Trim Restoration?

[Coursey]

Has anyone tried to restore the trim on a 71-72?

The trim itself is in good shape, but the black is faded out.

New trim kits are $850. So I figured it is worth a shot to restore?

[Bhelton]

Originally Posted by Coursey

Has anyone tried to restore the trim on a 71-72?

The trim itself is in good shape, but the black is faded out.

New trim kits are $850. So I figured it is worth a shot to restore?

I stripped, polished and redid every piece of mine. Just takes time

[Coursey]

Looks good!

What did you strip it with?

[Bhelton]

I used 100% lye from lowes and gray scotch brite, if you go that route just good rubber gloves and do it in a well ventilated area.

[Coursey]

Originally Posted by Bhelton

I used 100% lye from lowes and gray scotch brite, if you go that route just good rubber gloves and do it in a well ventilated area.

How did you do the black?

Tape off the areas and spray?

Or spray all black and use thinner to remove from high spots?

[boraxman]

Ya I dont understand why the repop trim kits are so expensive..

I looked at some places online that do restoration but it doesnt cost much less/

[48richard]

I just did mine. I stripped the old anodizing with lye (5% by weight solution) for about 45 minutes, which also took off the old black paint. The next step was to sand with 320 grit and polish it on the buffer. I then clear-coated it, and used black tape instead of paint.
I know that tape was not correct, but since the woodgrain ones were taped it didn't seem too much of a stretch.
I'm pleased with the result, and have about $100 in it, including buying the 12 pieces of trim from guys on the forum.

[engineer_gregh]

Richard can you post some close up pictures of your trim after your restoration? Good thread and thanks for posting it Coursey.

[48richard]

Here you go.

There are some small bubbles in the clear, but I judged that to be OK for a driver.
I needed two widths of tape - 3/8" and 1 5/8" - and what I ended up with was too glossy, so I painted the tape with vinyl coating which gave it a nice satin finish. Still much easier that masking and painting the moldings, though.

[Thebrownturd]

What kind of tape did you use?

[engineer_gregh]

Looks good. Thanks for posting Richard.

[48richard]

The tape was 3M trim tape.

[hoovers71]

can you provide a link for the tape? Only can find the tape that is an adhesive by 3m. Looks great btw, I am inspired to do it that way.

[48richard]

I purchased it here;

www.lettersunlimited.com

The 1 5/8" tape, which is what you need for the center stripe, was on their "odd lots" page, so may not be a stock size. I got lucky for $10

[hoovers71]

thanks. what is the width of the narrow striping?