and clear coat when I finally removed the tape.

I haven’t finished buffing yet, some pictures of the egg crates as they are currently.

 

GM painted over the chrome. Is it necessary to strip these pieces down to bare pot metal?

 

It is not necessary to get down to bare metal. I scuffed mine up and hit it with self-etching primer. It created a good base i believe.