Rear Diffuser question.

IIRC, My old 84 GTB had a matte finish. My Euro has no such piece.. Sorry.

 

I've painted my 85 a satin finish

 

Should be satin/semigloss. Definitely not gloss or matte. I have a new and never repainted one sitting in my garage.

 

This

 

actually I used a wrinkle finish bed liner paint first then the satin

 

This was recently rebuilt and matches the previous diaper.
Should be an original match since FCA judges didn't see anything wrong with it either.
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Same exact finish as mine.

 

I had mine Powder Coated, Black, Semi-Gloss. Very reasonably priced, all 3 pieces and the Powder Coating is really tough. No Stone chips coming off the rear wheels. The original finish was powder coating as we had to media blast it before re-coating. My car had only done 28K at the time. It has just over 30K now... guess I should stop driving it anymore! Isnt it the "magical" 30K miles point?

 

Yea

New off the shelf they were kind of shiny powder coat. I'd say satin or semi-gloss is a good description.

 

I had mine powdered coated in satin black.

 

This a timely post. I'm about to refinish all three pieces.
Should I rivet the side pieces back on when done or use screws?

 

Black pop rivets were oe in '85. I also have a nos diaper. I call the finish satin or semi-flat. Very hard to find a high temp paint with is a good match.

 

Black pop rivets on an '83 as well.
This is what I used. I think it looks very close to OEM. It's a satin black.

 

I'm about to repaint my vents and diaper on my US '85. About those black pop rivets for the two fender grills... does anyone have the size and a source? Before I drill them out I want to make sure they are not some exotic size requiring an exotic rivet gun. Thanks.

 

They are a readily available standard size, black finish, pop rivet. I can take a look at the box of left over rivets if you like when I get home this evening. I can't remember who I got them from right now, but I am sure there was another thread on this site about black pop rivets and where to get them.

 

I'd appreciate that, thanks. I found Carquest and McMasters mentioned as sources in my FChat search, but would like to know the correct rivet size and brand you used.

 

I used aDP 1/8" rivets. 2 sizes of the length, better go use a slightly longer pop rivet, this ensures there is enough bite left, if it is too short, it may pull through at some time in the future. The minimum quantity I could get were boxes of 100 rivets, so I have a few left over. If you need some, pm me with an address and I can send you a few in the mail.

 

Refinished mine recently. +1 on the Thermo-Tec #12001 Black High Heat Coating recommended in this thread... it came out excellent. $17.25/can on Amazon. I stripped the diaper inside and out (I'm a fan of Citristrip gel). Some areas required sanding where high heat turned the original coating enamel-like. Applied several coats following the instructions.

Like most of us, heat changed the metallurgy of 2-3 louvers right in the center such that they rust and "exfoliate." I did my best to sand them smooth, and hope the Thermo-Tec protects them from further oxidation.

Removed my louvered vents as well, stripped and blasted, and refinished them with the same paint. Used McMaster-Carr black 1/8" rivets, 0.4" long, #97526A130, $12 for box of 250 on Amazon. Length was correct.
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I painted mine with a felt tip marker...

 

By the way, and others know this I'm sure, stripping the cover reveals that it is made out of stainless steel. I'm not a fan of the affectionate (?) term "diaper" that is used for this cover. I would much prefer the affectionate term "BBQ grill cover," as it really looks like one when stripped, plus it covers something that is damn hot. I am going to start calling it that and see if it catches on.