I would like to know what shade of paint is used on the Hood Louvers and Headlight areas of a 1988 IROC. Both these areas are black and I would love to have them as close to original as possible. So if you know the GM paint numbers PLEASE let me know what they are. If you have painted these areas or seen them painted let me know if the were Gloss.Semi -Gloss or Satin.

Thanks in advance

Mike

!988 IROC 305TPI 5-Speed

 

i've heard that earlier cars had black vinyl decals and later ones were painted. Some in gloss, some in flat. You could go crazy trying to track down the exact paint codes but I'd say look at a couple cars and decide which you like best, gloss or flat/satin. IMO flat black is the only way to go but its up to you.

and as for the paint....cant beat the rattle can. Even the original GM paint faded to gray in a few years so why bother to pay extra if you're gonna have to do it again and again. I used the new rustoleum universal. Covered SUPER smooth and is only 8 bucks a can or so at home depot.

 

are louvers painted??? i think they are just black plastic. unless you are talking about the hood blisters. as for the headlight area. gm probibly just used what ever black they had that year.

 

have been told by several paint shops that they could repaint the louvers I have. For what the new ones cost I thought I would try and match the shade of black that they were.

Mike

 

My neighbor just repainted his louvers with Duplic-color trim black. It comes in a green can. He cleaned them with TSP, sprayed two thin coats of primer to get a good coverage without over doing it, then sprayed the trim color. They look perfect! I compared them to my set and you can't tell. If done correctly, the paint will be smooth and look like new.

The headlight pockets have never been a decal. They are a satin black. I just saw a thread the other day with the paint code info so keep looking. It was a fresh thread in here, or History/Restoration. If you see a gloss black, it was repainted. A flat black, it was repainted.

 

I think the louvers were just black plastic. They seem to get real brittle and crack/break after years in the sunlight so painting them would be a real good idea. I painted mine with Krylon flat black and a couple coats of clear over that. Give a good semigloss deep black finish. For the headlight pockets the guy who painted my car said he used a paint for rubber bumpers, a real nice deep semigloss black too. Been 4 or 5 years since paint and they still look great.

 

I'll second the Duplic-color trim black for the lovers. I used it on my grill and the back lights. Looks really nice, easy to use, cheap and fast drying. For the headlight area I got to say I would have a paint shop do that but if you want to do it yourself I can't help you.