The passenger side was replaced from Dennis Carpenter.


I would like to paint the black around the headlight on the driver's side.




And I'd like to paint these black to match the original grilles.

Flat black???

 

I used SEM Trim Black. the standard satin not the gloss.

 

Krylon Fusion in Matte Black is another great option. I'd take both off and into the shop to clean and tape and paint, and the Fusion dries fast. Nothing wrong with the SEM, but I can go buy the Fusion off the rack today, I have had to order the SEM.



Looks like eighteen places on the pass side plus the driver side head light surround ..... and that one screw head .....because if you miss a spot, it'll jump out at you every time you walk by it. Of course, your eye will next be drawn to the Matte Aluminum color, the freshness on the right one next to the wear on the left one. I think the difference would be OK, but not sure how picky you are. If you did one good chance it wouldn't match the newer one and then you'll be wishing you did both.

Times like this, I ask myself sometimes "How will it look to that guy coming the other way, both of us running 45 or 55 ..... or 80 mph"?

I know .... it's that old "Rat Hole" again.
It'll be easy in a warm shop working at a table.

 

Thank you again.

 

Thank you.
I wish DC had painted them like they are supposed to be painted.
It never bothered me, actually I'm not so sure I ever even noticed until it came up in another thread and now it bugs me.
I'm not too worried about how it looks to others, just how it looks to me.
I will paint them like they are supposed to be painted.

 

Another vote for SEM. Expensive, but you get what you pay for. It's worth it to spring for the extra few bucks with something you want to not only look good but last a long time. Follow their instructions "to a T" and it will hold up very well.

 

Thank you.
We're men. We don't follow instructions.

 

This is how I feel when people don’t paint parts of the grille surround on high dollar restorations. The posts behind the FORD letters should be black, as well as the bottom horizontal parts right behind the bumper.

Example below

 

I guess we should be happy that we can at least still get them.
I do wish they were painted correctly. After all they are "restoration" parts.
My truck never will be anywhere close to being show quality, even though I have put it in a car show before.
I will paint them to match. I'm sure that I will repaint the OE one too.
Like tbear pointed out, 18 places need to be painted.

 

A person sure does have alot of choices on spray paint now days. That Fusion that is for plastic is nice and available. A long time ago, I grabbed a spare set of inserts from the local JY (again a long time ago) and just spray painted them to flow with the bumper color.

I bought the 1979 bumper with the push bar for 20 bucks, again a long time ago. The PO welded the push bar to the bumper, so I got as a package deal and mounted it on my 77 as is. So yes not the proper bumper for a 77, and the grill insert paint is faded like the bumper, hood strips. And maybe the bumper is a little grungy, but I am good with it.

 

Thanks everyone who replied with a lot of good advise.






This is what I ended up buying yesterday. Walmart had it on the shelf.
If I had a really nice truck I would have ordered the SEM instead.

I have used Fusion semi gloss white on exterior trim on RVs that have started to and have turned yellow over the years. They yellow because they don't have titanium dioxide in the plastic and they looked great after painting them.

I'm sureit will look a lot better when both grille inserts match.

The lack of titanium dioxide is why cheap window blinds turn yellow over time.
They are cheap because they don't contain titanium dioxise.
Buy Hunter Douglas window coverings, they do.


Speaking of titanium dioxide, this is the worlds best sun screen.
It contains both titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. These two minerals reflect the suns harmful rays.
Sun screens that don't contain these minerals contain chemicals that have a chemical reaction with the harmful sun rays that alter them and reduce tissue damage.
Blue Lizard is produced in Australia where it has to pass a lot stronger regulations for skin protection than sun screens produced in other countries.
Australia has the highet rate of skin cancer than any other country.
Blue Lizard is the only sun screen endorsed by the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
I am an advanced stage IV metastatic melanoma 15 year survivor.
Please buy sun screen that contains these two minerals.

 

I would do a test spray first. if it's actually matte black I wouldn't use it. not only will it look odd but bugs and everything else will leave lasting marks. I had a '69 Mach 1 with the matte black hood and it was a nightmare.

Semi-gloss would be best.

 

Thank you again, its back to the store again.
I remember those black hoods and they were a nightmare.
A good way to ruin one was to try and wax it.
My oldest sister bought a new '69 Mach I Indian Fire red with a 351 auto.






This is a good friend of mine's Mach I with a 428 SCJ, 4-speed and no PS.
He bought it back in 1973 for $1700 with only 16k on it.
He was working at the Ford dealer where it was traded in.
Today it only had 137,000 miles on it.
Over the years while he was assistant manager of the parts department he bought every single piece of trim, two sets of exhaust tips, 4 beauty rims, door handle, key locks and excursions, 428, CJ emblems, every single little piece. Back then he figured he spent about $3000 on all of it.
The car still has that little drip rail molding above the voltage regulator.
It just sits in his garage.

The Ranchero was my dad's 1972 GT, 351 4V with the gauge cluster & tach.
The 1966 Mustang was my mom's. A code 289 4V, auto, pony interior, limited slip and factory AC.

 

Yes .... do a test spray of both the matte and the semi gloss, they both look great and hold up well. The matte ain't so rough like those hoods often were. Either one will match if you're doing both sides.

 

Thanks, I'll be doing both sides.