Chrome or stainless

[cscolastico]

I would like to try my hand at polishing/buffing the metal work on my 57, but I am (newbie) unsure of which pieces are chrome, stainless, aluminum or something else. I do know that the bumpers are chrome ( and some other pieces) but there are so many other trim pieces of which I am unsure. Can anyone point me to reference material that would identify the metal? Does it make any difference when polishing? Or can all the metal be polished/buffed the same way with the same wheels and compounds? I do have some chrome pieces that I believe will have to be re-plated - but I want to shine/repair what I can.

Thanks in advance

[paul2748]

Almost all the trim pieces are stainless. Grille and bumpers are chrome. The TBird emblems are chrome as is the hash marks. door handles and the grilles on the inside (fresh air vents). The trim around the skirts are usually stainless.

I did the polishing on the stainless pieces on my 56 except for the parts that I bought. It is not a easy job as you have to go slow and be very careful. I also did the trim on my 48 and 54. Like all jobs, when you start to feel tired, quit for the day as a mistake with the wheels can ruin the piece.

I used the Eastwood three step compounds and polishing wheels and it worked out really well. However, you need a bench grinder on a stand out-fitted with the wheels to polish. It may be able to be done by hand, but it will be a very labor intensive job job

As far as polishing the chrome, talk to the supplier of the compounds to see what you can use. I never did polishing on chrome other than the usual hand applied products. Not even sure if it's feasible to buff out chrome.

[cscolastico]

Thank you very much Paul. This is very helpful. Not sure how much I'll do, but I want to get a start on it -thanks again.

[DynoDan’55]

Warning: The original windshield trim is ‘flash chromed’ stainless. Light hand polishing with Simichrome ruined the gloss on the small section I worked on before noticing the damage. Retro parts (or other polish products) may be different.