Topic: 69 Dearborn headlight blackout

[G Wood]

I have a few questions regarding the fender extension, headlight blackout that I did not see clarified in other posts:

1. I assume the paint is a satin black (not gloss or flat) similar to pinch weld black
2. Was the front side masked or just hand sprayed ( or brushed)
3. Was the mounting hardware in place prior to spraying or added after the blackout

Thanks

[J_Speegle]

1. I assume the paint is a satin black (not gloss or flat) similar to pinch weld black

Yes

2. Was the front side masked or just hand sprayed ( or brushed)

No indication of masking on any examples I've seen of the sprayed version on the front or back of the inner headlight area. With the brushed versions it would not be needed

3. Was the mounting hardware in place prior to spraying or added after the blackout

No looks to be done (at least the sprayed versions - the brushed didn't normally get done on the back side) right after the exterior color was added - before any clips or brackets were added.

[G Wood]

Thanks very much

[J_Speegle]

Just to illustrate the detail for others the front of the headlight. Purpose seems to be to cover the body color that would be visible behind the outer edge of the grill and around the inner headlight.


Sprayed versions - yes even on dark colored cars - like the pinch weld black out detail




And the brushed version (outer edge behind the grill). Believe this was done later in the assembly process if someone earlier missed spraying the area and an inspector caught the mistake. In this example it appears that it was sprayed but not all of the areas were covered so a "fix" was applied

[Anghelrestorations]

Thought I would just add some original examples I have here that clearly show the brush marks that were applied.  Both from Dearborn cars which is the vast majority of cars you find here in Arizona. 

[drummingrocks]

Was this a Dearborn only detail in '69, or did the other plants do this as well?

[G Wood]

I spent some time stripping the body color paint off the headlight area and mine were sprayed front and back with blackout,  I will try to post a picture this week. The body color was added as a result of a repaint from a previous owner. The black is in good condition.

[Anghelrestorations]

The black out was something that should have been added at all the different plants.  It was one of the few different blackout treatments added and you can look at the 1969 assembly manual for more details.  I think the thing trying to point out here is how different was the Dearborn process from the other places....just like the slight differences we see in the pinch weld applications during certain times and years. 

[J_Speegle]

As mentioned before I think that the paint brush application was when the area was missed and it was touched up or caught after the spray booth. Another example of the brush can be seen back as far as 64 at Dear on some cars where the transition from engine compartment black to body color along the upper inner fender fell short you can see when some worker was directed to fill in the "gap" with a brush. Skipped pinch weld black out can be found on rare occasions address the same way.

Both the sprayed and brushed examples in my post above are from Dearborn (do have others) . And I guess I should mention most of the Dearborn cars I've seen around the country were sprayed, supporting the idea that the brush was the not the norm- just my observations 

[Anghelrestorations]

Agree with Jeff here on this.  Brush marks are not common and I kept these headlight buckets just for that reason as they interesting pieces to see that on there.

[emptys]

I was going to ask a question here: http://www.concoursmustang.com/forum/index.php?topic=9875.0, where the subject is exactly as here... but i was directed to make a new post based on the time of the last post in that thread...

When the blackout was sprayed (as compared to brushed),  was it the same area, or was a larger area blacked out?

The post says the front and back was sprayed with blackout.   What was blacked out on the backside of the bucket?

[J_Speegle]

... but i was directed to make a new post based on the time of the last post in that thread...

That is just the software making the suggestion. Since the thread was only a year old or so it would have been fine IMHO to add on.

Since you titled this thread the same as the other and included a link there should be no problem for viewers to find both in the future when searching for this info.


It is my current belief that Dearborn planned on spraying each headlight bucket and the brush was used only when someone missed the detail (didn't add the paint) and an inspector down the line caught it. Since it wasn't easy to take a car off the line and move it to an area for repainting they had a bucket/can with some black paint and a brush to take care of the detail quickly. We see brush applications through the years every so often on Dearborn cars since the mid 60's sometimes touching up the black to body color transition at the rear of the engine compartment, fixing the pinch weld blackout and so on.

When the blackout was sprayed (as compared to brushed),  was it the same area, or was a larger area blacked out?

When sprayed the area of coverage was greater (overspray and direct)  and as you see in the other thread the backsides were commonly covered also so that body color would not be visible (I would guess) from an angle to the left or the right of the grill area. Since the brush was done allot quicker its normally a quick circular application of the brush trying to focus on the area between where the headlight will sit and the edge of the grill opening - the greatest exposure of body color through the grill looking straight onto the grill from the front. Also because of the paint used the coverage is poor. The two paints don't look like they bended well given the look

The post says the front and back was sprayed with blackout.   What was blacked out on the backside of the bucket?

Looks like they quickly wanted to cover the back side of the inboard headlight bucket from the back side as these pictures suggest IMHO

[specialed]

jeff do you think the headlight bucket blackout was done before or after body color?

[J_Speegle]

jeff do you think the headlight bucket blackout was done before or after body color?

Believe that blackout (looking at the angles, adjoining surfaces and look) was added after the body color.

Next one I run across I'll snap some pictures - as found and as the paint is rubbed off to document