'68 Charger grill surround refinishing

[36viper]

Hi! I am interested to find out how to restore the chrome looking trim surrounding the grill? What is it made of. Are the end pieces made of different material than the thin pieces that run from one side to another? It appears that there is a clear coat, but mine is yellowing and chipping away.
Thanks in advance for your help!!!!
Brad/36viper

 

[QOTHL]

That trim is anodized and if you want to restore it properly it has to be removed. I put mine in a lye bath until the coating comes off. Then I polish it. It may have pits and you'll have to address that as well. It is made of an aluminum alloy.

 

[mopar4don]

That trim is anodized and if you want to restore it properly it has to be removed. I put mine in a lye bath until the coating comes off. Then I polish it. It may have pits and you'll have to address that as well. It is made of an aluminum alloy.

What do you do after you polish it?
Doesn't it need some type of coating?
It seems to me it would tarnish if there was nothing coating it???

 

[Sixpactogo]

Not sure you are interested but new aftermarket moldings are available. They are anodized aluminum as original and fit well. I bought mine from Vans auto. Mega parts sells them as well. If yours are not bent up or road rashed, they could be stripped and re-anodized. Probably cost as much as replacement though.

 

[36viper]

That trim is anodized and if you want to restore it properly it has to be removed. I put mine in a lye bath until the coating comes off. Then I polish it. It may have pits and you'll have to address that as well. It is made of an aluminum alloy.

Thanks for the excellent information! Is there supposed to be any coating over the anodized surface? I’ll appears like there is a clear coat on mine…?

 

[36viper]

Not sure you are interested but new aftermarket moldings are available. They are anodized aluminum as original and fit well. I bought mine from Vans auto. Mega parts sells them as well. If yours are not bent up or road rashed, they could be stripped and re-anodized. Probably cost as much as replacement though.

I’ll check on the cost of replacement parts. Thanks so much for the help! I do like keeping the orig parts on the car when possible. Good to know all of my options!

 

[Sixpactogo]

The Anodized coating is the clear shiny coat. There is a guy in the Chicago area that used to do the anodizing. May still be in business. His name is Bill Petrow but I don't recall his business name.
Found it........Special T's

 

[36viper]

The Anodized coating is the clear shiny coat. There is a guy in the Chicago area that used to do the anodizing. May still be in business. His name is Bill Petrow but I don't recall his business name.

Thanks Sixpactogo! I think I found him at: https://special-ts.tripod.com Does that seem correct?

 

[Sixpactogo]

Yup. that's it. I wasn't sure he was still in business. I had him do the aluminum moldings on my Plymouth about 25 years ago. He did a great job. There are a few others out there too.

 

[36viper]

Not sure you are interested but new aftermarket moldings are available. They are anodized aluminum as original and fit well. I bought mine from Vans auto. Mega parts sells them as well. If yours are not bent up or road rashed, they could be stripped and re-anodized. Probably cost as much as replacement though.

Yup. that's it. I wasn't sure he was still in business. I had him do the aluminum moldings on my Plymouth about 25 years ago. He did a great job. There are a few others out there too.

Thanks much, I'll contact him!

 

[QOTHL]

My 2¢, don't anodize. It does screwy things to the metal and I've done parts that have held their polished shine for at least 5 yrs and no problem. My cars won't see the kind of abuse they did when they were first on the road so I don't need anodizing. If your originals are in good shape, take the anodizing off and polish yourself. You'll get better results.

 

[QOTHL]

It seems to me it would tarnish if there was nothing coating it???

Nope. Did the trim for two different cars, still shiny five years later. Anodizing protected from road dust/rocks etc, it's like a plastic coating and it does goofy stuff to the metal. I would rather have my hand finished shine than the duller anodized look.

 

[mopar4don]

Thanks, I will give it a try

 

[36viper]

My 2¢, don't anodize. It does screwy things to the metal and I've done parts that have held their polished shine for at least 5 yrs and no problem. My cars won't see the kind of abuse they did when they were first on the road so I don't need anodizing. If your originals are in good shape, take the anodizing off and polish yourself. You'll get better results.

That sounds like a great plan! So I should soak them in a Lye bath...for how long?Once polished, should I clear coat the trim pieces? If so, what should I use?

 

[QOTHL]

That sounds like a great plan! So I should soak them in a Lye bath...for how long?Once polished, should I clear coat the trim pieces? If so, what should I use?

Keep an eye on it, check after about 4 hours. It should look kinda brown, pull it out and see if it washes off. If it does, you're done.
I would NOT put any clear coat on it at all. Use good quality polish and it will stay shiny a long time. I haven't had ANY tarnish and it has been on the cars for YEARS. I've had to clean sweaty arm prints off the top door trim but I'd have to do that if it was anodized. This stuff is not 100% aluminum so it does not seem to tarnish easily. I've never seen it, just bad oxidation from years of neglect.

 

[36viper]

Keep an eye on it, check after about 4 hours. It should look kinda brown, pull it out and see if it washes off. If it does, you're done.
I would NOT put any clear coat on it at all. Use good quality polish and it will stay shiny a long time. I haven't had ANY tarnish and it has been on the cars for YEARS. I've had to clean sweaty arm prints off the top door trim but I'd have to do that if it was anodized. This stuff is not 100% aluminum so it does not seem to tarnish easily. I've never seen it, just bad oxidation from years of neglect.

Thanks for the information on getting rid of the anodizing! I'm thiking of going that route! I just ordered 2 lbs. of LYE....hope the food grade will work. Didn't really want to work with the full strength stuff, even though I am 1/4 Norwegian and 3/4 Swedish....!

 

[Canadian1968]

when i refurbished my grill assembly 2 years ago, i simply sanded out most of the chips with some 320, then worked my way down in grits and polished. Its aluminum as mentioned before so it sands , and polished really easy. I am an automotive painter by trade, so I had all the tools / supplies i needed. Really quick easy process if you have everything you need. And no need to clear coat or anything like that .

 

[QOTHL]

Thanks for the information on getting rid of the anodizing! I'm thiking of going that route! I just ordered 2 lbs. of LYE....hope the food grade will work. Didn't really want to work with the full strength stuff, even though I am 1/4 Norwegian and 3/4 Swedish....!

I just went on down to the local hardware store and bought it. They don't carry it at Walmart damn mart so the local family owned place has all the real stuff. Maybe you could try soaking them in Swedish Meatball sauce and see what happens.

If it's badly pitted you'll have to use something like 180 or you'll be there for an eternity.

 

[36viper]

I just went on down to the local hardware store and bought it. They don't carry it at Walmart damn mart so the local family owned place has all the real stuff. Maybe you could try soaking them in Swedish Meatball sauce and see what happens.

If it's badly pitted you'll have to use something like 180 or you'll be there for an eternity.

They look unpitted for now, but will see how they look after their de-anodization process! Thanks for all of your help!! If the food grade lye doesn't work, then I'll head to my hardware store, or soak 'em with a couple of ludafisk!!

 

[36viper]

when i refurbished my grill assembly 2 years ago, i simply sanded out most of the chips with some 320, then worked my way down in grits and polished. Its aluminum as mentioned before so it sands , and polished really easy. I am an automotive painter by trade, so I had all the tools / supplies i needed. Really quick easy process if you have everything you need. And no need to clear coat or anything like that .

Thanks Canadian 1968! So you didn't soak the pieces in lye first, but went straight to polishing? I've got a good polishing set up and am looking forward to cleaning these items up!!