WOW JEFF. It's really looking great. Seeing yours coming along is such a great motivator for me.

There is a really good thread in the archive section where Troy and others gave some great advice on 70 Challenger Grille Resto. I was sort of in the same boat as you, where I could not justify the cost on having the grille redone. So, I decided to have my hood trim and the headlight bezels re-anodized and decided to do the grille the best I could. I will say that my bright trim looks a little better in the photos than in person or compared to what Troy has done. BUT, my bright trim was really not that bad to begin with.

I'm sure Troy will comment, but he stripped the anodize off of his and polished it. I'm sure his looks tons better than mine in person. However, with a kid in and out of the hospital, little time lately and the fact that mine did not look that bad. I decided to leave my bright work and just clean it really well with soap and water. I disassembled it like Troy did. Cleaned all the parts good then painted the mesh and the black areas. I then reassembled. I also have 50 bucks in mine and that was for the rivets and the special rivet tool. Here is what mine looked like when I started. Hope that helps.

Joe