Restore Automotive Trim and Hardware
ONE OF THE first things people notice about a vintage vehicle is the variety of nice, shiny brightwork the car or truck carries. After all, the automakers just don’t add chrome-plated and stainless steel trim to their products the way they used to.
What can be nicer than a bright silver spear running the length of a car’s side or accenting the rise in the center of a massive hood?
Or how about a section of shiny trim like you’ll find on the sides of a ’57 Chevy Bel Air or a ’59 Plymouth Sport Fury? There also are those gleaming hood mascots and bright trim surrounds for the windows, headlights and tail lights. And capping it all off are the massive chromed bumpers, shimmering in the sunlight.
The problem being, of course, is that time and the elements generally have not been kind to these ever-present trim pieces. Numerous parking lot encounters over the years have left the once-lustrous pieces marred with nicks, scratches and dents. Simultaneously, extended weather exposure more than likely has dulled and pitted the various surfaces.
If you’re finding that your project car’s trim isn’t quite what you’d like it to be, you might decide to buy some nice reproduction or NOS replacements or search out some salvage yard items that managed to fare better than your trim did over the years. Then again, in many cases there are no reproduction parts and finding NOS pieces or good salvage replacements isn’t likely because your vehicle wasn’t a runaway success in its day.
At that point, or if you happen to like the idea of saving your vehicle’s original equipment, it’s time to turn to a book like this one by Auto Restorer contributor John Gunnell. (John’s latest article, on fixing British turn signals and tail lights, is on page 26.)
As John explains in the Introduction section, this book includes “a great deal of expert advice gathered from professionals throughout the country” that was “organized for you by a home restorer.”
And just what sort of advice did he gather and organize for you? Well, he starts by identifying various types of trim metals and the types of damage you’ll encounter, then goes into proper removal and replacement of trim pieces, metalworking techniques, working with “chrome-plated” plastic and even the restoration of wood trim, veneers and wood grained metals.
Once you’ve finished reading you may or may not feel ready to tackle a car like the Olds Starfire seen on this page. But don’t be surprised if you get a strong urge to take on some door or hood trim and return it to its straight and gleaming original condition.
Ted Kade
Motorbooks—400 First Ave. North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401, motorbooks.com; ($24.99)
