1969 Charger - Grille Trim Restoration

[Shakey]

Has anyone refinished the grille trim for their '69 Charger themselves?  Rather than purchase all new pieces at this point in time, I'd like work with what I have as all of the pieces are in relativley good shape.  I have room for error as I have a couple of sets.

I know that they are anodized aluminium and not stainless steel, what is the process for redoing these at home?

1.) Can the slight dings be removed?  What did/would you do to remove the dings in yours?
2.) Can they be sanded with a fine sandpaper?  What did/would you use?
3.) Can they be buffed in a similar way that the stainless steel mouldings on the car will be done?

I have a complete kit from Eastwoods for doing stainless steel trim that inlcudes the buffer wheel, assorted pads and polish that could be utilized for this project.

Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated?

[69hemi]

A. You can remove the dings like from any other piece of trim.  Just take your time and work at the dings a little at a time.

B. After all the ding removal is done you can sand them and polish them with a buffer but they will not look correct.  They need to be re-coated to look original.  Some people here have buffed them and clearcoated them and say they hold up well.

C. Somebody is also repoping these and they are said to look nice for not too much money.  Maybe somebody could chime in with a web address?

[Old Moparz]

There's some on eBay, but Chris (6T9_CHARGER_RT) has a set he was happy with. I forget where he got them, but maybe he'll see this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1969-CHARGER-GRILL-MOLDING-TRIM-R-T-S-E-69_W0QQitemZ4573221000QQcategoryZ34204QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[NOT Just 6T9 CHGR]

Those are the ones I got......

I sanded & buffed my original I & C pieces with great results.  I did not clear coat them though.

Up close you can see a bit of a difference but to the casual looker you cant tell....

[Shakey]

Those are the ones I got......

I sanded & buffed my original I & C pieces with great results.   I did not clear coat them though.

Up close you can see a bit of a difference but to the casual looker you cant tell....

Rather than purchase all of these new at this point in time, I'd like to work with what I have got for now.  I have room for error as I have a couple of sets.

My first goal is to find all of the pieces NOS. 

If I cannot round up all of these I will probably purchase all of the reproduction grille trim (2 "C" pieces, "I" piece and all four straight pieces) in the new year, once all of the bugs have been ironed out and the manufacturer is pleased with the results.  I'd like to get them all NOS or all from the same reproduction manufacturer to maintain consistency.

So Chris, can you tell me / us how you got those great results when you refinished yours?

[694spdRT]

I took out the dents and polished my "I" piece.

I used oven cleaner and steel wool to remove the anodizing, then used a buffing wheel with 2 stages of compound to buff and then polish the aluminum. To keep it from tarnishing I applied some good wax. No problems yet.

[NOT Just 6T9 CHGR]

I took out the dents and polished my "I" piece.

I used oven cleaner and steel wool to remove the anodizing, then used a buffing wheel with 2 stages of compound to buff and then polish the aluminum. To keep it from tarnishing I applied some good wax. No problems yet.

Same here........hard part is removing the adonizing......I used 400, 600,800,1000,1200 grit sand paper then the buffer with aluminum polish

[Sydmoe]

was it hard to get the dents out? can you tell that it has been repaired?

Any before and after pics?

[694spdRT]

I don't think I have a before pic.

I remember 6T9 was the one that suggested oven cleaner when I did mine. There was a deep gouge about 2" long in the center and the lower portion was pushed in about 1/4" when the bumper came up and hit it at some point in its life. I used various pieces of door frame shims and slowly worked the metal out, then filed it, sanded, and polished.

I will not say it is perfect but, I have asked several people to show me where they the damage was and they have not found it yet.
 
Here is one of the I piece after the repair and one in the car.

On a side note for budget minded people..I found my lower straight trim pieces to be in better shape than the upper.(less road debris/chips)  So I switched them top to bottom and it looks better as the bumper helps hide the lower ones. There is a slight blemish on the very ends as the lower ones go farther into the C moulding. I felt the tradeoff was worth it until I get some new trim.

[bull]

Nothing wrong in that picture. Looks good to me.

[jaak]

i straighten mine, just take your time, take some old screwdivers, bastard files and sorta grind the ends to make them blount, they make good tools to sit on back side of ding and peck with  a small hammer, also before you start pecking color the ding with a black majic marker peck on it some then flip it over and lightly hit it with a fine file (one direction) and small inperfection will show up (sorta like a black guide coat on primer when doing body work) I stripped the old anodizing with a 3m roloc disc on a air drill. then I finish off hand sanding with fine sandpaper, finer sandpaper......then buffed it. although as mentioned its not the correct finish, looks real good. Just be patient and take your time, I put alot of hours in mine. good luck

[racecharger]

I´m working on my grille trim right now and it takes forever to sand it down!!

Sadly I´m missing the I peace.   Does anyone here have a decent one I can bye?

[lilwendal]

Guys... As stated...Oven cleaner is the way to go.  Pulls the anodizing right off with no sanding required.  I keep several cans or Easy Off in the cabinet at all times for stripping all sorts of delicate items.