How about a stainless trim repair and polishing thread to end all stainless threads?

just got done with the trim off a 57 ford at work ,like they say take your time .i find that a lot of small dings can be pushed out without tapping ,be gentle also keep in mind the going rate here in texas for this work runs from 25.00-35.00 per foot ! i have more time than money! good luck

 

Hey jakes backyard, does a 59 galaxie also have anodized aluminum? Thats what im workin with.

 

I'm not familiar with the trim on the '59, but I'm thinking it's stainless. You can tell by just looking at it. Stainless will still have quite a sheen even when it's unkept and it's real thin. The aluminum will have a real dull look over time and is thicker.

Maybe someone else more familiar with the '59 trim will chime in.

 

One thing to remember is that stainless is MUCH harder metal than regular panel steel. And with that hardness comes brittle.

Thinking the dent removal process through, just like it was a collision on a fender helps a lot.

 

Years ago I bought a Baldor buffer from Eastwood. It came with a video. The Art of Buffing. It will get you started if your serious about fixing stainless(and other materials). It is tedious and time consuming work.

 

Can holes in the trim be welded shut and be invisible?

 

That's one I read to learn. It's a good starting point... I also learned to build my own tools--often formed male and female tools out of plastic. You want the tool to be softer than the stainless so you don't make more dents. Once you've gotten the dent out it takes a LOT of sanding too--increasingly fine grits of paper until you no longer see the repair. And then the right "touch" on the wheel.

The most expensive parts I ever polished were the a-pillar and rear window stainless trim bits from a Plymouth Superbird. You can be sure I didn't START by polishing unobtanium parts like that--I practiced and practiced on tons of SPARE parts first!

 

Here's a tip:

I use an electric tool engraver with the tip ground down a little.

You can gently massage the dent out with pinpoint accuracy and you're able to adjust the impact with pressure and the reostat.

 

If you can weld stainless then absolutely that can be done!

 

I used that video as well to help learn! And tedious is the right word! Unless you've done it you don't understand how much time it takes to do it RIGHT! Patience is key, and the right touch as well... didn't the OP say it was an "art"? He's right!

 

great post ,thanks a lot

 

i keep thinking of building a small english wheel that is held in a bench vise, and a set of rollers of every shape needed for trim repair.

 

I used a honking big Baldor buffer at work to polish the SS trim on my '61 Falcon (one year only, "Deluxe" trim). If I were to do this over again, I would try to polish the trim on the vehicle, prior to trim removal for painting, using buffs mounted in die grinders. I think that it would be a lot less risky than watching that special piece go flying across the shop.

 

There are certain times that call for fastening the piece being polished to a board or a piece of PVC, whatever would work...

 

Great post and lots of help, but I seriously doubt if the HAMB will ever have a "thread to end all threads".

 

Just found this thread...thanks for starting it HRP!!!

 

Cool thread, but fixing stainless really is something you can only learn by doing. I've done thousands of feet of it, and honestly it isn't my favorite job in the chrome shop, because it takes so long, is very unforgiving, and unlike the hobby polisher, I need to pay the bills with my work. I also don't trust anyone but my own Dad to even attempt it here. So I do pretty much all of the stainless repair and polishing here.

My dad got me started when I was a teen, but I have developed my own methods and improved with time. My dad says I am better at it because I and more patient. What is really funny to me is looking at all the different tools there are in the straightening kits. I pretty much use a smallish ball peen polished to a mirror, scraps of steel made to fit the job, the flat side of a welding slag hammer, and a bountiful supply of flathead screwdrivers. I also use a thick flat polished steel plate.

I don't do ANY hand sanding; all power sanding and power buffing. This method is more dangerous to you and the part, but after thousands of feet of trim under your belt, it's not so bad and is much quicker. I have ruined one piece of anything in my entire career in the custom plating/polishing business. I'm talking steel, pot metal, stainless, aluminum, brass parts etc. I've screwed up many times of course, but only one piece I actually damaged beyond my ability to repair. And it was a stainless piece.

