Anybody get into trim repair?

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1MeanA

1MeanA

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One of the last projects before I reassemble my '70 Swinger is to fix and polish the trim. I'm always impressed with people who have good metal working skills like this guy in the Hot Rod Magazine article https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/straightening-stainless-steel-trim/
Anybody get into this? What dies did you make? I only have the one set of trim but I thought I could make a few dies to get the job done. I don't have a bench polisher but I do have a small rotary polisher....not sure if it will be adequate.
 
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Aluminum trim repair is much harder than stainless trim used on most "older" cars.
I had a lot of SS polished/repaired on 62 Lancer by the nicest guy who lived in OK.
IMG_6230.JPG
 
1MeanA said:
One of the last projects before I reassemble my '70 Swinger is to fix and polish the trim. I'm always impressed with people who have good metal working skills like this guy in the Hot Rod Magazine article https://www.hotrod.com/how-to/straightening-stainless-steel-trim/
Anybody get into this? What dies did you make? I only have the one set of trim but I thought I could make a few dies to get the job done. I don't have a bench polisher but I do have a small rotary polisher....not sure if it will be adequate.
Click to expand...
I did.

Here's what you will need.

All this equipment is available at Princess Auto.

Trim Hammer

1740012537853.png




Bench Grinder


1740012620547.png


You will also need metal dollies , preferably with sharp edge or, do like i did and make your own out of 1/4 steel plate.

Also, a flat and smooth surface to use to tap out dents.


I also made dent removal tools out of oak wood. sand them to the shape of a good section of the trim piece you are working on.

Patience is the key element here as well as not hitting the stainless trim too hard. Use very light taps when taking out dents.

Here's the polishing wheels you will need for the bench grinder.

When polishing trim do not do it around your car. Guaranteed a piece will get spun out of your hand and into the car while you are running it through the polishing wheel.

https://www.princessauto.com/en/7-pc-6-in-buffing-and-polishing-kit/product/PA0009027699

See the guide inserted in the package for progressive usage of the different polishing compounds.

Also, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, and 2000, sandpaper. Aluminum oxide paper.

Again, take your time.

PM me if you need any assistance.

Cheers!
 
That hammer looks nice. KMS has a good sale on bench buffers. I might have some buffing compounds from 15 years ago lol. I was thinking about making a tool maybe 3/8 wide to put behind the outer face of the trim and a tool to put behind the edge the clips damage….maybe from 1/2” flat bar. I hadn’t considered using wood at least for the first tool.
 
1MeanA said:
That hammer looks nice. KMS has a good sale on bench buffers. I might have some buffing compounds from 15 years ago lol. I was thinking about making a tool maybe 3/8 wide to put behind the outer face of the trim and a tool to put behind the edge the clips damage….maybe from 1/2” flat bar. I hadn’t considered using wood at least for the first tool.
Click to expand...
Don't forget, the trim has a curved face, That's why the custom formed dollies are needed.
 
All of the trim was drawn through a die like continuous gutters or stamped in large dies in a press.

Most likely several dies to form the shape over several drawers or presses.

I like the idea of making custom dies for spot repairs.
 
Super-Cuda said:
Don't forget, the trim has a curved face, That's why the custom formed dollies are needed.
Click to expand...
Here's how I made a wooden dye out of oak .

Take a 1" square block of oak.

Press an end of the trim into the end of the oak block to scribe a pattern of the trim piece into it.

Keep the trim piece as close to the edge of the oak block as you can.

Then, using the imprinted pattern from the trim, sand down the oak strip to the proper profile.

Cut a relief groove into the oak with a Dremel tool so the trim can slide over it.

Use this grinding disk to make the relief cut in the oak strip. (available at Canadian Tire)

1740060407826.png


The surface of the oak strip will now have the profile of the inside of the trim piece.

The more time you spend finishing the surface of the oak dye, the better your results will be and you will have a dye you can use over and over.

This will take you about 2 hours to do but will save you a ton of time refinishing the rest of your trim.



EDIT: Forgot to mention. Use the side piece of the front windshield trim to get the profile for the oak strip as it is not beveled.


Cheers!
 
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Great tip Al! :thumbsup:
Super-Cuda said:
Here's how I made a wooden dye out of oak .

Take a 1" square block of oak.

Press an end of the trim into the end of the oak block to scribe a pattern of the trim piece into it.

Keep the trim piece as close to the edge of the oak block as you can.

Then, using the imprinted pattern from the trim, sand down the oak strip to the proper profile.

Cut a relief groove into the oak with a Dremel tool so the trim can slide over it.

Use this grinding disk to make the relief cut in the oak strip. (available at Canadian Tire)

View attachment 1716368486

The surface of the oak strip will now have the profile of the inside of the trim piece.

The more time you spend finishing the surface of the oak dye, the better your results will be and you will have a dye you can use over and over.

This will take you about 2 hours to do but will save you a ton of time refinishing the rest of your trim.

Cheers!
Click to expand...
 
