Looking for DIY trim restore tricks

Hello FABO!

I am getting to the point of installing trim/grills. (1967 barracuda) The trim isnt horrible but not up to spec to the rest of the car, so Im looking for the tricks to get dents out and polish or to replace those studs in the grills? I thought I would make a mold out of JB weld or something in the spots that were nice and use them to tap the dents out for the rear upper and lower decklid trim. Not sure about the grills where they meet on the outer edges. Ill post some pictures of my dilemmas tonight.

Any thoguhts/secrets?

Thanks FABO!

If working with stainless, you can tap the dents out as best as possible. Then sand with 600 for the high spots working your way to 1200 grit. Then polish. The old stainless trim has allot of meat to them. I did this to my 63 Belvedere.It is very time consuming.

Darter6 said:

If working with stainless, you can tap the dents out as best as possible. Then sand with 600 for the high spots working your way to 1200 grit. Then polish. The old stainless trim has allot of meat to them. I did this to my 63 Belvedere.It is very time consuming.

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I have more time than money at this point.
Thanks!
I guess I do the magnet trick to see if its stainless vs aluminum?

I restored the Trim on a Chevelle bac in a previous life lol.... What was the main tool for the job? PATIENCE...... That's an accurate statement.

Past that it was body work tools, anvil, Sanding DA with grits from probably 180 to 600. It's been 15 years so I may be off on that but it was a tedious process in steps to remove the dents, get it all strait, and then slowly sand until I hit it with the compounds and the polishing wheel on the Buffer. The one thing I can remember is it all came of Harbor freight to do the job.

JW

There is a good book for trim restoration I would highly recommend you get it before you start this project.

clementine said:

I have more time than money at this point.
Thanks!
I guess I do the magnet trick to see if its stainless vs aluminum?

Click to expand...

67 B'cuda grilles are anodized aluminum. The anodizing is a harder surface that aluminum trim on the face of a vehicle needs to withstand the sandblasting it receives. Its a bright finish too. You can defeat the anodizing with oven cleaner. I think most restorers spray a coat of clear on them but I dont know how well it holds up over time. I dont put clear coat on mine. I just keep them clean and waxed. Well it aint wax, its the modern polymer stuff. I didn't bother to repaint the argent area in the recent ones. I left it all polished. If the car is ever repainted, that area will be body color. The argent was a copout in my opinion. The front trim can look more like the rear trim.
The welded in studs at perimeter made grille assembly easier but they can be replaced with T-bolts similar to those in your upper and lower trunk trims. I've done this 3 times. Cadmium plated 10-24 X 3/4 T-bolts, stainless nuts and washers.
If the car is all together, getting to all those grille mounting studs is a chore. The last time I did this, I pulled the front bumper and entire header panel. With the header panel laying face down on a blanket the studs are easy to get to. I can't say which way was easiest. Bolt ears of header wanted to scratch the fenders going back in and it had to be realigned for proper gap at hood.

the grills I'm going to finish next are off the car. But i have some 68s that are still attatched to panel.

Thanks RedFish!

EZ-Off classic yellow without the lemon scent was only one that worked for me, other than straight red devil powdered drain cleaner. That stuff will eat the AL too. Just dip it in for about 15 seconds and then pull it out, rinse and see where the anodizing is starting to fade. I actually pinholed a thin section on some 65 headlight bezels with the lye. I have a very light hammer that I polished the face of to a mirror for my bezel restoration. you need a shaped backer when tapping down the high spots. A drum stick or other blunt object works but will make its own little craters but it depends on how hard your tapping it. even the back of a large kitchen spoon is enough to smooth the slightest bumps.