GMC Grille Resto 1981

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scenic760

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Jan 12, 2021
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Location
SoCal
First Name
Chris
Truck Year
1981
Truck Model
Suburban K10
Engine Size
350
Hey all,

It looked like the 1981 GMC grille is a one off for that year and I didn't have much success finding a new/repro one so I decided to clean up what I had.

I had some missing fins so I laminated a few sheets of fiberglass to the correct thickness, cut/sanded them to size dimension and epoxied them in with the surfboard epoxy. The repair is super solid and sturdier than the surrounding material. Here is a link for the epoxy if anyone is interested. https://fiberglasssource.com/collec...ducts/apex-surfboard-epoxy-resin-3-gallon-kit

The other thing I did was take some steel wool and carnuba wax to rub down the metal tape parts which seemed to work well.
Many thanks to all the board members for helping me get the right colors! I used Argent Silver and the Chevy red/orange
 

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FireTruck1984

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Location
Michigan
First Name
Ted
Truck Year
1984 and 1984
Truck Model
High Sierra K1500 350. Sierra Classic C1500 305.
Engine Size
350, 305
Hey all,

It looked like the 1981 GMC grille is a one off for that year and I didn't have much success finding a new/repro one so I decided to clean up what I had.

I had some missing fins so I laminated a few sheets of fiberglass to the correct thickness, cut/sanded them to size dimension and epoxied them in with the surfboard epoxy. The repair is super solid and sturdier than the surrounding material. Here is a link for the epoxy if anyone is interested. https://fiberglasssource.com/collec...ducts/apex-surfboard-epoxy-resin-3-gallon-kit

The other thing I did was take some steel wool and carnuba wax to rub down the metal tape parts which seemed to work well.
Many thanks to all the board members for helping me get the right colors! I used Argent Silver and the Chevy red/orange
Great job ! Restored original parts are so much better than repops.
 

Shorty81

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Mar 19, 2018
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Location
North West ohio
First Name
Darren
Truck Year
86
Truck Model
K20
Engine Size
496
Hey all,

It looked like the 1981 GMC grille is a one off for that year and I didn't have much success finding a new/repro one so I decided to clean up what I had.

I had some missing fins so I laminated a few sheets of fiberglass to the correct thickness, cut/sanded them to size dimension and epoxied them in with the surfboard epoxy. The repair is super solid and sturdier than the surrounding material. Here is a link for the epoxy if anyone is interested. https://fiberglasssource.com/collec...ducts/apex-surfboard-epoxy-resin-3-gallon-kit

The other thing I did was take some steel wool and carnuba wax to rub down the metal tape parts which seemed to work well.
Many thanks to all the board members for helping me get the right colors! I used Argent Silver and the Chevy red/orange
Great job!!
 

JamesSam

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Joined
Feb 15, 2023
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VA
First Name
Sam
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
Silverado V10
Engine Size
5.7 L 350 v8
Nice work. Very nice.
 

scenic760

Full Access Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2021
Posts
318
Reaction score
206
Location
SoCal
First Name
Chris
Truck Year
1981
Truck Model
Suburban K10
Engine Size
350
Nice dude! I restored my 84 grill instead of buying a repop and love it.

Totally! I learned a lot about the materials going through the process...and found out I'm still a ****** painter, haha.

I tried to pour the paint in the emblem initially and let it level itself but I think the fact it came from a spray first caused some issues (bubbling)....I eventually masked/sprayed it
 

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