57 Chevy - Restoring Stainless

Good Morning,

The stainless on this car is in good shape. There are dents and scratches but 90% of the trim is repairable (I think).

This is my first attempt at this. Before starting on the real trim I purchased a piece at a junkyard in similar condition. This will be the practice piece.

I have sandpaper grits ranging from 600 to 2500. The recommendation is to wet sand small sections at a time until a matt finish is achieved. Working through each grit until the luster is restored.

Any comments about this process would be appreciated.

My primary question concerns the buffing process. After reading several articles about buffing, including the Peggy Sue article, the correct buffer would be one with 3/4 hp. The article did not mention anything about RPM.

What would be a good buffer? This is not for a shop and I will probably sell it when I am finished (perhaps).

Thanks in advance for your response.

Don Copeland
Hou, TX

It's tedious work, but rewarding. The going price for pro repair/refinish here is $10 per foot with some extra for dents needing more than just a little messaging. Some stainless trim can be tough and brittle, so don't overwork an area, but at the same time, don't be afraid to give it a good whack if the dent is deep or on a ridge. Tough to explain adequately, but use your practice piece to figure it out. You may find yourself making small pointy tools to get into flanges and tight areas where a "normal" hammer point won't reach. One thought here, if you find that the method just doesn't come to you even after some practice, it might be more cost effective to have a pro do the more difficult repairs, and you just do the "easy" stuff.

Here's a site that I use as reference to remind me what to do; http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm#speed
. Pay particular attention to the technique comments and illustrations, especially regarding safety, with a little practice it should come easy to you. Can't emphasize enough how easily work pieces can be grabbed out of your hand and turned into a missle.

I have a 3600 rpm motor, I find it gives me versatility. For low rpm parts I just don't get as aggressive.

You may not want to be so quick to sell it when you're done with this project. It'll only be worth about 1/2 what you pay for it, and you'll be surprised at how many other things you'll find you'll like polished when you have the capability. Plus, you can use grinder wheels on it, so if you do any fab work it's handy there too.

i use pieces of dowl rod to hold the pieces while i buff. it makes them easier to handle and harder to grab and bend. i tape the piece to it and get after it. i try to never buff across the piece. thats when they launch :)