The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop painting grill inner bars

I have an original grill (1953 1/2 ton Chev)that is riveted together. It is already painted body colour but I want to paint the inner bars gray. Do I need to take the grill apart or is there a better option?

I dis-assembled My grill to send out for chroming the outer bars, and You will do a better job if taken apart...
I also painted the inner bars using argent silver instead
of the gray...Bill B

As Bill stated, taking apart the grill for painting would seem to be the best way to get a good result.

If you are interested in original color-names, in 1953 the radiator grill-bars (inner surfaces) and hub caps were painted Thistle Gray.

Bumper facing were gray (most likely Anvil Gray).

Argent Silver was the inner-bar color on painted grills on 1954 trucks that had the Commercial Red exterior color. This was supposedly used because the Commercial Red bled through the Thistle Gray. Argent Silver might also have been used on Red trucks' inner grills in 1953.

OK, so I get a quart of Thistle gray and I'll use an ounce or two. How close is Thistle gray to anvil gray, may as well do the bumpers too, what about the rims?

The Anvil Gray is just a little darker than the Thistle gray.

The tonal difference between the two grays is less than the difference between these two grays:

Mesa Gray & Dove Gray (closer to the lighter gray).