When I worked for The William L Bon L company back in the 80's we made aftermarket anodized and painted automotive accessories along with thousands of other pieces made from aluminum. We also made the Olympic torch for the Georgia Olympic games. Anyway we made a custom machine with adjustable opposing rollers of all different sizes to "Roll Correct" any imperfections in the extrusions. It was the cat's meow for straight pieces. A person could make a simple hand crank version in their garage to roll the trim and the hammer for the tough spots...especially nice for shops or people who do a lot of their own restorations.
 
jeff alder said:
When I worked for The William L Bon L company back in the 80's we made aftermarket anodized and painted automotive accessories along with thousands of other pieces made from aluminum. We also made the Olympic torch for the Georgia Olympic games. Anyway we made a custom machine with adjustable opposing rollers of all different sizes to "Roll Correct" any imperfections in the extrusions. It was the cat's meow for straight pieces. A person could make a simple hand crank version in their garage to roll the trim and the hammer for the tough spots...especially nice for shops or people who do a lot of their own restorations.
Click to expand...
like a mini english wheel?
 
Most of the window trim is in decent shape except on big curved piece that I lost patience with removing :(

I watched a few good videos although I wonder what the surface finish was from the factory. I see people getting the trim to 2000 grit mirror smooth.
 
1MeanA said:
Most of the window trim is in decent shape except on big curved piece that I lost patience with removing :(

I watched a few good videos although I wonder what the surface finish was from the factory. I see people getting the trim to 2000 grit mirror smooth.
Click to expand...
That's what I did.

Sanded finish down to 2000 paper (remember to use aluminum oxide paper).

Then, buff with compounds.

Finish off with Autosol

1740065948134.png
 

I got the worst piece in pretty good shape for polishing I think...I'll see what it looks like when its shiny again. I just used a piece of 3/4x1/2 wood as a backing piece and parts of my vice and some flat bar to get it straight and get the dings out. There was a bend that I straightened by clamping the trim between 2 pieces of the wood in the vice. The trick is to knock down the high spots and raise the low spots such that you can knock them flat with a file from the top side. The hardest part was getting all the low spots high enough that they could be knocked down. I then hit it with 80/180/320. It goes pretty quick. I'm onto finer sanding and polishing now. I used to have a bench grinder but I used it so little and it was in the way. Now I'm on the fence as whether to buy a dedicated polisher or just get a bench grinder and mount the polishing wheels. At least I would have both in the end.

ps went with the 8" polisher as it has more room around the wheel due to the longer shaft.

IMG_3686.jpg
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IMG_3687.jpg
IMG_3688.jpg


IMG_3689.jpg


IMG_3690.jpg


IMG_3691.jpg


IMG_3694.jpg
 
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1MeanA said:
I got the worst piece in pretty good shape for polishing I think...I'll see what it looks like when its shiny again. I just used a piece of 3/4x1/2 wood as a backing piece and parts of my vice and some flat bar to get it straight and get the dings out. There was a bend that I straightened by clamping the trim between 2 pieces of the wood in the vice. The trick is to knock down the high spots and raise the low spots such that you can knock them flat with a file from the top side. The hardest part was getting all the low spots high enough that they could be knocked down. I then hit it with 80/180/320. It goes pretty quick. I'm onto finer sanding and polishing now. I used to have a bench grinder but I used it so little and it was in the way. Now I'm on the fence as whether to buy a dedicated polisher or just get a bench grinder and mount the polishing wheels. At least I would have both in the end.

ps went with the 8" polisher as it has more room around the wheel due to the longer shaft.

View attachment 1716369018View attachment 1716369017View attachment 1716369019View attachment 1716369020

View attachment 1716369021

View attachment 1716369022

View attachment 1716369023

View attachment 1716369024
Click to expand...

One thing...

Tap out as much of the dents as you can.

Reduce the amount of filing to a minimum as this trim is not very thick and its very easy to file through it.

In pic 1 right , those little lumps should be tapped out.

I made that mistake and went clear through the trim piece I was working on.

Funny thing...

It was exactly the same piece in your pic!!
 
Super-Cuda said:
One thing...

Tap out as much of the dents as you can.

Reduce the amount of filing to a minimum as this trim is not very thick and its very easy to file through it.

In pic 1 right , those little lumps should be tapped out.

I made that mistake and went clear through the trim piece I was working on.

Funny thing...

It was exactly the same piece in your pic!!
Click to expand...
Yes I spent most of the time tapping out the low/high spots. I probably spent an hour on this one piece. Its a good thing the rest is in much better shape. Hopefully I can just sand it 1000/1500 and go to the polisher.
 
1MeanA said:
Yes I spent most of the time tapping out the low/high spots. I probably spent an hour on this one piece. Its a good thing the rest is in much better shape. Hopefully I can just sand it 1000/1500 and go to the polisher.
Click to expand...

Go to 2000, then, use the three different compounds, White , green then red. then use the Autosol.

Fight the urge to rush or take short cuts.

Patience is the key,

The trim will look like a mirror when you are done.
 
I'll experiment on the first few pieces to nail down a good process. Patience isn't one of my virtues so I would like to figure out what is the most efficient. For a good piece of trim, three stages of sanding and three stages of polishing seems excessive to me although this Cuda Cody guy takes it to a whole new level with 5 stages of sanding and 3 stages of polishing however he looks like he has done this before :) I'm thinking that more sanding will minimize the amount of buffing time.

This guy has a good set of videos
 
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