The fenders were already on the car when the guy on the line reached in through the grille opening and sprayed the area behind the grille just prior to installing it. The purpose, of course, was so that the color of the car wouldn't show through the grille. On many of my e-bodies there was even paint on the headlamp mounts themselves, seems like especially on the lighter colored cars. Basically, you shouldn't be able to see the color of the car when looking through the grille. I can't remember for sure, but it seems like my black challenger wasn't sprayed with the flat black.