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Side trim polishing ?

R

Ronald Weishaar

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Starting to polish my side trim on my 65 Coronet 440. Not going well! Can someone pass on the secrets to make trim look great. I tried using a gray bar on the one polishing wheel. And a white bar on the other wheel. It is spotty at best. I'm I using to wrong bars at the start? Thanks Ron
 
What is it made of? I'm not familiar with that model. Is it the aluminum alloy or stainless? Big difference.

:xscuseless:
 
If it is stainless I use white or green, sometimes start with black to rough it out. You need a stitched wheel to start, maybe your wheel is too soft. To really get trim nice you need to wet sand it starting with 600 on a block, then 800,1000,1200,1500,2000,3000....takes forever.
 
I agree about running it through a buffer with black to start. If it has a lot of scratches or pits and it's stainless you'll need more than 600 to for that. I try at between 400 and 600 ON STAINLESS to see how much that takes out. If there are problem spots, I go to 220 or 100 Micron paper for those areas and yes, wet sand. A lot of time and a lot of water. Rinsing frequently and wiping the grit away frequently is very important. The aluminum alloy is going to take some different prep work.
 
I believe the trim on a 65 Coronet 440 is aluminum.... If so you need to strip the anodizing off in order to polish the aluminum...
 
Ron, I stripped and polished all my trim, using my stand buffer and aluminum compounds from Eastwood. When I was finished, I coated all with Everbrite to preserve. I didn't know how to refinish the "engine turned look" finish in the center so I used Chrysler Dark Argent Silver trim paint from OER. I believe a vinyl graphics could duplicate the original design though. I did use wood for a backup and fastened the trim to it to be safe.
Mike
IMG_2329.JPG
 
1 Wild R/T said:
I believe the trim on a 65 Coronet 440 is aluminum.... If so you need to strip the anodizing off in order to polish the aluminum...
Click to expand...
I saw a you Tube segment that used Easy Off oven cleaner to stirp the anodizing. So I'll give it a try.
 
493 Mike said:
Ron, I stripped and polished all my trim, using my stand buffer and aluminum compounds from Eastwood. When I was finished, I coated all with Everbrite to preserve. I didn't know how to refinish the "engine turned look" finish in the center so I used Chrysler Dark Argent Silver trim paint from OER. I believe a vinyl graphics could duplicate the original design though. I did use wood for a backup and fastened the trim to it to be safe.
Mike
View attachment 1243830
Click to expand...
Where did you get the Everbrite? How did you apply it>
 
Ronald Weishaar said:
I saw a you Tube segment that used Easy Off oven cleaner to stirp the anodizing. So I'll give it a try.
Click to expand...

Tried that, won't work. I do what other people on this site recommended which is to put it in a lye bath. That'll work in about 4-6 hours.
 
Ronald Weishaar said:
I saw a you Tube segment that used Easy Off oven cleaner to stirp the anodizing. So I'll give it a try.
Click to expand...
Please be careful with that stuff, you can mess up your paint if you let it stay on there too long.
 
I repaint after polishing. If the trim is as thin as on a 69 Charger front grill, you have little room for error. Be careful not to let it get too hot. It can also bend easily. Thicker like '71 'Cuda ext door trim can take more force. I do all hand work until everything is looking like new then use the bench buffer.
 
When stripping finding a long thin tub to soak the trim in is impossible.. So instead use PVC pipe & seal the ends with caps...
 
When I used the store bought stripper, I put it in a spray bottle and just wet it up in my concrete driveway. Hose it off after setting, don't let it dry, and test by wet sanding, looking for flattened gloss and aluminum powder. Re spray and repeat until you can sand the whole surface, it didn't take more than a couple resprays.
Mike
 
493 Mike said:
When I used the store bought stripper, I put it in a spray bottle and just wet it up in my concrete driveway. Hose it off after setting, don't let it dry, and test by wet sanding, looking for flattened gloss and aluminum powder. Re spray and repeat until you can sand the whole surface, it didn't take more than a couple resprays.
Mike
Click to expand...
Thanks all. Now for the fun!
 
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