Is there a way to polish the side stainless on my 57 olds, doing it on the car ?

 

It would be better if it wasn't on the car.

 

I would think you could freshen up the trim by polishing by hand with Simichrome or something similar......IF you put masking tape on the paint. A cordless drill (on slow speed) with an appropriate cotton buff could save a lot of hand rubbing work. If you try to use high speed tools with a buffing compound, you will "burn" through the masking tape and perhaps damage the paint.

 

It’s definitely safer to do this with the trim removed from the car. I’m not very familiar with 50s eras Oldsmobiles, but 60s & 70s cars had stainless trim and some aluminum trim as well. The aluminum parts are typically anodized and cannot be aggressively polished.
I recently polished some stainless trim parts from my ‘72 442 convertible; for deeper scratches I wet sanded (in the direction of the grain) starting with 400 grit and progressed to 800, 1000, 1500 & 2000. I wrapped up the polishing with a very fine water spot remover using a soft sponge. It takes a lot of time, but the results are pretty amazing!

 

It’s definitely safer to do this with the trim removed from the car. I’m not very familiar with 50s eras Oldsmobiles, but 60s & 70s cars had stainless trim and some aluminum trim as well. The aluminum parts are typically anodized and cannot be aggressively polished.

I recently polished some stainless trim parts from my ‘72 442 convertible; for the deeper scratches I wet sanded (in the direction of the grain) starting with 400 grit and progressed to 800, 1000, 1500 & 2000. I wrapped up the polishing with a very fine water spot remover using a soft sponge. It takes a lot of time, but the results are pretty amazing!

 

I've used Collinite 850 for 50 years on aircraft, boat brite and vehicles. IMO, the best SS polish on the market.

 

I've used the method Oldster Ralph suggested. Masking tape the painted areas adjacent to the trim and then put another layer of thin aluminum tape over the masking tape. The stuff used to seal HVAC ducting works well and provides some protection from burn through. I buff with a 4" cotton wheel buff and stainless buffing compound (white). You want a fairly high speed on the wheel. A decent high speed drill motor will work.

If you have scratches, follow cdrod's advice on sandpaper and make sure your trim is stainless rather than aluminum because as he mentioned, it is anodized and if you buff through the anodize, you will have a problem with mismatched finish that will worsen with exposure to the elements.

tc