Been dabbling in Stainless trim repair

[rockfla]

SO my first start at repairing Stainless Steel trim. Here are a couple of dents that are "Almost" done and ready for buffing. Before and afters

[rockfla]

PLUS one I didn't take a picture of BUT was creased and bent by getting pinched in the passenger front door at some point, almost buffed to perfection.

[Zax40]

Nice! What tools are you using for the repairs?

[flatford8]

Nice!!....there’s some video on YouTube channel “Coldwarmotors”. He does a lot of stainless repair......Mark

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by Zax40

Nice! What tools are you using for the repairs?

Lol....anything that looks like it will work for what I need to accomplish. I have a trim anvil & Hammer from Eastwood, I also use various punches, Awl, screwdriver, Taper Pins, Nylon stock, railroad track, wood, wood dowels, file, 220, 300, 400 wet/dry sandpaper...... again whatever looks like it will work. I have found the "closer"" you get to getting the "final" result you want, the "softer" the materials (nylon & wood) the better!!!! OH and finally a 1 hp 10" buffer with grey and white rouge.


Plus a lot of "technique" involved and in "some" instances I don't use the hammer at all!!! Just hand strength works in some cases.

[RalphM]

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Nice work! I tried a cowl band from a model A, it came out ok, but not that nice.
I have a 47 coupe I’m working on that needs some trim repair. Maybe I’ll send it to you

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by RalphM

Nice work! I tried a cowl band from a model A, it came out ok, but not that nice.
I have a 47 coupe I’m working on that needs some trim repair. Maybe I’ll send it to you

Be happy to give it a whirl for you!! Send me a few pictures [email protected]

[Mart]

Rock, I take my hat off to ya. That doesn't look easy. Have you seen Scott at Cold war motors do that sort of thing? That is the only time Ive seen it done and I was really impressed at how hard it is but he was making it look easy.

Well done.

Mart.

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by Mart

Rock, I take my hat off to ya. That doesn't look easy. Have you seen Scott at Cold war motors do that sort of thing? That is the only time Ive seen it done and I was really impressed at how hard it is but he was making it look easy.

Well done.

Mart.

Thank you Mart that was very kind of you, its sort of like catching Sheephead fish, you have to set the hook a split second before he bites it!!! To say...... you have to sort of feel and know when to stop pecking just before its too late!!!! You must'nt be in any hurry!!! AND the one dent on the piece that had two in one area was/is much harder to deal with and I am "still" pecking at it, about 95% done BUT IF you really look at the big horizontal dent (first picture, right hand dent)...it has three spots were it looks like someone with a "nail" pushed them in, those are extremely difficult to deal with!!!!! AND For some reason the "after" picture of the third picture, first post WILL NOT upload for anything, I've "unlocked it" and tried three times and it will not up load

[blucar]

I have dabbled around with some SS trim repair, had very good luck with the finished product.
A friend of mine showed me a neat trick, using a drill press, chuck up whatever tool you are using to work the dent out, using the drill press to push the dent (s) in lieu of beating them out with a hammer/mallet.

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by blucar

I have dabbled around with some SS trim repair, had very good luck with the finished product.
A friend of mine showed me a neat trick, using a drill press, chuck up whatever tool you are using to work the dent out, using the drill press to push the dent (s) in lieu of beating them out with a hammer/mallet.

That's a cool Idea, I'll have to try that too.

[GaryU.]

Second the drill press idea. Works good!

[Tinker]

Nice work!

[RalphG]

Originally Posted by Mart

Rock, I take my hat off to ya. That doesn't look easy. Have you seen Scott at Cold war motors do that sort of thing? That is the only time Ive seen it done and I was really impressed at how hard it is but he was making it look easy.

Well done.

Mart.

Scott makes everything look easy. I've tried to copy his techniques but nothing I do ever turns out that well.

[Mart]

^^ Same here, Ralph. The "your results may vary" never rang truer than when trying to emulate Scott.

Mart.

