stainless

They will buff out on a buffing wheel of the right kind with the right medium applied to it. Sorry I cant' be more specific but we did all of ours for our restore 7 years ago and I don't know the specs, only that it works great.
 
Go to Eastwood.com and do your research or pay some body in your area that does stainless restoration. JMHO
 
Just make sure it's Ford''s "Rustless Steel", and not chrome. The best examples of "Rustless" restoration are the driver side hood trim on a '38. These things get so mangled that you'd think they were trash, yet they can be straightened, tapped and filed smooth, and buffed out to Concourse quality.
 
--it all depends on how deep they are-- I got some small scratches out of my stainless 35 headlite rims using a series of wet/dry sand papers started with 400-600-800-1200-1500 & finally buffed them with mothers brand polish
 
I have done some SS repair for my own cars. If it is a light scratch, sand out with progressively finer wet/dry sandpaper and buff on a rag wheel using stainless rouge. If the scratch is deep, you may have to raise the metal and start with a fine metal file and then go to sandpaper and buffing. If you do not raise the metal, you will end up with a shallow spot in the moulding.
 
The trim on the top of my hood had some dents and scratches. A shop straightened the dents and removed the scratches and polished the piece to perfection. It cost $50 and was worth it.:D
 
I do most of the polishing at Honest Charley Garage/Coker Tire. As a general rule, I start with the least amount of grit that will remove the deepest scratch in the piece. once that has been identified and the scratch is removed I keep moving up to the next finest grit. I usually take most of my stainless to 3000 grit before I touch it with the buffer. my method of choice is 3M's 3'' stickit (velcro) backed paper on 3''DA and a 3'' angle grinder.
I work my dents with various pieces of Hard wood dowels,blocks, mini arbor press then use fine metal files till I can start the sanding process. It's very tedious work, but it's not that tough once you get the hang of it.
 
Call Tarheel Parts at 1-800-322-1957. They have MANY years of experience with buffing etc... Plus they sell quality buffing and restoration products...none of the import products like Eastwood has.

Regarding the process - I would recommend sanding the trim down to 320 (possibly 400) with an expander wheel, then polishing out with a gray compound. With the right compound, sanding down to 1500 completely un-necessary. Following the gray, finish with a white compound and a loose section buff.

Give them a call - I guarantee they will set you straight!
 
I have been taking dents out of stainless molding for years, helping out my friends with their troubled pieces, and showing them how its done....passing on the info. Yes, some people cannot do this right, just like I'll never be able to play a musical instrument.....but most can and it just requires the right steps and patience. The tricky part is to remove the dent from the backside...I have made up many 'punching' tools to do this operation...from grinding round old punches to plain bolts making a modified head to suit. There is one big trick...to which most people are afraid of...but mentioned above by those who know....the using of a file....a good, new, fine file that will be the main tool to remove waves and making sure that the surface is not distorted. You will have to go back & forth with the hammer / punch to bring the surface at the proper height....using the file very lightly to identify high & low spots. This is where the patience comes in. Work slowly, tediously....and once these highs & lows are addressed...do use the file to obtain a perfectly staight surface, mush like doing the bondo on bodywork. It is surprising how material can be removed without affecting the thickness & strength....SS is tough stuff. Once this is done, use 180 sandpaper on a rubber sanding block to remove the deeper scratches left by the filing operation. 180 is rough, but not nearly as tough as SS.
Don't be shy here, work with the sanding block to obtain a perfectly straight surface. Buffing...whoh...not yet.....change to a finer grade...320 or 400....sand till the surface is almost polished. Buffing and the 'green' compound is for the final, final step....excessive buffing and heating does nothing to save your molding....and once the block sanding is complete, with the surface mirror finished, buff, clean and enjoy. No experience doing this...try it out on a scrap piece. Repro '36 headlight rings have just come out on the market, but a couple of year ago, a buddy needed his fixed....I worked with him & he was amazed on the perfect result....reviving back old parts is rewarding, and make these efforts more than worthwhile. Hope this helps. Robert
 
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