1960s Cowl vent painted or not

[dbzsjones]

Working on a 1961 series 62 convertible, and I purchased a used cowl piece (part between hood and windshield where the wipers come through).  I thought it was supposed to be all chrome.  However, I'm looking at pictures on the internet and it looks like most of them are painted body color around the outside edges and just the vent section is chrome.  Can somebody please confirm? 

[Clewisiii]

Yes they are painted.

[Clewisiii]

It is almost upsetting to pay to have all that chrome restored and then paint most of it.

I talked to my painter and they do not like painting over chrome. Does not stick well. I know that the old paint bleeds of easy depending on cleaning chemicals.

[D. Mailan]

Yes they are originally painted.

Like Carl said, it is incredibly agitating to have such a large piece chromed (for a hefty price), then go after and paint over a large portion of it. You have to sand the chrome down enough, almost to bare metal, then put a couple coats of primer, then apply the paint for the best result. Like Carl said, painting directly onto the chrome will not yield the best results, and most likely lead to it chipping or peeling of in a couple of years.

But, leaving it all chrome does give the car a different look. Kind of like leaving window switches on 57-60 unpainted, or keeping the speedo bezel on a 56 or a 59/60 all chrome rather than going back and painting the areas that were originally black. Its totally your choice. 
Derick

[dbzsjones]

The previous owner got a little zealous "cleaning" the part and scrubbed right through the chrome in a couple spots.  I looked at re-chroming and they want $500-600 because it's pot metal.  So I'm quite happy with the paint it answer, but my paint shop may not be.

[Clewisiii]

I just dropped off a batch of interior pot metal this morning. $5200. I have two more batches of pot metal that will add another $10,000

[dbzsjones]

OUCH!  I was told by one of the chrome shops it tends to bubble so it takes a ton of extra prep to make sure it comes out well.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

The one on my '60 CDV was chromed, with paint in the grooves and the ends.   Looked classy.

A razor blade cleaned up the excess paint on the tops of each longitudinal piece of the vents.

Bruce.

[D. Mailan]

Recently, I had a batch of Cadillac parts re-chromed and some stainless polished, most of them small items like door panel pieces, steering column covers and some interior trim. Around 14 parts. Largest parts were the a pillar covers and the steering column cover. The price was astronomical. The chrome guy asked $1,400.

Later I had two 1957 fleetwood reverse light buckets rechromed. They were also pricey since they are made of pot metal. The guy had to chrome, repair, and chrome again three or four times. It took four or five weeks to get them back. They didn't turn out perfect but much better. Since pot metal is made up of many metals melted together, it's not the greatest to repair.

Derick