I soda blasted the grille using arm and hammer armex blast media (fine). I used a pressure pot soda blaster from harbor freight. It did a good job of not damaging the plastic, but it took a long time as the blaster was really small. Like most things I have bought from harbor freight, it kind of worked..... I think a quality soda blaster would work much better, but I could not justify that cost given my limited need.
I painted the grille using the dark argent paint from Totally Auto. The paint was easy to apply and I was happy with the finish. Also, I washed the plastic multiple times to ensure there was no soda residue because it can cause adhesion issues for the paint.
I see many Cuda grilles are lighter in color. I really don't know what is correct, but it looked like my original color was the dark argent.
The most important thing to remember is to wear a respirator or fresh air breathing device. I have a full face respirator and it works well. The powder gets everywhere and you don't want to inhale this stuff.
