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Success at painting detail on aluminum and chrome trim - finally

AR67GTX

AR67GTX

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I’ve had a bunch of aluminum and chrome trim the last couple of years that I had either restored or had restored and I couldn’t seem to come up with a process or paint for blackout detail that wouldn’t chip back as the fine line tape was carefully pulled off, leaving a ragged edge. No combination of paint or primer seemed to help. Finally someone mentioned self-etching primer and it dawned in my crusty brain cells that that was exactly what I used to prime the aluminum side louvers on my ERA Cobra years ago before painting them. I needed to paint the headlight surrounds and interior front window trim on my 66 Satellite so I got a can of SEM self-etching primer in back and I had a can of SEM Trim Black for a top coat. Finally, success. Ever tape line pulled off perfectly clean with no chipped edges.

Maybe someone else can benefit from this.

8D04BA11-00BF-4EFA-B49B-CD2E13EEC446.jpeg
F02AA1FF-31B5-4708-892D-690EAD01A267.jpeg
BAC38DA3-D5C9-4ECC-9C8E-B497FED089E2.jpeg
 
Looks excellent. The area around the headlamp was painted silver from factory.
 
Looks great, thanks. With the detailing on my '63 grille to be done yet, this is something I'll try.
 
So you sanded and polished I take it.
So do you use anything on aluminum to seal your work to keep it from oxidizing or fading? If so what?
Looks amazing
 
dcmason69 said:
So you sanded and polished I take it.
So do you use anything on aluminum to seal your work to keep it from oxidizing or fading? If so what?
Looks amazing
Click to expand...
@AR67GTX nice work. I did the same on my Belvedere trim. To answer the question above about the bare aluminum, there are a few posts here about de-anodizing the trim and what to do afterward. I chose to de-anodize and polish it. It will dull with time so I use Mother’s Aluminum polish. A lot of work but brings it right back.

035ABC0A-7902-4038-8192-ABC701BD256B.jpeg
 
I wonder if this would work with the Argent paint on a 68 GTX rear finish panel? It's Chrome.
 
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R413 said:
Looks excellent. The area around the headlamp was painted silver from factory.
Click to expand...

That’s something I wasn’t aware of. I have the heavy texture silver argent. Was that used or was it the smoother silver argent?

The grill and buckets were stripped and polished. I chose not to have anodized as that leads to all matter of complication on the grill. I just apply Meguiars ceramic wax on them and they will probably be good longer than I have left on earth. But if not, a little Mothers aluminum polish shines them right back up.

I used 3M fine line vinyl masking tape.
 
AR67GTX said:
That’s something I wasn’t aware of. I have the heavy texture silver argent. Was that used or was it the smoother silver argent?

The grill and buckets were stripped and polished. I chose not to have anodized as that leads to all matter of complication on the grill. I just apply Meguiars ceramic wax on them and they will probably be good longer than I have left on earth. But if not, a little Mothers aluminum polish shines them right back up.

I used 3M fine line vinyl masking tape.
Click to expand...
Light argent, the smoother paint
 
69L48Z27 said:
@AR67GTX I had a bit of deja vu. Saw this same post on the Corvette forum.
Click to expand...
Correct - I own a 66 427 Coupe. One of the guys jogged my brain there about using the semi-etching primer and there had been a couple threads there lately about problems painting trim on console plates, etc.
 
R413 said:
Looks excellent. The area around the headlamp was painted silver from factory.
Click to expand...

For some reason it seems I once knew that but until you mentioned it I didn’t recall it. But it’s seeming more familiar now - maybe my 67 GTX are detailed like that - it’s over at another garage right now. More taping.

What about the grill - anything painted anywhere on it other than the grill brackets and turn signal brackets? None of this stuff was painted on the car when I bought it.
 
AR67GTX said:
Correct - I own a 66 427 Coupe. One of the guys jogged my brain there about using the semi-etching primer and there had been a couple threads there lately about problems painting trim on console plates, etc.
Click to expand...
Too funny. I have 66 427 Convertible. Small world I guess.
 
AR67GTX said:
For some reason it seems I once knew that but until you mentioned it I didn’t recall it. But it’s seeming more familiar now - maybe my 67 GTX are detailed like that - it’s over at another garage right now. More taping.

What about the grill - anything painted anywhere on it other than the grill brackets and turn signal brackets? None of this stuff was painted on the car when I bought it.
Click to expand...
Hope these photos help.
Also, you may want to get a standard gas cap as the factory caps have a tendency to go missing at car shows. If you don't have a factory cap they can be found but are expensive. I keep a close eye on mine when it's on the car. Some guys have even installed a tether wire to prevent them from getting stolen.
Again, really nice work on the trim. I know first hand what you have gone through.

grill 2.jpg GRILL.jpg IMG_0055 copy.jpg IMG_1868.jpg
 
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Thanks. I had wondered about that center rib in the aluminum grill and if the connecting areas should be blacked out.
 
VFilms said:
@AR67GTX nice work. I did the same on my Belvedere trim. To answer the question above about the bare aluminum, there are a few posts here about de-anodizing the trim and what to do afterward. I chose to de-anodize and polish it. It will dull with time so I use Mother’s Aluminum polish. A lot of work but brings it right back.

View attachment 1175584
Click to expand...
So what do you use to deanodize the aluminum?
 
dcmason69 said:
So what do you use to deanodize the aluminum?
Click to expand...
I started with basic oven cleaner. Let it soak for hours but did not get the results I wanted.
Then I used caustic soda (lye) available at any hardware store. For the longer pieces I bought some household rain gutter and capped the ends to make a vessel for the piece. Used Sodium Hydroxide: Also known as caustic soda or lye (NaOH), it is the most common method for stripping anodized coating. The concentration of caustic soda is generally 2-10% of 50% liquid caustic soda by volume in water. Depending on the bath concentration and temperature, the anodic coating should strip in a few seconds to a few minutes. Sometimes longer, must keep a close eye on the process.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: FOLLOW ALL SAFETY DIRECTIONS AND WARNINGS!!! THIS CHEMICAL CAN BE DANGEROUS IF NOT USED PROPERLY. USE PROPER SKIN AND EYE PROTECTION. KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN AND ANIMALS. USE IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA.
After the coating was stripped, I carefully and gently tapped out all the dings and dents. Sanded starting with 400 grit and continued to 2000 grit. Then buffed starting with a course rouge to fine rouge (changing the buffing pad with each rouge change). I do not do this professionally and some professionals may have different ideas. This is just how I did it.
https://aerospacemetalsllc.com/how-to-remove-anodized-aluminum/

Grill Before.jpg Grill 2.jpg IMG_1685.jpg rouge.jpg
 
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