painting plastic (74-76) grilles

[Guest Anonymous]

Did a search but didn't find anything on this. I have a pretty decent set of 74 grilles, nothing broken or cracked, just a little weathered/faded. Has anyone used rattle can paint (for plastic) to clean their grilles up. Wondering how they look. If you have a photo post it up. tx

[wess02]

i used rattle-can flat black on the black partitions on my early grill,

the paint wasn't anything special, just enamel flat back. the car hasn't seen any weather yet, but it looks brand new. if your trying to freshen up the grill that's a viable way to go.

-wes

before

after

[Mike_B]

SEM trim paint is your friend - http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_atrim.cfm

[robsanab]

SEM trim paint is your friend - http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_atrim.cfm

thats what my body shop used on mine... looks perfectly like a new stock piece... just the right finish and has been very durable. good for many other things too like bumper rubber and such.

[dubois]

clean them, scuff them lightly with gray scuff pad, and rattle can them, Wurth, Dupli color or SEM. Use several mist coats for better results.

[Craig74tii]

Or clean the heck out of them and Armor All them until it soaks in.

[Richard]

Do not use spray paint under any circumstances. Get dawn yes only dawn advanced power soap. (dishwater soap) Use a tooth brush and abrasive sponge to clean thoroughly. Follow up with soft scrub using tooth brush and sponge to clean oxidation off. Let dry and use F21 restorer. Armorall is overrated. And yes I detail old cars.Paint will fade and crack within months...

[Craig74tii]

Yes Armor All is over-rated, and it has silicone in it. Bad for vinyl. My point was that everyone knows what it is. Not everyone knows what F21 is.

[Richard]

F21 is a Turtle Wax based product. It comes in a chartreuse(sp?) sp.ray container available at all autoparts stores.It has been the mainstay of professional detailers for years.

[02Nut]

I've tried BOTH the repainting and re-conditioning with protectant methods.

I've had good success using SEM Trim Paint - in addition to Dubois' surface prep recommendations, I've used "plastic" adhesion promoters such as "Bulldog" to ensure good paint adhesion.

Meguiar's new Ultimate Protectant is very good at reconditioning weathered plastic trim. I haven't used F21 (Turtle Wax?) and have had very mixed results with Armor All.