66 Malibu Grille Quality

Jesse66Original · Jun 23, 2008

Say folks I cannot seem to find anyone including myself that can tape off/paint or air brush the vertical bars in my 66 Malibu Grille and have it come out show quality. Can anyone please tell me if after market 66 Malibu Grille quality has improved in recent years? At one time the fit and attention to detail left a lot to be desired. I want a show quality product and am willing to pay, just please point me in the right direction. Thanks for your help.
All suggestions appreciated. Right now I have it removed and ALL the paint stripped off, I have considered running it just plain without any paint.
Jesse

bob_adamsky · Jun 24, 2008

I repainted mine and I am happy the results. I have not used an aftermarket grille,mine wasnt to bad.

ACP1 · Jun 24, 2008

The aftermarket grilles are not that good, soft and bent wrong, however in a couple of months we will have new tooling and the samples are looking great. Ausleys

Jesse66Original · Jun 24, 2008

Thanks Roger for the info, Very interesting to hear. Bob the SS Grille is a lot easier to paint since it is all black except the top and bottom bar, the problem is taping around the base of each vertical bar which is beveled (spelled wrong) for Malibu's.
Thanks again guys.

Jesse

Jim_66SS · Jul 11, 2008

You could try lacqure thinner and a rag to wipe off the edges. Or not apply the tape tight to the areas around the verticle bars and spray further away. That's the process I am using to redoe the paint on the verticle ribs of the dog dish caps.

70nova@att.net · Jul 11, 2008

Jesse, I bought 3 grille's from different vendors and they were all crap (china crap)!!! I ended up keeping the last one and did a lot of rework, bending, shaping, etc. I'm glad to hear ausleys is getting one tooled up. I wish more U.S. manufacturers would jump on the band wagon. I know you have one already but I have a 66 Malibu grille (original GM) thats been hanging on the wall since 1972. Its in very good condition. I'll probably put it on ebay. Good luck with yours. Roger

cv67 · Jul 12, 2008

I do have a favorite vendor but was GLAD when I went down in perosn to get a grill. All the SS grills looked hammered, (and these were NEW in the box!) bad quality/finihs .Went through 5 boxes before I settled on a non SS grille that looked good.

davis95 · Jul 12, 2008

Tape off the top and bottom horizontals, paint the verticals, and after it drys gently wet sand the top and bottom hard edges with 1000 grit paper. This will get you very close to what you're looking for.

Chris R · Jul 17, 2008

Intresting. I have an repro grill from the late 90s on my 66SS and the fit may not be worth bragging about. Its not all that bad really.

66 Malibu Grille Quality

Jesse66Original

bob_adamsky

ACP1

Jesse66Original

Jim_66SS

70nova@att.net

cv67

davis95

Chris R

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