Straightening and polishing your own trim can be a daunting task, but we got some tips from George that will make your attempts end with better results. For a lot of us, it boils down to economics, both of time and money. If you're only going to do a couple of cars in your life, it's probably better to send the parts out and have them professionally done. If you can see yourself doing several cars, or you're one of those people who likes being able to handle every aspect of a restoration, it makes sense to invest money in equipment and the time to get professional results. Here's what we learned.
Safety First
Using a soft fuzzy disc on a spinning arbor doesn't seem like something you can get hurt with, but it's easier than you think.
First and foremost is a breathing filter. The polishing process puts a ton of dust and compound in the air, and it's just not good to breath it, so even if you're only doing a few pieces at a time, wear a filter. George uses very expensive full masks with circulating air systems that provides fresh cool air to breath and keep him cool. A good charcoal filter is all the hobbyist needs-the one George is wearing in the photo is a standard charcoal filter with face shield. Safety glasses are mandatory. George also wears a full head sock, just to keep his head clean.
Always keep the work going "with the grain"-make sure that if the wheel grabs the part and rips it out of your hand, nothing can get hung up as it leaves, and make sure it goes away from you if it leaves. Always use the "bottom" side of the wheel's rotation, and don't give the wheel any edges to grab on to. Also, hold the piece in such a way as to be sure you won't get hurt if it does fly. George once had a piece hit him twice before it was all over-the piece hit him in the head, bounced back into the wheel, was thrown into his knee, bounced back into the wheel again and was finally thrown across the room. He limped for a week, got several stitches in his head, and considers himself lucky that was all.
To insulate his hands from the heat, George uses the thickest leather welding gloves he can find, and also wears a weight lifter's glove inside them.
Hearing protection is a good idea, too. After the constant din of the motor and the parts on the buffs, your ears will ring.
Finally, he protects the pieces he's working on by using a large diameter wheel to do the polishing, but he has a smaller diameter wheel next to the steel collar, and a rubber cap on the shaft of the arbor. If the piece he's working on rolls off the side of the wheel, it won't get destroyed by the collar or arbor.
After the trim is straight,...
After the trim is straight, it is sanded three times with a dual action sander, first with 280 grit, then 320 grit, and finally with 400 grit. Then it's finished with a random orbital sander with 400 grit. George rests the trim on his legs for better control while he's grinding-that's why his Carharts need to be replaced so frequently. Other than the sanding scratches, the reworked area looks like it's never been hurt.
Then it's to the buffing wheels....
Then it's to the buffing wheels. It's important to have a dedicated wheel for each different compound. George supports the piece as shown and "saws" it back and forth under the wheel. The sawing action, combined with the heat, is what destroys his gloves. He starts with a sisal wheel to remove the sanding scratches, then goes to a medium cut compound, followed by a light cut, and then a finishing compound.
Most polishing operations...
Most polishing operations stop after the finishing compound, which commonly leaves a milky white finish. George spent years developing his own finishing compound. You'll notice that it's a liquid, as opposed to the solid pressed cakes most polishing compounds are. This also makes it very messy while you're buffing.
This is the area after George...
This is the area after George has finished with it. It takes a lot of practice and patience to get results like this. But it is something the average enthusiast can do.
Whether you elect to polish...
Whether you elect to polish your trim yourself or send it out to have it done, this is a good tip-George has his customers send their trim in PVC tubes with screw-on end caps to protect them. When he sends them back, each piece is individually wrapped, and great pains are taken to ensure they all arrive in perfect order. If you're doing your own, store the pieces in tubes when you're done to protect them until you get them back on the car.
After the final polish, any...
After the final polish, any low or high spots detected are lightly pressed into shape with a round plastic screwdriver handle. Steady, even pressure raises or lowers the spots accordingly, and the plastic handle won't mark the surface.
We'd always heard that pot...
We'd always heard that pot metal couldn't be effectively repaired, or if it could, the pits couldn't be too deep to start with. George has developed a pot metal repair that makes the finished pieces look better than if they came from the factory. In short, he drills through each pit, then silver solders a copper backing to it and fills the holes. Aside from the hours of labor involved, the other technicality is that pot metal has a very low melting point, and it just about goes from a solid to a gas at the wrong temperature, meaning that if you aren't careful, your work will evaporate before your eyes. Check out these 300G tailights-during and after the repairing-and the light cone from an Imperial.