I do realize that the tray under the grill was painted with the grill paint while the front end was assembled. My question is concerning the under side of this pan. I know that initially, the whole car was painted body color. Next, Shelby took the front assembly, masked it off, and shot the gray. (As in the attachment) Did the bottom of the tray get painted gray, or was it left body color with over spray? OR??????
Quote from: kasearch@ix.netcom.com on April 18, 2023, 09:58:19 AM
I do realize that the tray under the grill was painted with the grill paint while the front end was assembled. My question is concerning the under side of this pan. I know that initially, the whole car was painted body color. Next, Shelby took the front assembly, masked it off, and shot the gray. (As in the attachment) Did the bottom of the tray get painted gray, or was it left body color with over spray? OR??????
Well There are some that won't agree with me but while photos exist on the process done at AO Smith I still think they deviated from the process. My car when disassembled was NEVER taken apart. Original fasteners and the patina of them said that to me. I never found Red under my stone guard , grill (back of grill had dark argent on it) or headlight buckets under the paint on it and even found the correct metallic paint under the overlap of the stone guard on the headlight buckets. My car was Dearborn built May 6 1969. So in essence though there would be no reason to paint the bottom of the stone guard in either instance(unless hung up) the dark argent metallic.
I also have a pair of original 1969 HL buckets that came off of June built #3052 and they have a light overspray of the original grabber blue on them.
Quote from: kasearch@ix.netcom.com on April 18, 2023, 09:58:19 AM
............................... I know that initially, the whole car was painted body color. Next, Shelby took the front assembly, masked it off, and shot the gray. (As in the attachment)
Just top clarify the car was painted at Dearborn then shipped without front end sheet metal to AO Smith. There the front ends and the hood were painted off the car and installed on the body on their assembly line. If you look at the pictures of the frotn ends being painted at AO Smith the lower grill tray or panel as well as the grill is not present when the front end was painted body color
Quote from: kasearch@ix.netcom.com on April 18, 2023, 09:58:19 AMDid the bottom of the tray get painted gray, or was it left body color with over spray? OR??????
I've not seen evidence of an original paint car with body color on the metal bottom tray (as you refer to it) nor the grill
A picture illustrate one point in the painting of a preassembled front end to hopefully help
(https://www.concoursmustang.com/forum/gallery/18/6-180423152618-186232497.jpeg)
Quote from: kasearch@ix.netcom.com on April 18, 2023, 09:58:19 AM
I do realize that the tray under the grill was painted with the grill paint while the front end was assembled. My question is concerning the under side of this pan. I know that initially, the whole car was painted body color. Next, Shelby took the front assembly, masked it off, and shot the gray. (As in the attachment) Did the bottom of the tray get painted gray, or was it left body color with over spray? OR??????
There was no body color on the grill parts. I believe the grill material and its various parts came from the manufacture already painted a flat or semigloss black so that they would not flash rust when they were delivered to AO Smith. The parts were then given a coat of the grey at AO Smith during the build process so any areas that didn't get complete grey coverage like sometimes happened on the underside of the fog light pan would have a underlying black base background. This includes the backside of the front grill mesh.
I have a nos stoneguard center grill metal panel leftover from a o smith plant with the 2 rubber top strips screwed into it with the 6 panhead screws and the bottom of metal panel is black.
Quote from: Bob Gaines on April 18, 2023, 05:18:47 PM
There was no body color on the grill parts. I believe the grill material and its various parts came from the manufacture already painted a flat or semigloss black so that they would not flash rust when they were delivered to AO Smith. The parts were then given a coat of the grey at AO Smith during the build process so any areas that didn't get complete grey coverage like sometimes happened on the underside of the fog light pan would have a underlying black base background. This includes the backside of the front grill mesh.
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+1
Quote from: J_Speegle on April 18, 2023, 01:17:07 PM
Just top clarify the car was painted at Dearborn then shipped without front end sheet metal to AO Smith. There the front ends and the hood were painted off the car and installed on the body on their assembly line. If you look at the pictures of the frotn ends being painted at AO Smith the lower grill tray or panel as well as the grill is not present when the front end was painted body color
I've not seen evidence of an original paint car with body color on the metal bottom tray (as you refer to it) nor the grill
+1