Trim above upholstered panels on doors - SS or just steel?

[jcmeyer5]

The trim in the picture... is it truly stainless? Mine had rust stains on it. No pitting, but definitely orange stains. The picture is from a classified add here and it describes the trim as “stainless” but it either has some grunge or rust on the mounting flange at one of the ends. Is it bimetal?

 

[str12-340]

You can see the line where the exposed part is attached (welded?) to the part that actually screws to the door/quarter. At least in 1970 this trim piece was stainless on LH and LM cars (high trim level - Custom and GT, and medium trim level - Swinger340) and painted the same color as the inner door on the LL car (low trim level - Swinger). Rust stains on the exposed part come from laying on a rusting piece of metal and are usually easily cleaned up with cleaner wax or chrome polish. I ended up masking mine off at the transition and painting the non-stainless portion so it wouldn't rust

 

[jcmeyer5]

Excellent. Sounds good. Thanks!

 

[autoxcuda]

It polishes, looks, and behaves like Stainless

I can see this very thin line that almost looks like a cap or plating. Maybe joined somehow??

 

[str12-340]

What really confuses me is why they would bother to make this in 2 attached pieces rather than just making the whole piece out of stainless - could it really be worth the cost???

 

[RedFish]

The trim in the picture... is it truly stainless? Mine had rust stains on it. No pitting, but definitely orange stains. The picture is from a classified add here and it describes the trim as “stainless” but it either has some grunge or rust on the mounting flange at one of the ends. Is it bimetal?
View attachment 1715786524

You omit the word steel each time you type stainless. There are many grades of stainless steel and many of them will rust with enough exposure. Google it.
the finished portion of this trim piece is slicker and harder so it doesn't hold moisture like the unfinished portion. If you ever go to cutting on this piece of trim you'll find its all stainless hard.

 

[jcmeyer5]

I know, and stainless doesnt mean "will not rust forever" or "you can do whatever you want to it and it wont rust." However, my experience with stainless trim on older cars is that they normally dont rust. Which is why I asked. If I see a piece of steel that has rust on it, I typically will assume it is not stainless. Seeing as it didnt really look chromes, I was curious to know if it was in fact stainless. I also thought I saw heat marks from welding, which could have been the manufacturer marrying a carbon steel flange to a stainless strip. Given the flange had what appeared to be some sort of coating or plating (or maybe it was very mild corrosion), I am still thinking that might be a possibility.