[Chevrolet4x4s]

Repairing, Rejuvenating & Restoring a Plastic Grille
As vehicles age the grille takes a lot of abuse from years in the blazing sun and the occasional rocks and belt buckles. The original shine fades and cracks develop and can make your vehicle look worn and tired. Sure you can get an aftermarket grille but that can take away from a vehicles character and make it look like everyone else’s who has encountered this dilemma, Or if your lucky you can spend $100 or more on a new grille if you can get one for your car or truck which isn’t the case for 1973-1974 Chevrolet trucks in which a correct reproduction grille cannot be obtained. Here is a simple how-to for giving your worn, damaged and faded grille a face lift that most do-it-yourselfers can do at home for very little money.


1973-1974 Chevy truck grille a $0.99 eBay score.



Grille as I received it.


Looks normal at first look


Has a small crack (no surprise on a 33 year old grille)


I sanded the area, melted a small pinhole depression at the end of the crack to keep it from running. I repaired the crack with JB Weld. Flexing it slightly to get it worked into the crack.


Back of the crack had a line from the stress of the crack that wasn’t open but added a little JB Weld to be on the safe side

Repair sanded down


I added a piece of an aluminum fence tie (used for attaching chain link to fence posts) for added support to the repair.


Put a little JB Weld into the channel and insert the fence tie.


THOROUGHLY Clean Mask and Prep the grille accordingly. I used sandpaper to smooth scratches initially and used #0000 fine steel wool to do the final smoothing and to prepare the grille for primer.


Apply primer in several light coats.

Paint the grille with Dupli-Color® Instant Chrome Spray Enamel in several light coats until full coverage is achieved.


After the paint has FULLY cured apply clear coat in several light coats. If you add the clear too soon or too heavy you will dull the finish.
Let the clear coat cure remove the masking tape and look at the finished grille

[Chevrolet4x4s]

more pictures

Shane

[Chevrolet4x4s]

few more

Shane

What do yall think?

[schnitz]

Holy cats, that looks awesome! Nice job And, now you've got me thinking about the headlight trim for my Monte.


In a while, Chet.

[Chevrolet4x4s]

Originally Posted by schnitz

Holy cats, that looks awesome! Nice job And, now you've got me thinking about the headlight trim for my Monte.


In a while, Chet.

Thank You
If its polycarbonate and not abs, You may need to use an adhesion promoter,I think most of GM's plastic trim of that era was abs.
Shane

[schnitz]

Actually, the finish held up pretty well. I'm just thinking about how to repair the holes where the trim screws go in. One side has 3 (of 6) that the screws just pass right thru. I'll be bugged by this all day now.....


In a while, Chet.

[Chevrolet4x4s]

If it were me I would find a straw about the correct size for the screw shaft cut it into proper length sections and then jb weld it in....or you could just fill the hole and drill it.
Shane

[schnitz]

I like the idea of just filling and drilling. And it's gotta be a lot cheaper than finding a replacement set.


In a while, Chet.

[Chevrolet4x4s]

Chet You ever get the headlight trim fixed?
Shane