Topic: Stainless steel trim polishing

[preaction]

How bright was the factory stainless steel trim from assembly line,  I have some to polish (starting with windshield trim) and I want to avoid over restoring them would a mirror finish be too much?

[Bob Gaines]

How bright was the factory stainless steel trim from assembly line,  I have some to polish (starting with windshield trim) and I want to avoid over restoring them would a mirror finish be too much?

Yes. Assembly line is not so shiny. NOS parts compare well. It is more a medium shine for lack of a better reference. If a little too shiny it may not be mention able but mirror shine is definitely obvious too much for most who are familiar.

[Hawkeye]

How are you polishing them?  I'm debating doing some polishing on some shiny trim (not sure what's chrome vs stainless, etc) or replacing them.  I replaced the outside mirrors and taillight trim cuz they were pretty bad, and right now the debate is about the parking and back-up lights.  The windshield trim, wipers, and drip rails will also get debated at some point, the closer I get to taking it in for new paint (hopefully before spring).
Anybody got thoughts, helpful tips, etc?  Always prefer to learn from others mistakes/successes.

[Bob Gaines]

How are you polishing them?  I'm debating doing some polishing on some shiny trim (not sure what's chrome vs stainless, etc) or replacing them.  I replaced the outside mirrors and taillight trim cuz they were pretty bad, and right now the debate is about the parking and back-up lights.  The windshield trim, wipers, and drip rails will also get debated at some point, the closer I get to taking it in for new paint (hopefully before spring).
Anybody got thoughts, helpful tips, etc?  Always prefer to learn from others mistakes/successes.

Best to do your research on the proper finish of each part as you say before.  Also in some instances verify if you have the correct part . The wiper arm for instance depends on the year . 65 were a combination of polished stainless and chromed diecast. 66 on were a combination of satin stainless and satin chrome dicast. The wiper blades were polished stainless in 65 and satin stainless in 66 on . Before spending time and money you also want to confirm you have the correct style of wiper blade if assemblyline correctness is a concern.

[J_Speegle]

How are you polishing them?  I'm debating doing some polishing on some shiny trim (not sure what's chrome vs stainless, etc) or replacing them.  I replaced the outside mirrors and taillight trim cuz they were pretty bad, and right now the debate is about the parking and back-up lights.  The windshield trim, wipers, and drip rails will also get debated at some point, the closer I get to taking it in for new paint (hopefully before spring).
Anybody got thoughts, helpful tips, etc?  Always prefer to learn from others mistakes/successes.

On the chrome pieces - its often (if they are available)  much cheaper to use good reproductions that rechrome due to the cost of replating in most areas. You may want to swap out the wiring so it looks right. There is an article of how that can be done in the Library

IMHO well worth the small effort if you choose that route.  IF you rechrome you'll need to check it out

[66RavenGTCoupeAgain]

Can anyone chime in with a good stainless polishing process here. I’ve been mucking around with my convertibles windshield trim for months. Hand sanding to 2000 grit with wet and dry and then polishing with various wheels and compounds with no luck as yet. Throw in countless hours of research too!

[DKutz]

I used a kit from Eastwood.  Sanded out the bad scratches first then polished with the three wheels and compounds from the kit.  It came out ok, a pro might have done better, but for my driver it was fine.

[Bob Gaines]

I used a kit from Eastwood.  Sanded out the bad scratches first then polished with the three wheels and compounds from the kit.  It came out ok, a pro might have done better, but for my driver it was fine.

I started years ago with the eastwood kit. There is a learning curve like with most things. You can achieve good and great results depending on your skill level.

[66RavenGTCoupeAgain]

Thanks guys

[CharlesTurner]

Stainless polishing is not for anyone.  Using a high speed buffer comes with the risk of serious bodily harm if you don't know what you're doing.  It's also very easy to damage items.  I've played around with buffing for years, but these days I would rather just send the parts out to have them done.  The time that I have to spend to get out all the scratches and dings, run the risk of hurting myself or damaging the parts, just isn't worth it.  I'm not a professional polisher and don't kid myself into thinking I am.

Also, as mentioned, stainless parts weren't mirror finish from Ford.  All the original stainless I've seen has micro polishing 'lines' on the surface.  I'm guessing there was some type of machine polishing process that was used.  I've had stainless polishers put the "lines" back in the parts for the final finish.  It's a very tedious process and takes skill to make it look right.

Just my .02c

[66RavenGTCoupeAgain]

I’m all set up with the sand paper and buffer, wheels, compounds and polishing pastes. I have successfully restored damaged stainless trim including the rear strip that goes on the deck lid for the clips of the convertible top cover that had power drill gauges in it from when the previous owner had last removed it and slipped 3 times with the Phillips bit! They were the worst damage I had so I figured if I could fix that I’d be ok with the rest. Quite pleasing to rescue these in my opinion.
Just wondering if anyone can guide me as to what finish level is required? Jeff mentioned sanding to 2000 grit but was there any polishing involved after that?

[tobkob]

Just be very careful...
 I for one have let a couple of pieces go flying across the shop...very easy to do 

TOB

[J_Speegle]

............ Jeff mentioned sanding to 2000 grit but was there any polishing involved after that?

On those pieces yes I followed with hand buffing since I was not going for a mirror like shine. On other pieces where I used heavier grits I was going for a slightly brushed look as found on some wheel trim rings and center caps

[66RavenGTCoupeAgain]

Thanks guys. Appreciate it. Just to conclude, I have repaired and hand sanded with wet and dry to 2000 grit making sure that I was sanding in a straight line along the length of the part. I then applied Autosol paste to the part and smeared it to cover the area that I was polishing like you would butter on bread. Then, using my buffer and a canton (flannel) wheel, I polished the part and got a nice finish which i believe is not over done. If you look really closely you can see the faintest of sanding marks from the 2000 grit but I believe this replicates a factory finish anyhow. I have installed the trim and it looks really nice IMO.
Hope this helps others. It can be done!