Center grill chroming

[Rek]

That does look impressive.

I gave Colonnade the dash ally cross piece which goes on the lower dash cover but it was bent a little in the 'box' system which Colonnade use. They chromed it bent and it is too brittle to bend back - any ideas on a solution grateful. I though about heat.

Your belt-line trim makes me want to reconsider. Did you have to engineer the sections where they fit together, and what about those notorious bolts which are hard enough to fit, even without the extra layer of copper and chrome.

 

[daddywad]

You're right about the chrome thickness. I had to ease the thickness of the slot at the back where the bolts go with a Dremel and then take a little bit off the thickness and width of the bolts. Make sure the slots at the back are completely clean and free of all debris before they start. You could try making the slot bigger before chroming too.

the dash rail is knackered any way so bend it to the shape you need and send it back to them, they should know better.

Mark

 

[mark99]

FYI, clear powder coat and clear ceramic are not the same
The clear powder coat will probably look like thick clear paint, the clear ceramic you don't really see
Don't do clear powder coat
Some shops do, or attempt to do, both
And for how long the aluminum will stay shiny if you don't coat it, hard to say, I polished some parts on an old motorcycle and didn't wax them or anything
The bike has not been out of the garage, in a couple years the forks look just as shiny as when I did them, the tail light is dull gray

 

[Tony.dreamer]

Thank you Tony, about the glue remover, have I to submerge all the center grill or simply use it with a brush, where needed?

On another 5 slats grill I used a sharp blade and a little heat gun and it rather easily separated.
Going forwad I will not use glue remover . It more work and much messier !
Cheers

 

[Tony.dreamer]

Here are the tools I used to pinch out the dents and sand it with 320 inside and out . You can see the bumps and where you need to press against to push the dents out ! Another words when you sand the area that has the dents the outstanding (high) points get sanded and you know where to press the alluminum !
Then sand the little more and remove the last bits of the bumps from the outside .
Cheers

 

[Tony.dreamer]

Tools used to repair the dents and smooth out the exterior surface !

 

[Tony.dreamer]

If you plan on polishing it yourself this can sparky does a real good job !!

 

[Stefano_b]

Thank you Tony, nice advices and really really exhaustive. Will do in the next holyday and post the result! [emoji1319][emoji1319]

 

[Tony.dreamer]

I am planning to do the dent removal and smoothing it out to a point that all the plating company has to do is dip them. There is a plating company that does an excellent job on alluminum plating . I intent to use them and see .. it is important to make sure they don’t plate the slots where slats go through since it will make it very difficult to put them back of layers of plating make them narrower ... I will send pictures and ask first before they start the job...

 

[Ives]

I have refinished a couple of sets of the solid belt line trim on our Coupes. The first step is to strip it with Lye/Sodium Hydroxide which is a really nasty and burning, to your flesh, substance. Next is to wet sand out the corrosion and dings with wet sand paper starting at 80 and up to about 2000 grade. Next is the polishing wheel to get the shine as good as it can be. This finish is what you will end up with and anodization is just protecting it, not improving the sheen. There are 2 different kinds of anodization and the one for belt line trim (which is solid) and the front kidney grill, if you choose that route, is called chromic anodization. It is very unfriendly and I have been told there are now only about 4 legal companies in the U.S. that will contract to do the work. The EPA has very strict rules for this and the ones I have encountered are DOD military contractors. This is why most anodization was done with the other process and people, typically, aren't told all the details and are unsatisfied with the dull results.

I hope this helps clear up some of the points on anodization.

Regards, Jon

 

[Tony.dreamer]

I have refinished a couple of sets of the solid belt line trim on our Coupes. The first step is to strip it with Lye/Sodium Hydroxide which is a really nasty and burning, to your flesh, substance. Next is to wet sand out the corrosion and dings with wet sand paper starting at 80 and up to about 2000 grade. Next is the polishing wheel to get the shine as good as it can be. This finish is what you will end up with and anodization is just protecting it, not improving the sheen. There are 2 different kinds of anodization and the one for belt line trim (which is solid) and the front kidney grill, if you choose that route, is called chromic anodization. It is very unfriendly and I have been told there are now only about 4 legal companies in the U.S. that will contract to do the work. The EPA has very strict rules for this and the ones I have encountered are DOD military contractors. This is why most anodization was done with the other process and people, typically, aren't told all the details and are unsatisfied with the dull results.

