Egg crate painting tips?

[Rich G.]

Is there a secret or tip on painting the side egg crates on a 72 to leave the front edges chrome. Or is masking the lines the only way. Thanks for any suggestions.

[Jim T.]

Re: Egg crate painting tips?

How did the factory do it on the 70-72 grilles?

[Bill C.]

Re: Egg crate painting tips?

We painted my side grills and then I went back later and using a razor blade, scraped off the paint from the chrome edges.

I say it is pretty darn hard to tape off anything.

Take your time if you proceed with the razor blade, one slip and you will end up putting a slice in the painted areas on the grill.

[John H.]

Re: Egg crate painting tips?

How did the factory do it on the 70-72 grilles?

Jim -

They came to St. Louis already painted - the supplier painted them.

[Alan S.]

Re: Egg crate painting tips?

Hi Rich,
I did my side grills in a similar way to Bill.
I found that new, sharp blades help and I 'cut/sliced' the paint as soon as I could handle the grills. I believe that if the paint is still a bit soft it comes off in long 'strings' and leaves a very nice sharp edge.
Some people have had good luck using tape but I always seemed to get too thick a build up of paint right at the tape edge.
With a little practice you can do a nice job. Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

PS: This same method works for the exposed chrome on the front grills, too.

[Wayne B.]

Re: Egg crate painting tips?

I was pretty lucky on my side grills with a bit different way of taping them. On my 71 I had a problem with build up on the edge of the tape pulling off and "chipping" so on my 70 I got some 1/4" tape from the paint supply house and ran it down the middle of each grid but instead of folding over with the edge there to get build up again I curled the edges UP, just the opposite of what you'd expect. That kept some turbulence there to avoid spraying too high yet the rounded edge kept the build up problem away. Needed a scrape here and there but I was surprised...so, is desperation the mother of invention?

[Robert M.]

Re: Egg crate painting tips?

The question was asked, "How'd the factory do it?"
Mr. Hinckley said they were painted by the supplier.

In a production environment, I imagine that they didn't want to spend time taping those egg crate grilles. I would believe that they used a rigid reusable mask and laid it on the grille, the sprayed the paint, and lifted the mask immediately. A quick clean up after the paint dries, and done. That's my theory.

Anybody really know how it was done?

[Terry M.]

Re: Egg crate painting tips?

I can't tell you about how the "factory" did it, but I once saw a SERVICE side grille that was painted in the ubiquitous black primer. The narrow tape was still on the center of the egg crate edges. Of course, this was not paint, but primer -- not a PRODUCTION piece.

[Rich G.]

Re: Egg crate painting tips?

I never thought about scraping the paint off with a razor. I did strip the paint off my Cuda that way and it did come off. Seems like a simple way if it works. Someone also mentioned waxing the edges and then wiping it off when the paint dries but that has to be a real pain making sure you just get it on the edge. I hope to prime them this week so maybe I'll srcape one and tape one and see which one works the best. Thanks

[Alan S.]

Re: Egg crate painting tips?

Hi Rich,
As I mentioned, the key to using a sharp blade is not waiting too long after the paint is sprayed. This allows the cut edge to be very precise without chipping the paint you want to remain on the grill.
Regards,
Alan