A buddy is about to paint some parts for my 87 gn. The header panel of course is gloss, but what about everything else in it? Its all faded and chipped. i need to know what is gloss and what is satin or flat. He is painting the headlight retainers, the headlight bezels, the side and bumper marker light bezels and the grill.
satin, flat or gloss?
- Thread starter Lugnutz
- Start date
machinegun
Active Member
- Joined
- May 25, 2001
Most all the items such as trim on a black out package were GM satin black. This includes wheel well molding, bezels, light trim. If you have an 87 the headlight retainers will be satin. If an 86 they will be natural. That is if keeping with perfect original. Hope this helps.
another question...its my understanding that the bumpers were powder coated and i assume that the wheels were as well. my front bumber has some of the paint scratched off (very noticable) and the paint in the wheels is deteriorating. who powder coats (anyone near west ky?) and does anyone know what this would cost to have done?
When I purchased my 87 GN it had took a light hit on the nose, trashing the Bumper, grill header panel and put a slight crease in the Pass. fender.
The Bumper Quick fix:
1. Go to your local automotive junk yard and find 84?-87 regal front bumper.
2. Make sure it's not completely rusted through. A little surface rust is OK...
3. Find a good Powdercoater in your area. Ask around at the local body shops, speed shops, swap meets, and even SpeedRacer on the Jap bike for recommendations.
4. Go to the shop and see some of their previous work. A good shop will have this on hand; Find out how they prep the metal and look closely at anything they show you, if possible, ask to see something in the color you want to have applied (gloss Black)it should have a smooth glossy finish with no imperfections. If it looks good, get an estimate. If not Run. It also helps if you "Prep the bumper" this means removing the "turn signals" and all related hardware including the clips, the plastic rub strip and anything else that comes off including the nuts. This also includes the "bumperettes". By giving it to them with everything stipped you save a couple $ on labor and "lost" pieces. When you give them the bumper and the 2 bumperettes they're going to sand blast the chrome and surface rust off the sucker on both sides. Wash, dry and apply the powder and bake it in an oven for about an hour. When its done, it should be coated gloss black on BOTH sides! The backside may be a little ruff from some rust scaling(thats fine) but the frontside will be smooth as a baby's ass.
5. If they do a great job, get a couple of his business cards because you want to be his best friend
Think Turbo shield and anything else that is metal. (You can't P.Coat plastic)
6. Mount that puppy jump back and kiss yourself...
I did everything listed above and it cost me $120 including the cost of the bumper.
Or you can try to find an original GN piece (Yeah-right)
I had only 1 problem, my bumper now looks better than the rest of the car
The Bumper Quick fix:
1. Go to your local automotive junk yard and find 84?-87 regal front bumper.
2. Make sure it's not completely rusted through. A little surface rust is OK...
3. Find a good Powdercoater in your area. Ask around at the local body shops, speed shops, swap meets, and even SpeedRacer on the Jap bike for recommendations.
4. Go to the shop and see some of their previous work. A good shop will have this on hand; Find out how they prep the metal and look closely at anything they show you, if possible, ask to see something in the color you want to have applied (gloss Black)it should have a smooth glossy finish with no imperfections. If it looks good, get an estimate. If not Run. It also helps if you "Prep the bumper" this means removing the "turn signals" and all related hardware including the clips, the plastic rub strip and anything else that comes off including the nuts. This also includes the "bumperettes". By giving it to them with everything stipped you save a couple $ on labor and "lost" pieces. When you give them the bumper and the 2 bumperettes they're going to sand blast the chrome and surface rust off the sucker on both sides. Wash, dry and apply the powder and bake it in an oven for about an hour. When its done, it should be coated gloss black on BOTH sides! The backside may be a little ruff from some rust scaling(thats fine) but the frontside will be smooth as a baby's ass.
5. If they do a great job, get a couple of his business cards because you want to be his best friend
Think Turbo shield and anything else that is metal. (You can't P.Coat plastic)6. Mount that puppy jump back and kiss yourself...
I did everything listed above and it cost me $120 including the cost of the bumper.
Or you can try to find an original GN piece (Yeah-right)
I had only 1 problem, my bumper now looks better than the rest of the car
