'40 coupe - buffing the side trim, ss

F

fordman

Senior Member
Please give me some suggestions for buffing the ss trim for the side of the body, hood. the trim has been removed and appears to be amazingly good condition, straight. I have new clips.

I have a stationary motor with buffing wheels and buffing compound. Let me know what I should have. ?? speed, rpm, etc

thanks again,

fordman
 
I used a set of buffing wheels and matching compound from Eastwood Company. Each wheel is mounted on a separate arbor, and chucked in my drill press. Before you start to buff, ding out any imperfections in the trim. If it is genuine Ford trim, you can file it, then sand it with fine emery cloth working along the strip until it is smooth. When buffing, ALWAYS wear heavy gloves because the edges of the trim can be very sharp. If you press too hard, and the wheel grabs the strip, the gloves will save your skin. I run the drill press at high speed. Adjust the speed to get the best results, frequently adding compound to the wheel. The drill press works well because you can pass the long strips back and forth. Given some practice, you can achieve a mirror finish on solid stainless. Take your time so you don't mangle the trim by catching it on the wheel. The trim on my '47 was in bad shape, but it looks almost like new now. Certainly better than the thin junk now sold.
 
With buffing wheels, Be very careful not to loose control of the strip you are buffing. Hold the strip below the centerline of the wheel and hold it tight. Use light to moderate pressure as you can discolor the stainless with excessive pressure. Buff only in the direction of the "length" of the strip - never buff crossways. Wear leather welding gloves. an an apron and face shield since the compound goes every where. Remove all jewelry. Also, take a look at some of the U-tube buffing videos.
 
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40's are about the hardest to do because of all the grooves in them. You have to have reasonably soft buffing pads to get right into the grooves but all the other models are fairly easy.

I have found that there is a real good chance of destroying them if they get caught in the buffing wheel so I made up some 1/2 inch ply backing supports about 3 foot long X about 3 inches wide with different radius cut along the edge to suit the approximate curve in the strip. I then drill some holes with a hole saw about an inch back from the curve, lay the strip along the edge of the plywood and clamp it on using plastic cable ties.

This ensures the strip stays rigid when you are pushing it into the buff and also gives you something to hang on to because they can get mighty hot. when you have buffed between the cable ties just cut them off, move the strip along and re-tie it to finish it off.

On the long strips on the rear flanks which are reasonably flat, I just tie them down to a flat piece of ply about 6 inches wide with the holes down each side of where the strip lies so it can be tied down

I'll see if I can find a photo of one and include it later.
 
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Be careful when using a buffer - the thin metal can be quite dangerous if i grabs.
(I have the "why did you slit your wrists" scars to prove it).

A foot switch from an old sewing machine is a good safety item.
Dedicate a buffing wheel to a particular compound type.
 
Don't forget respiratory protection. Buffing releases tiny metal particles as well as fuzz from the wheels.
 
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