[78w72]

my base model 72 firebird bezels looks like they were painted but 99% of it is worn off.

just trying to confirm whats correct for 72 tail light bezels. i have seen some with the edges painted black & some without. theres a set of NOS bezels on ebay that show the edges & about 3/8" on to the face is painted flat black, yet many cars i see look to be just chrome. is this just a formula or t/a thing?

& while im on the subject, how about the front grilles? my car is all silver, but i see t/a's & maybe formulas get black painted on the honeycomb area.

[Dens71TA]

Yes, the outer perimeter of the tail light bezels is painted black. Its more of a satin/semi-gloss rather than flat black. The paint peels or wears off after decades.

In 1972, Trans Ams had the honeycomb in the grills painted black. Other Firebirds had completely painted argent silver grills.

[78w72]

i was pretty sure that all tail light bezels were painted black, just wanted to confirm. satin seems correct, the areas that still had paint on mine looked more of a flat black but im sure thats due to age.

so only t/a's got the black grille mesh. did that change for other years? my grilles look good all silver but i may want some contrast on them after the car is repainted. its far from original so i dont mind not being 100% correct.

thanks for the info

[3tas4me]

Originally Posted by 78w72

i was pretty sure that all tail light bezels were painted black, just wanted to confirm. satin seems correct, the areas that still had paint on mine looked more of a flat black but im sure thats due to age.

so only t/a's got the black grille mesh. did that change for other years? my grilles look good all silver but i may want some contrast on them after the car is repainted. its far from original so i dont mind not being 100% correct.

thanks for the info

I believe Formulas also got the black out except for 1972 as mentioned by Dennis.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by 3tas4me

I believe Formulas also got the black out except for 1972 as mentioned by Dennis.

thanks

[78w72]

anyone have a pic of an original bezel that shows the paint?

[72TAMAN]

Here's pics of my 72 TA tail light bezels

['ol Pinion head]

good to see you posting Andre!

[78w72]

thanks... same cardinal red as my 72 used to be....

can you or someone get a close up to see the detail of the paint? on some ive seen it seems to transition on to the next wider lip. but yours & whats left of mine looks like its only on the thin outer lip.

in the pics of these nos bezels it looks like the paint covers a wider area, but in the lighting of the pics its hard to tell. just want to be sure i do it right whhen i repaint mine.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-GM-70-19...9XAGqb&vxp=mtr

[72TAMAN]

Originally Posted by 'ol Pinion head

good to see you posting Andre!

Thank ol Pinion head nice to be able to post again. I change my email a while back and for whatever reason was not able to post any more and did not take the time to fix it because of stuff happening at home. Now I'm using a other email and thing are take on track , now if I could only fix the wife portion of things life would be back to normal but we all know when you are married that is almost impossible.

[Bobby Goat]

Originally Posted by 78w72

anyone have a pic of an original bezel that shows the paint?

Here are a few photos. Bezel is a little bent, but it is an original with original paint

[Norwood]

Wow 12 posts on if tail light bezels are painted.

[78w72]

thanks for the pics bobby goat, that shows what i wanted to see.

norwood: the question was kind of 2 part. 1 if they were painted, which i pretty much knew they were. & 2, where/how they were painted. which took 12 posts apparently.
sorry if that took up too much bandwidth or did you have a bad experience with the number 12?

[Norwood]

just found it strange that it took 12 posts to answer a simple question. I guess u didn't like my picture.

[Brewster]

Everything takes longer when you're talking PONTIACS

[johnta1]

I take it most aren't talking of the chrome on the bezels?

[78w72]

Originally Posted by Norwood

just found it strange that it took 12 posts to answer a simple question. I guess u didn't like my picture.

simple for some, maybe not for others. this is my first 70-73 resto, just trying to confirm little details like that. if it was a 78-81 t/a i wouldnt have any questions.

i appreciate the pic, but like many others i looked at you cant see any real details, the lighting & chrome reflections make it hard to see where the black line stops, especially on the sides.

[72TAMAN]

Here is a close up of the bezels

[Formula8]

Originally Posted by Norwood

just found it strange that it took 12 posts to answer a simple question. I guess u didn't like my picture.

What % of flattening agent did the factory use??

[Aus78Formula]

Prob just mixed up batches of anything that looked black and variation atill based on how it was sprayed and by who.