Our shop starts at $12/ft for the easiest stuff and climbs from there. Most typical SS trim with small typical dings will run $18-25ft. The width and detail of the pieces, along with needed straightening will all increase cost of restoration.

Keep in mind that some dents actually cause the metal to be too stretched and thinned, and will show a slight wave after straightening and polishing at the area(s) of repair. Trying to level it out with a file may make it too thin and cut through; better to leave a wave than a hole.

If I can find some before after photos of some SS trim I have restored, I'll post them up.

 

Josh, Just want to say THANK YOU for all the technical plating and polishing info you have provided on HAMB over the past couple of years. I print out and save each of your postings.

 

use to run the swap meet circuit with an old guy (in his late 70's a decade ago) who used to repair stainless for the local chevy dealership. his suggestion was to use a dowel rod (more specifically, several different sized dowell rods) instead of hammering directly on the metal. I wish I'd pushed for more demonstrations of how it worked.

BTW HRP, meant to tell you when we met last weekend how much I appreciate the Elliot quote. It's become one of my favorites.

 

It's hard, dirty, tedious. You can do it but it takes time, if you realize this you will understand why it costs so much to have done. The more you do, the better you will get at it. Pound (tap) out dents, file smooth, polish going coarse at first to fine. Make sure the last pass goes lenthwise with the piece being fininshed. Stainless welds like butter, leave a 2" feather on a acetelyne torch. The weld will be too hard to file though. It will have to be stoned which is hard work to do right. I use scrap stainless cut in fine strips for the filler. The end result may be somewhat visable but will pass inspection by all but the most picky judges.

 

Uh-oh I better watch what I say, lol. Thanks a lot for the compliment! I still feel too young to be that usefull if that makes any sense, but I am trying.

 

Sorry to hear about your friend Mark. Sounds like a real great friend to you and those who never met him.Doug

 

I have to pay to have it done, my polishing patience is for shit, I trade plumbing for polishing with the guy, he plugs his drains with the compound a lot.

 

I have been working some stainless trim on a 54 Chevy. I have been able to work out the dents, file, sand, and buff out the scratches but I am still not happy. When you look at the pieces dead on they look good but when you look at them from an angle nearly parallel to the piece you can see very minor distortion. Almost like a paint job that was not block sanded correctly. When I repaired the trim, I blocked sanded each repair area with each grit of paper. I am wondering if this is as good as I can make it, or will I improve it by more block sanding and rebuffing? Can a repair be made so as to leave the piece mirror perfect ?

John

 

I just looked this book up on ebay. $39.98. you got a smokin deal

 

I've done a ton of trim repair and polishing in the last 30+ years, probably one of the reasons I don't have much hair left, it's tedious and easy to fu-- up a piece that's impossible to find.
Here's a trick that some one showed me several years ago that made the job a LOT easier. I NEVER hammer a dent out of the trim. I press it out using my drill press as an arbor press. I have a selection of old air chisels ground to various 'sharpness" plus round rods rounded on the end I chuck up. A block of wood with a piece of thin leather on it to back up the trim and slowly press the dent out. Greatly reduces the chance of streching the metal too much, gives you much better control. Give it a try, bet you never hammer on a piece of trim again either!
I can post pics of the process if explanations not clear.

 

Here is the post where "Dadshe" was making moulds out of bondo to fix stainless trim
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=179271&highlight=bondo+dent+stainless

 

Excellent idea!!!!!!

 

metalman, that is a terrific idea! I'll be sure to try it when I start the 9 miles of trim on my '41!

 

I'll add one more thing to my above post. If you can get a small block of wood or something wrapped with fine sandpaper to the backside of trim you can guide coat it. wHit it lightly with your little sanding block and it will show you exactly where and how much you need to press a little more. Go slow, if you take it too far it's real tough to go back!
Rockable, I feel your pain. I recently did all the trim on a 61 Starliner, it think it had to be at least 20 miles!