EnginesInBack
  • Home
  • Exterior
  • Interior
  • Engine & Trans
  • Tool/Travel Kits
  • Documents
  • Accessories
  • Underside, Steering & Brakes
  • Events
  • Misc.
    • Misc. Stuff
    • Electrical Diagram
    • In The End
    • Typ 64
    • Willhoit-Leno 356
    • Million Mile 356
    • N. C. Museum of Art
  • Vintage Photos
  • Original vs Repro
    • Original vs Repro
    • Original Porsche Crests
    • Original Interior Door Handles
    • Original Ashtray
    • Original Durant Mirror
    • Original 356 C Spare Tire Straps
    • Original 356 C Bumper Guards
    • Original Reverse Light
    • Generator/Fan Belts
  • Our Air-Cooled Journey
  • Contact Us
  • TRANS OCEAN MOTORS
  • Restoration Work- Blog
  • Classifieds
  • Made By Hand

deco woes

4/12/2021

0 Comments

 
With the completion of the area under the hood, I moved the focus to in front of the hood--- the bumper.  The bumpers have been off the car for 3 years, stashed safely in a spare bedroom.  I have now loosely fit the front bumper and done the requisite color sanding.  Photo below.  
The sanding was done with the deco and bumper guards off so I could easily reach all surface areas.  Now that the color sanding is complete, my attention moves to the deco trim- and what a mess it is!
I'm including a few shots of the deco.  Good news is that it is original, not reproduction trim.  The difference is easy to see at the ends of the trim. Notice in the photo how the ends are nicely rounded and meet evenly.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that it's been on the car for over 50 years, and has the battle scars to prove it.  Lots of nicks and scrapes, some of of which are deep.  Lots of sand blasting of the aluminum from small debris that hit the trim while driving, and it also has one nice size dent.
What to do about these deco woes?  Well, a new reproduction piece is about $200 and is easily recognizable as not original, so the other option is to try restoration.  I'm going with restoration.
First step is to remove the outer seal and the inner insert.  The inner insert is scuffed up, but the material is soft and repair should not be too difficult.  Outer seal came off in one piece, and I think just cleaning will be all that is needed.
Second step is to grab a fine tooth file and get the bad marks removed.  Since the aluminum is soft, this step went fairly quickly.  Maybe an hour spent.
Next I will need to remove the anodization.  An internet search shows several methods, and I think I will try using Easy Off Oven Cleaner.  It is much easier to chemically remove the anodization than to try and sand it all off.  When I get to that step, I'll post some photos.
After that I will try and remove the dent with blocks of wood and then finally sanding and polishing.
​Stay tuned...
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Below is a photo of my filing marks.  This is the same end as shown above.  Deep scratches are gone.  This will all be wet sanded with finer and finer grades of sand paper then polished to the desired finish.
Picture
Be sure to click on "Previous" at the page bottom to see lots of previous Blog pages!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    restoration & blog Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017

  • Home
  • Exterior
  • Interior
  • Engine & Trans
  • Tool/Travel Kits
  • Documents
  • Accessories
  • Underside, Steering & Brakes
  • Events
  • Misc.
    • Misc. Stuff
    • Electrical Diagram
    • In The End
    • Typ 64
    • Willhoit-Leno 356
    • Million Mile 356
    • N. C. Museum of Art
  • Vintage Photos
  • Original vs Repro
    • Original vs Repro
    • Original Porsche Crests
    • Original Interior Door Handles
    • Original Ashtray
    • Original Durant Mirror
    • Original 356 C Spare Tire Straps
    • Original 356 C Bumper Guards
    • Original Reverse Light
    • Generator/Fan Belts
  • Our Air-Cooled Journey
  • Contact Us
  • TRANS OCEAN MOTORS
  • Restoration Work- Blog
  • Classifieds
  • Made By Hand