Stainless steel or chrome plated pot metal – vent wind frames for 52’-54’ Mercury’s a

[Merc Cruzer]

Stainless steel or chrome plated pot metal – vent window frames for 52’-54’ Mercury’s and Fords

Back, 70 years ago, Ford and Mercury’s came with stainless steel clad vent window frames, for a very short period of time. Whether it was simply a design change or a material shortage, due to the Korean War, is not clear. I do know that finding a set, so I could do this article, was not an easy task. After placing an advisement in the local news letter, I was notified of a set in Canada.

Stainless steel clad frames would have been my choice, since they can be sanded and refinished quite easily. The parts chrome plated during the early 50’s were marginal at best. The owner’s manual for my 53’ Mercury states: “Chrome Parts. Because of national defense restrictions, chromed parts have been initially protected at the factory with a coating of clear, backed enamel. Therefore DO NOT scour with any type of abrasive. If necessary to remove rust, use chrome cleaner or a polishing compound SPARINGLY on the area affected. Lincoln Chrome Coating, a clear transparent plastic sealer, is recommended for protecting bright metal against discoloration and damage”. Not surprisingly, if you own a 50’s car, with chrome plated pot metal or steel, you probably have noticed that the chrome plating is usually quite heavily pitted and bubbled.

Picture 1

On the other hand, if you have the stainless steel clad frames, they have survived the same period of time, and still look presentable.

Picture 2

If you are looking for a set, there are a few differences that will allow you to know what you are buying. If they are still in the car, take a magnet with you, since the magnet will stick to the stainless steel clad frame, but not to the pot metal frames.

If the frames are off of the car, the differences are quite noticeable. The pot metal frames are cast with a part number in them; whereas the stainless steel clad frames don’t appear have a numbers on them anywhere.

Pictures 3-6

The mount for the pot metal frame, is a single casting, whereas the stainless steel clad frames, the mounting bracket is part of the stamped two piece steel frame, below the steel window track.

Picture 7-8

If you are thinking of having the pot metal portion of the frame re-chromed, you will have to drill out the rivets holding it to the window channel.

Pictures 9

This will give you the piece(s) you will need to have re-chromed before you reassemble the frame. The last time I checked the cost was between $300-$400, for each piece, with a 6 month turnaround time.

Picture 10

Here is where I start the second half of the story.

Since I hadn’t hit the lotto recently, I wondered if pot metal could be refinished well enough to be used on the car, without re-chroming it. I start with 220 grit sandpaper, on a sanding disk, on the end of a drill, being careful not to take too much material off or create groves in the piece. Once the old chrome is off, I then go to 400 and progressively up to 1200, then follow up buffing it on a polishing wheel, to remove the scratches from the sanding. I ultimately did that to my original vent window frames and was pleased enough that they are still on the car. Here are few examples of what you can do yourself.

Pictures 11-15

I still have the stainless steel frames hanging on the wall, just in case I decide to go that route some day.

Yes, that is the same vent window frame on my car, in the first picture and the last picture. The only thing I use on them, over the last 8 years, is a microfiber cloth and MOTHERS Mag & Aluminum Polish.

[Lawson Cox]

That's a lot of work but the end result was worth it. Nice job.

[paul2748]

My understanding is that the 52's were stainless, 53 and 54 pot metal.

[Merc Cruzer]

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Originally Posted by paul2748

My understanding is that the 52's were stainless, 53 and 54 pot metal.

Correct, except the stainless was changed early on, in 52' to pot metal. It would be interesting to get a handle on when the change occurred, by production number and date.