Anyone out there know or recommend a really good place to have the trim peices of a 55 Chevy straightened an polished? Closer to N.E. Indiana the better I guess. They are not really beat up and ugly, we are just repainting the car and thought this should done also. Thanx. VIVA LA H.A.M.B.
Hey, there is a guy here in Michigan that is an old retired gm die maker. He has been building, restoring, repairing stanless trim for quite some time. He does excellant work. He does most all of the stainless work for John Kouw at Cruisin Customs. I believe his name is Dan Hudleson, not sure on the name/spelling. He is located kinda between Coopersville and Grand Haven area. You can call John at his shop 616-399-0588, between 9am and noon or 1:30pm and 5pm M-F. If John isn't there, ask for Rob he should be able to get you a number to call Dan. If you have no luck contacting them, send me a PM and I'll stop over to Johns or go to Dans and get a number for ya. When you call, tell them guys Al sent ya.
Just food for thought... When I did my car, I found it was way more cost effective to purchase reproduction side trim for it through Ecklers. Some people would gasp at not keeping the originals. If I were restoring the car original, maybe I would consider that. There are some very slight differences with the repro trim. However, I sold my originals on ebay and made pretty good money towards the repop stuff. Even it needed a good hand polishing to make it look good. The stainless trim around the windows I simply sanded with 600, 1000 and then 2000 and then buffed it with a small wheel and a hand drill using a cutting compound and then a coloring compound. Then went over it by hand with Mothers. Looks like brilliant chrome. Good luck with your project.
If it really isnt bent or damaged too bad I would look into a buffing kit from Eastwood. If you remove the guards from a bench grinder you can use it to run the buffing wheels. The kit comes with enough compound and buffing wheels to easily do a complete set of stainless on a 55. Just remember to not get in a hurry and be careful with the long pieces. It is easy to get good results on pieces that arent bent up or dinged too much. We have been buffing our own stainless for years. Good luck
Thanx for all the feedback. Al the guys at Crusin Customs gave me Dan's number, thanx alot. VIVA LA H.A.M.B
Sweet...glad I could help. Let me know if you talk to Dan. I personally think the guy's work is INCREDIBLE.
He returned my original message and said he was going out of town, so I'll try again Monday morning. Thanx alot. VIVA LA H.A.M.B
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