Grille finish 71-73

[JD79]

Hi guys,

I would like to know if the original grille was painted in the factory? 

I have bought a reproduction ( D3ZZ-8200-B (mach 1 grille)) from Daniel Carpenter earlier this year. The grille is made of shiny plastic! It looks really cheap. I have nothing to compare with, because I have a different type of grille on my car and it has been painted in the past.

I am considering to buy a NOS grille , these grilles have a semi-mat appearance so I am wondering if these are of different plastic or painted...

 

[NG8264723]

Must be painted! I have a NOS one we painted it

 

[JD79]

Must be painted!  I have a NOS one we painted it

Did you paint it semi gloss black?

 

[NG8264723]

Yes. We used SEM products

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

The finish on the Carpenter grill is correct. I had a Ford NOS in attic and the Mach 1 73 was not painted. I compared to Carpenter grill and looks same. He in fact got the Ford tooling. If you look at the back side and compare tooling marks they are same. The grey on the 71 72 was painted. I do not have a real close picture but this is the 73 NOS Ford grill that I had in the hoard. Paint will never look correct. And yes the Mach 1 grill is correct for this convertible since it had Decor Group.

my opinion is one opinion.





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[BeerDontCount]

The finish on the Carpenter grill is correct. I had a Ford NOS in attic and the Mach 1 73 was not painted. I compared to Carpenter grill and looks same. He in fact got the Ford tooling. If you look at the back side and compare tooling marks they are same. The grey on the 71 72 was painted. I do not have a real close picture but this is the 73 NOS Ford grill that I had in the hoard. Paint will never look correct. And yes the Mach 1 grill is correct for this convertible since it had Decor Group.

my opinion is one opinion.





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+1  I bought that grill from the Ford dealership in '79 and it was not painted, just black plastic.

 

[NG8264723]

THe new plastic NOS stuff looked horrible to me. The paint is much more uniform and will protect the plastc. I would paint it unless you want concours

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Just some info on painting the plastic if you go that route. None of the plastic parts, interior or exterior were painted on these cars with the exception of. The gray areas on 71 & 72 grill and the dash parts that have chrome trim and the clock and shifter surround on a long console. All the kick panels, long console bases, short consoles, interior plastic panels, seat backs were all molded in color and no paint. If you have a car that has paint on the plastic then the po did it not the factory. These were very cheaply built cars and every cost savings that could be found was used. We made pretty much all of Fords Aluminum grills, cars and trucks from 60's up into about 76 when I think for went to plastic on their trucks and vans. They required buffing, vacuum masking and paint application to get the details. When plastic grills came out we closed up that area of the plant, no demand. Look at an original metal wire wheel cover with all the individual spokes and parts. Then look a molded plastic one with all the chrome flaking off one piece.

If you do attempt to paint the grill remember it came from a mold and probably has some type of mold release sprayed on the tooling to make the parts easier to get out. That is why the finish is smooth. If you paint, even with SEM, you need to do lots of prep. Paint or SEM does not like a smooth surface it has nothing to hold onto. The adhesion promoter does help also. I cannot see you getting inside the honeycomb shape of the grill and all the surfaces to properly prep them or paint them evenly.

I have seen several rear honeycomb panels where the owner tried to paint and it just comes off in chunks after a little while. If you want to tone down the shine on the grill you can blast it with low pressure and use walnut hulls to take some of the shine off. You can also do that to rough up the surface but paint does not like a blasted surface as much as a scuffed surface.

Each person has the pleasure of doing their car as they want that is what makes the world go round.

 

[OMS]

When talking to Daniel Carpenter about the look of the 73 grilles.

He said they needed to be painted for UV protection.

 

[JD79]

When talking to Daniel Carpenter about the look of the 73 grilles.

He said they needed to be painted for UV protection.

Does this mean they use a different type of plastic compared to the original? The Daniel Carpenter version looks different because the plastic is very shiny. When I look on eBay at the NOS version ,it looks semi gloss.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

When talking to Daniel Carpenter about the look of the 73 grilles.

He said they needed to be painted for UV protection.

Does this mean they use a different type of plastic compared to the original? The Daniel Carpenter version looks different because the plastic is very shiny. When I look on eBay at the NOS version ,it looks semi gloss.

That just sounds weird. How many of our cars have original grills and how many still have original paint. Paint does not last as long as plastic, lol. I would expect he uses ABS which is what the original was and is very cheap material. If you change materials shrinkage can change and then nothing fits. Black ABS has it's on UV resistance light colors do not. Your sewer pipes that are black are the same material. I actually use the plumbing glue for ABS to do repairs.

