54 wagon back from paint shop and headlight rim solution

[Lou Earle]

Got the 54 wagon back from shop. Looks good - colors - mustang65 springtime yellow - gm truck white.

I sanded the headlight rims to remove the pot metal pits sprayed with filler primer (Tim helped some) sprayed with urethane enamel then put visor over them - a really cheap way out of the pitted ring dilemma for me. Also here are pics of original rubber rear splash guard painted and other side a splash guard I made from 54 4 door. Which looks best. I am I think try the chrome paint on the original as am not 2 keen on the yellow- I thought it would be good but I don't care for it now. Le t me know opinions

Lou

[55 Fargo]

Lou, looks good, like the color and all. Let us know when you try the Chrome paint, like to see how it comes out..........Fred

[anthonyb]

Lou,

I vote for chrome paint it. I have tried several types of 'chrome' paint and have not been happy with any of them. Hopefully, you can find one that gives a good shine. Or maybe you can try that 'stainless steel' paint. It looks good from I've seen on their website (can't recall the site but Google will bring it up).

Besides, they can only look at one side at a time.

[jd52cranbrook]

Isn't it stainless trim?

Car looks great, and the surroundings aren't bad either..

[Normspeed]

Lou, if you take an SOS pad with plenty of water to that front bumper, you might get rid of those dull areas where the bumper guards were.

Your wagon looks great.

I would think about doing those splash guards in some kind of black rubber coating so they look like black rubber pieces. Or, leave them off, and see about filling the holes and touching up that area with body color. Easy to have these options when it's someone else's car and wallet:D

I used Rustoleum Metallic #7271 (silver metallic) on my bumper, sure not chrome, more like powder coating. Here it is next to Tony C's real chrome bumper.

[JerseyHarold]

I use '0000'-grade steel wool......does the job and doesn't scratch.

How about spraying a clearcoat voer silver paint? Might bring up a better shine.

[Plymouthy Adams]

0000 steel wool here also and I like to spray with CLR to get 90 percent of film off prior to polishing...

[Lou Earle]

Tim

CLR -what is that??

[Allan Faust]

Tim

CLR -what is that??

CLR is a product that was put out to clean up Calcium, Lime, and Rust (hence CLR)... its an acid based product... that can be found in spray bottles or in 1 liter bottles.

Allan

[mackster]

Nice wagon....I like it! great idea for the trim rings

[Plymouthy Adams]

CLR is a product that was put out to clean up Calcium, Lime, and Rust (hence CLR)... its an acid based product... that can be found in spray bottles or in 1 liter bottles.

Allan

Thanks for jumping in there...I had talked to Louman on the phone earlier this evening and told him what I meant by CLR...had not taken the time to hit the forum since then...

[Grandadeo]

I just pulled this thread back up to take another look at the headlight visors. I like it. Been thinking about frenching the headlights on my '53 Belve - looking at welding on 52-54 Ford/Merc healight rings. They are not cheap and its a lot of work. Your solution is a nice middle ground and since I have the same headlight rings as you I'm half way there parts wise. Need to spend the time and money on engine hop ups. Thanks again for posting your pics.

Lee

[greg g]

don't buy clr and pay for thier advertising and marketing. just go to the hardware store and get thier store brand of phosphoric acid. Which is what clr is with some phoo phoo stuff to make it smell better. Mix the acid with two or three drops of dish washing liquid and put it in a spray bottle. Works good for cleaning brake dust off alloy rims also. and removing rust stains form other stuff. Won't hurt paint unless you leave it on too long.

laquer thinner and extra fine steel wool works good on rusted ad stained bumpers also.

[Plymouthy Adams]

take heed..while the phosphoric will cut the crud, dust and grime from the aluminum wheel..use it quickly so as not to sit long on aluminum..will etch the surface and take all your polished look...phosphoric acid is not at all on friendly terms with aluminum..do rinse well

[greg g]

most of todays cast wheels are painted alloy, but be safe and limit the exposure to the time necessary to get the crud of then rinse with plenty of water. We used dilute phosporic acid with a foaming agent on all wheels at the dealership. Don't recall ever having a problem with etching, but caution is always a good thing.

But we were originally talking about a chrome bumper no problem there.

[Plymouthy Adams]

same here Greg..my alloys are clear coated..most modern wheels are but in the case of my 60's vintage Shelby wheels on the Tiger..they be strickly aluminum shine finish...I use my phosphoric acid a lot..just mixed a batch this evening for my freshly snadblasted fenders..I buy it in 85% strength..

[Normspeed]

How about removing rust stains on a concrete surface? Would phosphoric be good for that, and should it be cut with water first?

[Plymouthy Adams]

NO..it reacts to concrete worse than aluminum..will eat away your top troweled finish...before you very eyes..DO NOT USE for this purpose...

[Young Ed]

Tim does that mean if you are washing your cars wheels you shouldn't do it on your concrete driveway?

[Plymouthy Adams]

that is correct..the phosphoric acid is veryreactive..it would have to be very very weak solution not to ...I use a brown soap that has a bit of phosphoric acid in it..percent unknow...it does not seem to hurt the concrete but even it if left on bare aluminum will dull the finish ....the product is called B52 and it is by far the best cleaner out there..time I spray it on the wheel, lighlty brush it with a two inch paint brush...it is ready to rinse and it rinses clear leaving rim tire and white wall very clean..if you were to already have the concrete wet and rinse it well as you wash your car I would almost be sure there would be no damage if you use a 5 to 10% solution..almost...