I hope this helps clear up some of the points on anodization.

Regards, Jon

Jon,
Do you know the four companies that are legal to do the work? If I understood you correctly these four companies can anodize the polished pieces where as there will be no dulling effect and the sheen is the same as when polishing was done!
Thank you
Tony P.

 

[Stefano_b]

Ok, the emblem and bars were polished, but I have problems with anodizing (all shops tell me they do not want retail) and clear ceramic coating (do not find anyone doing it!).
Any hint about a clear ceramic coating I can do by myself?

 

[deQuincey]

i can anodize them here, guys have experience and the have anodized alu plates for me,
i.e. the ones in the central console

see here, left side two pieces anodized, right side is chromed steel

 

[Stefano_b]

i can anodize them here, guys have experience and the have anodized alu plates for me,
i.e. the ones in the central console

see here, left side two pieces anodized, right side is chromed steel

View attachment 49925

Very kind as usual, but this time I want to follow, if possible, the fastest way! I want to fill ASAP that horrible hole in front of my beloved CS and reinstall his grille!

 

[deQuincey]

then keep it as a miantenance topic, and do the following

regularly spray some very thin oil and use a cloth to spread and remove the excess
simple and effective

 

[mark99]

if you don't coat them, I suggest not oil but wax, that actually works fine
There is a clear DIY Cerakote
https://www.clearcoating.com/

 

[Tony.dreamer]

Thank you Tony, about the glue remover, have I to submerge all the center grill or simply use it with a brush, where needed?

I took a disposable brush and dab some on the glue !
However couple of weeks ago on my next grill I used heat gun and scraped off the glue with a sharp knife , and exposed the tabs whereas I could bend them gently and loosen the slats . It worked just fine and it was a lot less messy!

 

[Wobdog]

Just completed my Center Grill restoration. Not sure if it was worth all the work, but I am glad to have it done. I still need to have it clear coated. I had planed on doing it myself, but now that I am getting my entire car painted I will have my painter do it.

Here are some picture of the project. As outlined by others the steps I took were
1- Stripping clear coat and dismantaling slats
2- Hammering out dents
3-Had to replace two of the bolts that hold the grill in. I just dremmeled them out and put in new bolts
4- Sand ,sand,sand and more sand
5- Polisih with dremel and a larger polisher I bought at Harbor freight.

Here are before and after picturer

 

[stphers]

It is a big job, a lot of sanding And then super careful on the buffer wheel. I have done quite a bit of reworking the aluminum trim on these and 2002's Have a look at a product called Everbrite I have been using that and the polish they recommend ( acid free ) on all the trim that I do and it stays pretty nice. I took an old piece of belt line trim from a 2002, sanded a section down, buffed it, polished it and then treated it with the Everbrite, threw it outside under one of the cars where it went thru all the element's and after 2 years , ( actually remembered about it ) pulled it out and a quick wipe off and it still looked polished I like it

Thanks, Rick

 

[Wobdog]

It is a big job, a lot of sanding And then super careful on the buffer wheel. I have done quite a bit of reworking the aluminum trim on these and 2002's Have a look at a product called Everbrite I have been using that and the polish they recommend ( acid free ) on all the trim that I do and it stays pretty nice. I took an old piece of belt line trim from a 2002, sanded a section down, buffed it, polished it and then treated it with the Everbrite, threw it outside under one of the cars where it went thru all the element's and after 2 years , ( actually remembered about it ) pulled it out and a quick wipe off and it still looked polished I like it

Thanks, Rick

What are your thoughts on everbright vs clear coat?