So, I'm building my off-season list of to-do's and one of the items is to address the trim around the doors/windows. I hadn't thought anything about it until OCA Nats in '23, when I got docked for it being incorrect. Looking at the tag, it does show optioned for stainless, but this doesn't quite look right.




My question is..from the picture does it look like it just needs a restore, or does it appear that it needs replaced? If so, I'm assuming parts arent made-so where would I obtain new trim?

Thanks.

 

Any idea why it was "docked"???

The trim around the door and quarter glass is made of aluminum....it's not stainless. The original finish is a bright dip anodized process that brightened up and protected the aluminum trim. Yours does appear to be duller that usual. Did you strip the anodizing off at some point?? Have you painted that trim?? Just trying to figure out what you may have done and why the "dock" at the '23 Nats. One "problem" with the OCA judging is many times the judges haven't clearly stated what the problem was that caused the deduction and the judging sheets themselves sure don't help any as there isn't a lot of room for thorough notes and explanations.

The trim can be removed and refinished in a number of ways including...

>Stripping the anodizing and polishing the aluminum (some folks suggest clear coating after polishing),

>Sending the trim off to a specialist that can do the correct prep work and get the bright dip anodizing re-done (very expensive process typically)

The trim isn't available in the repro market and buying REAL NICE used trim can be a challenge when you're relying on pictures and descriptions from sellers. Yours APPEARS to be decent but then again, all I'm looking at is pictures which can hide a lot of details.

Ask more questions.....

 

...the hardest piece to remove would be the horizontal piece at the top of the door glass. The other pieces are either relatively easy to remove or slightly more tedious/difficult.

 

Yeah, it just says stainless around doors is wrong. There are some spots where the shiny still protrudes.. ive just not tried to see if it's been painted over or worn off.

 

I don't think the judge(s) knew what they were talking about. That aluminum trim is correct/original to the car IMO. It's not shown on the cowl tag but that doesn't mean it's not original.

If the car was a F85 base model then yes, the aluminum trim likely would not be on there but that's not what model your car is.

I seriously doubt the brighter/shiny finish is worn off. The anodizing deteriorates slowly and unevenly from what I have seen. It'll get "foggy" in some areas, etc. Yours looks like someone painted over the trim (with something like a aluminum or silver flatter paint.....maybe something like Krylon Dull Aluminum as an example).

A bit of solvent on a rag wiping the surface of the trim might tell you more.....if it's painted with a regular enamel or lacquer any paint will likely wipe off onto the rag (use a white paper towel w/the solvent). WARNING: If you wipe it and it turns out it's painted and the paint starts coming off then you'll have that spot showing wherever you wiped it.....no way to reverse that unless you paint it.

Don't know what "end result" you're looking for.....perfect/new/original?? - you'd need to pull all the trim and have it refinished/re-anodized. Other?? You could pull the trim and go through a multi-step sanding and polishing process.

As a side note: The bright metal trim along your drip rails and BELOW the side glass IS stainless. The trim around the window "frames" is the aluminum I'm referring to.

That's a good looking car.

 

...and another possibility on the judging/points docking is that the judge was deducting for the WRONG FINISH on the trim instead of the presence of the trim itself. As I mentioned above, the judging sheets are lacking in space for thorough explanations and many judges are a bit too brief in their notes.

 

Here is a pic of the factory original anodized aluminum trim on one of my cars.....it's a '70 but the trim pieces are the same as yours. Note the "bright" finish. The trim hasn't been "messed with".....original w/some typical wear and tear.

 

Yeah, I'm guessing wrong finish. Ultimately, I'm just looking for correct. Not for the judges sake, but for my own. If it's not right I'd like to correct it.