[51woodie]

I wanted to polish up some of the SS trim on my '46 Deluxe, as it was scratched and dull. I bought a buffer, buffing wheels and polishing compound from Princess Auto, (Harbor Freight in USA) to see what I could do to clean up the trim. I perused several videos on u-tube and went at it. Good success with bringing the shine back on the parts I worked on. For the trim on the side of the body, I masked the body at the top and bottom edges of the trim, then used a 4" dia. buffing wheel mounted on my 3/8" drill, with the wheel running parallel to the trim for polishing. I could have done a better job by removing the trim and polishing on the big buffer, but I didn't want to risk damaging the trim or paint. The picture is of the tail and park light trim

[hotcoupe]

I have restored several S.S. items, it requires a lot of time and concentration. I use a lot of different techniques and tools, one of the most useful tools is a urethane block that i use as a dolly. It will support the surrounding metal while you move the displaced metal without stretching it. Very useful when you're working on hubcap skins that are only 0.012" thick. I tried to post a couple of images, but failed.
Tom

[Cecil/WV]

I had a '55 Ford in the late '50's that got rear 1/4 panel damage and I watched the body man trying to install the 1/4 side trim and he damaged it snapping it on the clips, enraged, he tore it off, totally destroying it, and ordered another new trim piece. Today, it would have been easily repaired!

[RalphM]

These are the worst pieces on the 47 I’m working on.

[cas3]

back in my tri5 chevy days i bought side trim from a guy that thats all he did was fix 5-6-7 stainless trim. had a 2 car garage full of it, and made a nice living with very little $ in tools

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by RalphM

These are the worst pieces on the 47 I’m working on.

The first one is "ugly" IF you would like to send them, I'll be more than happy to work on them for you. I feel very confident the second one I can get back to concourse quality, the first one we'll have to see just how stretched it is? BUT I will do my best and IF need be I can also get my friend who taught me a lot of what I know to help me as well. IF you decide to send them I'm not sure "what" resources you have available to you there in Alaska BUT IF you have someone near by that sells 6' or 12' allthread rods (like a industrial fastener house like me) the cardboard tubes that it gets sent in are "good" for sending chrome strips and a piece of 1 x 1 will help keep it from getting bent.

[Ritzy1]

Interesting thread! I've got a piece of stainless trim from the inside door panel of my '48 Tudor that I accidentally bent. I've been unable to find a replacement, so I thought I'd try a repair. My first challenge has been to try to get the backing piece off so I can repair the front. The ends are pinched to keep the backing piece in place. I've tried to get something under that pinched area, but haven't had success yet. I'm afraid I'll damage the ends if I'm too aggressive. Suggestions are welcome! If anyone knows where I could get a replacement piece, please let me know.

Dave

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by Ritzy1

Interesting thread! I've got a piece of stainless trim from the inside door panel of my '48 Tudor that I accidentally bent. I've been unable to find a replacement, so I thought I'd try a repair. My first challenge has been to try to get the backing piece off so I can repair the front. The ends are pinched to keep the backing piece in place. I've tried to get something under that pinched area, but haven't had success yet. I'm afraid I'll damage the ends if I'm too aggressive. Suggestions are welcome! If anyone knows where I could get a replacement piece, please let me know.

Dave

Getting that back piece off as you said is the "tricky" one for sure!!! I think I would see "IF" i could gently fold the two flanges upward with a small pair of needle nose pliers OR what I have found that works well and gives you more surface area to bend with is a pair of 90 degree bent nose needle nose pliers using the bent part enough to "maybe" slide that backing piece out. AS for the dent, start in the very middle or the highest crown of the trim piece first, THEN I would work on the two outer most "pinches" at the outer edges, THEN work your way inward on both sides toward the crown of the trim piece.

[RalphM]

Originally Posted by rockfla

The first one is "ugly" IF you would like to send them, I'll be more than happy to work on them for you. I feel very confident the second one I can get back to concourse quality, the first one we'll have to see just how stretched it is? BUT I will do my best and IF need be I can also get my friend who taught me a lot of what I know to help me as well. IF you decide to send them I'm not sure "what" resources you have available to you there in Alaska BUT IF you have someone near by that sells 6' or 12' allthread rods (like a industrial fastener house like me) the cardboard tubes that it gets sent in are "good" for sending chrome strips and a piece of 1 x 1 will help keep it from getting bent.

Thank you for the offer. The good news is both of the dents are on the same piece. The bad news is it is the long curved piece on the passenger side quarter panel of a coupe. I doubt it will fit into a cardboard tube, but I’ll see what I can do.