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Well, it took three grilles before I
found one I wanted to use. The best one was picked up at the 2002 Mopar Nationals in Columbus. My original grille wasn't in very good condition and was missing a mounting
tab.
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I started by cleaning up the grille.
I used a powerwasher to get the major stuff off. I then used "Easy-Off" oven cleaner (with Lye) to remove
the paint. I sprayed it on the grille and waited about 20 minutes before hosing it off. I went through the same
procedure again only this time I used an old toothbrush for the tough stuff. It took the paint off beautifully!
I now have a bare plastic grille ready for paint, well, after a couple of epoxy mends and some clean-up with the files that
is.
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I had a few epoxy repairs to make including reinforcing the upper
mounting tabs and adding a missing horizontal rib. I used the old grille as the donor for the rib and used small files
and sandpaper to complete rest of the repairs.
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I started with painting the whole grille in "Satin Black"
from Totally Auto. Next
came the turn signal cups. I used Dutch-Boy "Instant Chrome" metallic enamel. I then used painters' masking
tape to tape off the smaller ribs between the clusters and around the grille periphery.
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I traced the turn signal lens on some thin cardboard and cut it out to create
a spray mask for the "Instant Chrome" in the cups. They just dropped into the cups and worked well.
You can see them in the photo above, just to the left of the scissors.
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For kicks, I used "Textured Dark Argent" spray paint, again
from Totally Auto. The areas that were taped off are black and the rest
is the textured argent. The argent goes all the way down the signal cup until it hits the gasket. The images
above don't do justice to the way this grille turned out.
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I picked up a NOS stamped aluminum molding
for the top of the grille.
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I picked up a screw kit from Penstar
Reproductions at one of the Mopar shows. It had everything I needed for the grille.
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