Will have to go over to Carpenters shop when at Charlotte in Sept. and check it out. He probably sent mold to China to run like the tail lights.

It will be a pain to try and get the honeycomb painted even and not get puddles and runs. Many light coats and rattle can is pretty much out you need lots of control to spray complicated shapes.

 

[JD79]

When talking to Daniel Carpenter about the look of the 73 grilles.

He said they needed to be painted for UV protection.

Does this mean they use a different type of plastic compared to the original? The Daniel Carpenter version looks different because the plastic is very shiny. When I look on eBay at the NOS version ,it looks semi gloss.

That just sounds weird. How many of our cars have original grills and how many still have original paint. Paint does not last as long as plastic, lol. I would expect he uses ABS which is what the original was and is very cheap material. If you change materials shrinkage can change and then nothing fits. Black ABS has it's on UV resistance light colors do not. Your sewer pipes that are black are the same material. I actually use the plumbing glue for ABS to do repairs.

Will have to go over to Carpenters shop when at Charlotte in Sept. and check it out. He probably sent mold to China to run like the tail lights.

It will be a pain to try and get the honeycomb painted even and not get puddles and runs. Many light coats and rattle can is pretty much out you need lots of control to spray complicated shapes.

I can imagine it will be difficult to paint the honeycomb structure! That is why I am considering to buy a NOS grille and keep the Daniel Carpenter part as a spare...  

If I have time next week, I will take some photo's of the Daniel Carpenter version so we have something to compare ...

 

[JD79]

I have taken some photo's of the Daniel Carpenter grille. As you can see, the plastic is very shiny!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I do agree the Chinese must have polished it, lol. If you look at original parts they had all the ejector pins sunk to pull the part out of the cavity side or front of the grill. I bet the Chinese polished the mold so it would not stick. You could probably blast the grill with walnut shells to get the dull look like on my yellow car. Try in an area not seen. Would take a big cabinet to get it in.

I would think Carpenter would make them texture the mold again.

 

[OMS]

I do agree the Chinese must have polished it, lol. If you look at original parts they had all the ejector pins sunk to pull the part out of the cavity side or front of the grill. I bet the Chinese polished the mold so it would not stick. You could probably blast the grill with walnut shells to get the dull look like on my yellow car. Try in an area not seen. Would take a big cabinet to get it in.

I would think Carpenter would make them texture the mold again.

If the Chinese polished it, they came to Charlotte to do so - the 73 Mach 1 grille is USA made

From Daniel Carpenter - as to what material grilles are now made from

"Yes they are made from automotive grade high impact modified ABS.

Originals were cheap ABS ours are better quality material that should not break as easy."

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I do agree the Chinese must have polished it, lol. If you look at original parts they had all the ejector pins sunk to pull the part out of the cavity side or front of the grill. I bet the Chinese polished the mold so it would not stick. You could probably blast the grill with walnut shells to get the dull look like on my yellow car. Try in an area not seen. Would take a big cabinet to get it in.

I would think Carpenter would make them texture the mold again.

If the Chinese polished it, they came to Charlotte to do so - the 73 Mach 1 grille is USA made

From Daniel Carpenter - as to what material grilles are now made from

"Yes they are made from automotive grade high impact modified ABS.

Originals were cheap ABS ours are better quality material that should not break as easy."


Humm why does his packaging say made in China on the tail lights. Does he run the big parts here?

 

[OMS]

I do agree the Chinese must have polished it, lol. If you look at original parts they had all the ejector pins sunk to pull the part out of the cavity side or front of the grill. I bet the Chinese polished the mold so it would not stick. You could probably blast the grill with walnut shells to get the dull look like on my yellow car. Try in an area not seen. Would take a big cabinet to get it in.

I would think Carpenter would make them texture the mold again.

If the Chinese polished it, they came to Charlotte to do so - the 73 Mach 1 grille is USA made

From Daniel Carpenter - as to what material grilles are now made from

"Yes they are made from automotive grade high impact modified ABS.

Originals were cheap ABS ours are better quality material that should not break as easy."


Humm why does his packaging say made in China on the tail lights. Does he run the big parts here?

What's the tail lights have to do with the grille :huh:

 

[bkdunha]

My 72 grill is still original and in very good shape. The original material on mine is a matte finish with a very fine texture to it. Nothing like the smooth finish you have on your Carpenter version. Carpenter usually does a very good job on his parts. This may be a result of different materials today vs. 73. I will look back at my untouched 73 vert pictures to see what is visible.

 

[bkdunha]

Only shots I have of the grill.  Looks to be argent.