It seems to be difficult to find a shop to re anodize the beltline trim. Has anyone has stripped, polished and ceramic coated the trim. If you have done this how were the results. All comments are welcome.
Aluminum trim
- Thread starter Adkfrank
- Start date
Many of us have done this and the results are excellent. If you can strip yourself with EasyOff and then polish, you can even shoot clear ceramic with a finish gun. Or send to Speedway in Santa Ana, CA.
Frank,
I recently damaged my front nose trim and had it repaired by Janine "the trim lady" https://www.facebook.com/thetrimlady/.
If you want it re-anodized she sends it out to another shop after she strips it but that was very expensive so I just had her strip it (that leaves the aluminum soft enough to repair the dent) and then polished and clear coated.
I just reinstalled it yesterday and am happy with the results. I also had her repair the damaged aluminum trim above the rear side widows that gets scratched up when the roof line drip rail is attached improperly.
Doug
I recently damaged my front nose trim and had it repaired by Janine "the trim lady" https://www.facebook.com/thetrimlady/.
If you want it re-anodized she sends it out to another shop after she strips it but that was very expensive so I just had her strip it (that leaves the aluminum soft enough to repair the dent) and then polished and clear coated.
I just reinstalled it yesterday and am happy with the results. I also had her repair the damaged aluminum trim above the rear side widows that gets scratched up when the roof line drip rail is attached improperly.
Doug
Thanks, I have been thinking about clear coating. I have already stripped and polished the trim. After your positive result with clear coat I am going to try it.
I have used this in a matte clear formula for my intake manifolds and valve cover. You can check with them as to the best formula to use.
www.cerakote.com
Cerakote - HIGH GLOSS CERAMIC CLEAR
Shop Cerakote HIGH GLOSS CERAMIC CLEAR MC-160. Find the coating that fits your application. Choose from a wide variety of coatings with specific attributes and specialties.
www.cerakote.com
I've been restoring the beltline trim on my coupe (along with the headlight and front grills)
I've been pretty successful, but like everything else, there's a learning curve and a large amount of labor involved. If you don't mind a little caustic solution and ALOT of hand sanding, the rewards are great and the cost is minimal.
I did finish the front bits with ceramic clear, but the beltline trim I'll polish when I do the paint, so I don't think its too necessary.
If you're a DIY type and thinking of taking this up yourself, drop me a line and I'll senr some detailed instructions
I've been pretty successful, but like everything else, there's a learning curve and a large amount of labor involved. If you don't mind a little caustic solution and ALOT of hand sanding, the rewards are great and the cost is minimal.
I did finish the front bits with ceramic clear, but the beltline trim I'll polish when I do the paint, so I don't think its too necessary.
If you're a DIY type and thinking of taking this up yourself, drop me a line and I'll senr some detailed instructions
Frank,
I stripped anf polished the windshield trim, and polished a set of Weds rims that were in pretty bad condition. The results were outstanding. I think I posted some results on this Forum - might try a search for that.
Trim Procedure: Oven cleaner to remove all anodizing (may take several treatments in some areas), wet or dry sanding with 600, then 1000, then 1500, then 2000, then 3000. Used Surf City Killer Chrome Polish (which is the easiest to use and best result of about a dozen metal polishes I've used). For the wheels, I used buffing pads on an electric drill and all four different colored polishing rouge before the Chrome Polish.
Yes - starting with 600 etc. w/d sandpaper is a bit scary, but trust me, that procedure will make it look great. I left the aluminum raw, as a touch up every 6 months or so with the Surf City polish only takes about 3 minutes on the windshield trim to make it sparkle again.
Gary
I stripped anf polished the windshield trim, and polished a set of Weds rims that were in pretty bad condition. The results were outstanding. I think I posted some results on this Forum - might try a search for that.
Trim Procedure: Oven cleaner to remove all anodizing (may take several treatments in some areas), wet or dry sanding with 600, then 1000, then 1500, then 2000, then 3000. Used Surf City Killer Chrome Polish (which is the easiest to use and best result of about a dozen metal polishes I've used). For the wheels, I used buffing pads on an electric drill and all four different colored polishing rouge before the Chrome Polish.
Yes - starting with 600 etc. w/d sandpaper is a bit scary, but trust me, that procedure will make it look great. I left the aluminum raw, as a touch up every 6 months or so with the Surf City polish only takes about 3 minutes on the windshield trim to make it sparkle again.
Gary