C2MG

I am having my black black 66 SBC repainted, at the same time I am replacing all the exterior trim that needs it. I then came to the front and rear windshield stainless steel trim. I am currently waiting on a quote from Empire Metal Finishing in Astoria Queens NY to polish the stainless trim. The trim is generally in pretty good shape. There is some haze and in some parts there are scratches that need to be sanded then poised out. The question I have is, I live right outside New York City, what should I expect to pay for the polishing of the trim. Does anyone in the area know someone who also does this work. The last resort is, I will go to eastwood and order a bench buffer and polishing wheels and do it myself. Would appreciate any feedback.

Frankie the Fink

I don't have any vendor recommendations, but, having done some polishing - those long, sometimes thin pieces require the most expertise. They can be dangerous to do, easily bent and experience is key. You should try some similar sized scrape first; wear safety glasses, gloves and no loose clothing. Then decide if you really want to tackle it...

gbvette62

I would suggest calling Andy Cannizzo in Matawan NJ. He is a true craftsman, when it comes to restoring stainless and aluminum trim.

His number is 732-583-5378, and his email is andy3651@aol.com.

I can't give you an idea of cost, because it is really dependent on the condition of the parts. Even on undamaged parts, it takes a lot of time just to remove the old, black tar sealant from them. Andy will give you an honest quote on the cost of polishing your moldings.

Ken Sungela

I received pricing estimates of $475 and $460 from V.V. and some guy upstate NY to polish 7 pcs of windshield stainless (I have a roadster). It was about $275 to do just the 4 outside pieces on my '63. This was just an estimate without seeing the parts first hand.

I wanted to learn how to do it myself, but had one damaged piece of trim which I gave to Librandi's in PA. to fix/polish. It had gouges in it from the wiper arms scrapping across. They charged me $120. They forgot to polish an inside surface where the weatherstipping went, so I had to send it back for a redo, but in the end it was flawless.

I then went to work on the rest of of my trim removing small dings and polishing using supplies from Caswell and a buffing wheel setup my dad put together. I was able to duplicate the finish Librandi's did on the one piece.

I sanded the pieces up to 800 grit, then used a sewn wheel and SS compound, then a flannel wheel using green rough (although the SS compound is green also).

While I didn't experience any accidents when polishing, as others may note, it does take some care and use of safety gear to avoid damaging yourself and the parts.

Another "local" place is Mara plating and polishing in Newark. I just dropped off an engine part last week to have chrome plated. They also do polishing, but have no experience with them.

I don't know what level of restoration you are doing, but you could have the parts flash chromed after polishing to give it the proper color. Librandi's and Mara would do it, but I have no experience with them doing this service.

Lastly, I'm about 20 minutes from you, so If you'd like to drive up and see my car with the polished stainless on it, your welcome to come look. If you like what you see, you can leave your trim and I can have it polished out in about a week for a price about in line with the above mentioned estimates.

Thanks
Ken

64 Silver Blue

It's not too hard to do yourself, but for what you would spend on the supplies, assuming you would have to buy a polishing machine, you would spend close to the same amount of money as paying someone, or close to $200 anyway. There are numerous videos on YouTube explaining the process. They go over techniques to avoid getting the pieces caught in the wheel and flung across the shop. I am rebuilding my hardtop and the pieces look great/perfect so far, but it takes a lot of time and patience.

I worked a bit on my windshield frame. On the side moldings apparently someone hit a wire or something and put nasty dents on both sides. I used a metal body working hammer and knocked out about 90% of the damage, but not so good it doesn't show. I plan to pull the pieces back off and work on them some more, giving the price they seem to bring in places like Ebay.

I wanted to learn the skill to polish stainless steel anyway. I would suggest that if it doesn't interest you to learn the skill pay someone to do the work.

Mr D.

I did my own trim polishing but did get prices from the Chrome Shop I used for everything else.

$15 per FT X 1 1/2" Wide

C2MG

Thanks for all your responses. And thank you gbvette62. I just got off the phone with Andy and I will be bringing all the stainless trim to him.

bill3302

I used Chrome City NJ, they also did my vent windows. Did a great job, I was not happy and had a pin hole of a spot took it back no problem returned in a week. 908.719.2354. Was back in 07 so can't remember cost$$.

AZDoug

Remember the stainless needs to be flash chromed after polish or it won't look right.

Doug

BillbUrruss

Is the trim around the windshield all stainless? There is a piece on the drivers lower corner that is really dull and I've tried to polish it with no improvement and stainless usually polishes well

Frankie the Fink

I don't know what car you have; pretty sure my '63 coupe is stainless all the way around the windshield as it polished up nicely.

Not sure what that prior post about flash chroming stainless is about. I polished my top fender spears on my '61 2-1/2 years ago and they still look correct and perfect

BillbUrruss

Mine is a 61. I think it's all stainless but this one area looks as though it may be chromed that has lost it's shine. Isn't it all stainless??

Frankie the Fink

NO!

That year C1 has chromed side pillars at the windshield - they are NOT stainless and no attempt should be made to polish them...

BillbUrruss

You're a wealth of information. I'm not removing them to have them chromed I'll live with it.
Thanks again

Frankie the Fink

I know what you mean....my '61 chromed pillars are slightly pitted and I have freshly re-chromed ones in storage. I won't put them on until I have to replace the windshield. WAY too much trouble....

gator79

I was polishing my windshield trim last night, I bought the eastwood buffer and products. not real hard just slow going and makes a mess, the rouge and wheel fibers get everywhere.