1963 hood grille refinish

[Tom H.]

Hi All !

Just got a call from a friend in MN who just purchased a nice red 63 coupe. He said the hood grilles need to be refinished. The aluminum is nice, but the black areas need redone. What is the best procedure for doing this as a DIY project? Any suggestions ??

Tom

[Bob R.]

Re: 1963 hood grille refinish

It's not a difficult project but will take a little time. Remove the grills and wash them down with Laquer thinner. That should remove the old paint. Get 1/8" masking tape from an auto body supply store and mask of the grill this is where the time is spent. Then paint with black spray paint. I'm not sure of the correct sheen for the grills. I used a satin finish but I have seen everything from gloss to flat. I did mine about 4 years ago and I think I need to do them again.

[Steven S.]

Re: 1963 hood grille refinish

I re-did mine some years ago as well. Did not take them of the hood due to them have an X of adhesive on the back side. I pulled the entire hood off the car and masked off the back and front sides then used fine line tape for the grilles and painted with satin black. I did them over 6 years ago and they still look great.

Steve

[Rainer S.]

Re: 1963 hood grille refinish

I did mine a little while ago. I used 1/8" 3M tape. One thing I would do, if I do it again, is:
Apply the tape across the short length of the rectangles first.
I did it the other way, and found, that when I taped the long way first, and applied the tape across the short side, the tape has to lay over the tape you just put on (long ways). The tape does not want to lay down between the short distance of the installed tape, and the lines will not be a crisp in the corners,as when you do it the other way. I hope you get my point..
Also, do not apply too much paint, to eliminate a raise edge, after the tape is removed.
Make sure the tape is down in all placed, since paint will seep under the tape, if it isn't.
Wipe of the panel with paint prep cleaner, before you apply the paint, you can't avoid touching the alum. when applying the tape. Paint will adhere better...
If your panels are dull, you may want to have them re-anodized, before painting.
Don't ask me how I know...

Rainer