1934 Grille Shell paint

I wish I had an answer, maybe someone out there does. I did mine a few months ago and have a definite ridge where the paint meets the chrome. I don’t know how that could be avoided, perhaps minimized by keeping the paint very thin near the edge.

Could possibly clear coat over the chrome but doesn’t seem like a good solution and of course wasn’t done that way originally.

Mine was stripped and chromed decades ago but it had enough surface rust that I only had it ground and polished where the chrome shows.

As you know, having the whole shell chromed was a factory option. I think the standard painted shell was done to accentuate the length of the hood and avoid breaking up the lines with vertical surfaces.

I was surprised to learn in the Pierce literature that painted shutters were actually the baseline standard and chromed shutters were a $25 option. Since very few ’35’s seem to have had painted shutters, I speculate that they were usually chromed and used as a sales sweetner, “I’ll throw in the optional chrome shutters for free!” Sort of like the heater “option” in later years.

Service Bulletin 75-4 indicates that the radiator shell side on 1934 and 1935 cars was painted body color.  On the original cars that I have seen the sides of the radiator shell are painted body color.