I removed my clear anodized bright aluminum trim off the Mach 1 rocker panels. There was allot of thick paint that I stripping off, I also repaired the surface of the aluminum cladding. The OEM bright aluminum trim is valuable, I had it restored to remove chips and then had the correct clear finish put on them. My opinion is without taking the trim off the cladding you will have a mess and could damage the bright aluminum trim. I believe the clips for the bright trim are not easily replaced, I wouldn't grind them. I think they are phosphate, but not positive. Good luck