chrome vs polish trim pieces

I am new to all this kind of stuff. Went form owning a mini truck to just acquiring a 63 Galaxie. My question is my exterior trim pieces. Since they are anodized aluminum, is it frowned upon to chrome everything on the outside. Should I keep it original and have it all re polished and anodized. Thanks for any help, JIMMY

 

Welcome to the club of rehabilitated mini truckers. Don't get me wrong. still have a soft spot for my late model trucks and will likely always have one, but the older I get, the more I appreciate the old iron.

 

I hear ya, I still will always love those guys but I too am getting older and I am starting to see old cruisers at the shows now. Also I ahve had my truck since 97 and it is time for a new project. I see you are with Negative Camber, very cool. I am with Balistik, we put on the Camp and Drag show.

went from a ranger to a galaxie





The plans are simple on this one: air ride is a must, polish or re-chrome all the exterior metal and some striping. Wanting to step in a complete different direction, old cars and motors are new to me. If anyone has any good pics of bagging one or advice, please share. JIMMY

 

Jimmy you've come a long way. In the right direction by the way. Welcome.

 

I wouldn't mess with re-anodizing. I have the exact same car. I stripped the anodizing off and polished all the trim with a 6" buffing wheel on a bench grinder. Tip: Use Easy Off brand oven cleaner in a spray can to remove the anodizing. It's the only product that would remove it. Spray it on and let it sit and soak until it dries. Some pieces you will have to coat a few times. Trust me. I know. Sweet car by the way. I like the flake in the paint. I put fine silver flake on my white roof.

 

Lofi is right. Re-anodizing is very expensive, and chroming thin aluminum trim is exceptionally difficult and will be expensive if you can get a plater to do it.

Rechrome your bumpers, strip and polish your aluminum trim. I've heard of guys using clear to preserve the polished aluminum, if you leave it bare, it'll corrode and you'll have to polish it constantly. Zoopseal is another product you can use to keep the shine on polished aluminum once it's stripped bare.

Easy-off does work well for stripping the anodizing off, although (and this should be obvious) the pieces need to be off of the car to do that.

 

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