Rocker Trim Straightening 101.

[55 Fargo]

Hi all, decided not to do any body work today, I figure I have about a good weeks worth of prep before she be ready for paint, that be about 40 to 50 hours of me working by myself.

I have the roof to fo yet, then high build primer goes on the entire car, then blocking and finessing the bad spots.

Today I pulled out a beat-up pair of rocker trims, and proceeeded to straighten them, they are bent dented, some stretching, you name.

I go the shape back, but lots of lettle dimples to fix, then I hope they can be polished back to a nice shine, we shall see.

I will most likely someday , try and get a better set, but will either use these for now, or go without, I like the look without rocker trim as well.

So whats the consensus, do yall mostly have the rocker trims, or have some of you shaved them off................Fred

[steveplym]

I went with the rocker trim. Mine is in pretty good shape though, and looks better than the rockers in my opinion.

[RobertKB]

I like the rocker trim. They add a nice touch to the car, especially if painted a darker colour.

[JerryinTx]

I hammered mine out, filed, sanded and polished them. Took a lonnnng time, but they look good I think.

[P15Mike]

I've got 2 pairs im going to need to work on to try and make 1 good set for myself . Is this something i should take to someone ? They have dings and at least one has a fist size dent . Does anyone have any info or technique that they would like to share ....Any help would be greatly appreciated !

Mike

P.s. I could even post pics if that would help !

[Ramon Angulo]

I personally like the rockers, use what you have and try to find a new set later. I have seen them on ebay but the are really expensive!

[Allan Faust]

Rockwood,

If you want to try and do it right, there is a great book called how to restore metal auto trim... about 17 bucks and worth every penny...

Allan

[BobT-47P15]

Found these articles......

http://www.hotrod.com/howto/3401_stainless_trim_repair/index.html

http://www.mustangandfords.com/howto/5203_stainless_trim_repair/index.html

A company who restores trim: http://www.alloypolishing.com/main/galleries/sstrimrest.html

Article w pics: http://www.bumpsides.com/stainless/index.html

How to polish stainless trim: http://www.ehow.com/how_4506600_polish-stainless-steel-trim.html

One more.....http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/basics-basics-molding-repair-metal-finishing-49012.html

[55 Fargo]

Found these articles......

http://www.hotrod.com/howto/3401_stainless_trim_repair/index.html

http://www.mustangandfords.com/howto/5203_stainless_trim_repair/index.html

A company who restores trim: http://www.alloypolishing.com/main/galleries/sstrimrest.html

Article w pics: http://www.bumpsides.com/stainless/index.html

How to polish stainless trim: http://www.ehow.com/how_4506600_polish-stainless-steel-trim.html

One more.....http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/basics-basics-molding-repair-metal-finishing-49012.html

Thanx Bob, I am gonna give this a try with mine as they are getting hard to come by, but it won't happen till my body and paint is finished, thats my priority right now......Fred

[greg g]

I tinked out some dings in my upper stainless. I made some tools put of some hard wood dowels. Shaping the ends to get into places and for different sized dings. My right side rocker trim was pretty much beyond my abilities. So I sent it out to a guy who does rechroming and does straightening. He put to remarkably good condition. while the rocker trim were off, I fashioned some replacements out of the plastic door and window surround trim from the home improvment store.

The shape was similar in profile, shaped the ends, painted it satin black and mounted it with double sided tape. It hid the holes and finished the bottom of the rockers where the line differs from the fenders.

[Rodney Bullock]

Hi All, The technique of fixing stainless steel has always fasinated me. I have always tried to get the best part and polish it. On my 1940 Plymouth there is a center strip down the front at the grill. I have three here, I found one on the ground at a junk yard that was the best I had seen. It had one small dent. I took a rounded wood block and laid it in some beads and hammered it. The dent came out and I have been using it ever since. I have stainless trim parts from 41 and 40 Plymouth. Some I can't use because I have a P-9 roadking. No trim however I do have the front windshield stainless I could not resist installing it. Found it at a swap meet 2.00:D Good day.

Anyone have some techniques on repairing please share:)

[P15Mike]

Thx Bob for the info ... I might try it with some of my spare pieces . I dont have the machine they're using to polish/buff etc ..I wonder if hand held air tools for sanding/polishing would suffice ? Anyone try hand sanding/polishing/buffing on any trim yet with nice results ? Or is your take on the process , the bench mounted polisher/buffer , really the trick here ?

Mike

[Rodney Bullock]

Mike. you need the intense speed of the buffer wheel. When the stainless has scratches or if you sand the imperfection out of a stainless trim part. You have to use a 3-4 step procedure to remove the imperfection out, using a more aggressive compound until you get it back to it's origina shine. I have done this with eastwood products with very good results. I am no pro at it. There are so many spare parts you can practice on.