65 grille restoration (looking for tips, suggestions)

The Era of The Square Body Racing Comets
comethead
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Joined: Sun Nov 09, 2003 7:44 pm
Location: Palmdale, CA

Re: 65 grille restoration (looking for tips, suggestions)

Post by comethead »

kevinshi wrote:
Wed Oct 20, 2021 11:50 am
comethead wrote:
Sun Jul 05, 2015 8:23 pm
I put a Cyclone grill on my Caliente last year. It needed cleaning up. I scuffed the painted parts with light sandpaper and blacked out the area outside of the ring. Polished the leading edges of the grill on the inside. Here's the thread http://www.cometcentral.com/forum/viewt ... &start=120. I used Rustoleum semi gloss rattle can.
Joe did you then determine the grill is indeed most likely aluminum? E.g. the shiny ribs are polished aluminum rather than chromed?

If so then the quick summary (I am asking, not telling) is to mask off what is practical (such as the Cyclone ring), then spray everything back then wet sand/polish the bits that are supposed to by shiny (such as the rib edges)?

(Random: Does anyone know how these grills were originally manufactured - how did Ford produce this grill with polish over black in the first place?)
On the couple of Cyclone grills I’ve worked on I noticed the pins retaining the corral was very fragile (broke a couple :( ) so I didn't remove them from the grill.
I masked off everything not painted black and then sprayed. To remove the paint from the leading edges I used thinner sparingly with a rag and then polished the edge with steel wool.

Joe
1965 Caliente HT- 289/4 speed
1964 Falcon HT- track car- 302/4 speed
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