72 Jimmy front grille help

[GM man]

Have begun an "update" on my Jimmy, putting 6.0/4L60 and new interior, suspension, and maybe an entire paint job. But one thing I've always wanted to do since I've owned this thing (10 yrs) is to paint the grille with the correct black paint the way it's supposed to be from the factory. My question is what paint to use? Flat, semi-gloss, etc...? The other thing that gripes me is that I'm sure this grille is aftermarket, but it is noticeably kind of yellowish instead of real clean chrome. My headlight bezels, bumper, and surrounding chrome looks good, which makes the grille look worse. I guess I'm gonna have to find a place to get it re-chromed. I've tried several things to get rid of that yellowish color and nothing has worked. Anyone ever have that issue and will re-chroming work? Can't really see the discoloration of the grill in this pic, so I'll try to find another one...

[GM man]

This pic is from several years ago but shows the discoloration a little bit...

[cleszkie]

I have a Blazer, and my grille shell is not chromed, but rather clear anodized polished aluminum. If yours is yellowing, that is a sign that it too is probably clear anodized aluminum, and the anodizing is discoloring (re-pop). If this is the case, you can remove the anodizing with Easy Off oven cleaner, and then re-polish and re-anodize it. Better yet, have it clear powder-coated.

[Mike C]

The Jimmy grills are chromed steel. No aluminum. The 71-72 are embossed differently and the raised area was painted black. The black fades over the years leaving a gunmetal type coloration on the grill center. That's what he would like to reproduce.

It does sound like it had a not so hot re-chrome job as the original ones don't usually yellow but I guess they could.

[GM man]

Originally Posted by Mike C

The Jimmy grills are chromed steel. No aluminum. The 71-72 are embossed differently and the raised area was painted black. The black fades over the years leaving a gunmetal type coloration on the grill center. That's what he would like to reproduce.

It does sound like it had a not so hot re-chrome job as the original ones don't usually yellow but I guess they could.

Right, that's what I'm guessing. Partly because you can buy the repos without the black and some people like the all chrome without the black and this one doesn't appear to have ever been painted in the middle. But the entire piece is yellowed or discolored.

I just need to know if anyone has re-chromed their grille and had good or bad luck and the sheen to use for the black.

I had a paint & body guy that's a friend tell me to use steel wool on it, which I tried and nothing! Didn't do anything.

[GM man]

Originally Posted by cleszkie

I have a Blazer, and my grille shell is not chromed, but rather clear anodized polished aluminum. If yours is yellowing, that is a sign that it too is probably clear anodized aluminum, and the anodizing is discoloring (re-pop). If this is the case, you can remove the anodizing with Easy Off oven cleaner, and then re-polish and re-anodize it. Better yet, have it clear powder-coated.

Right... And I have a 72 pickup and the grille is much lighter than my GMC and appears to be aluminum. I appreciate the feedback and I may just do that for my pickup.

[Tom Vogel]

Here is a picture of mine . Ogden chrome did it. The black is semi gloss vinyl that I had done at a wrap shop. I'm figuring this will hold up better than paint.
Not the best pic, but you get the idea.

[GM man]

Tom, that looks very sharp. I like the vinyl idea too. Did you have to cut it once it was in place or did you order it the size you needed?

[Tom Vogel]

I took the grill and pieces to the sign shop when they came back from the chrome shop. This is a pic from the day we were reassembling.