Quick Solutions for Dented Trim.
Dinged-up stainless or aluminum trim on your car looks ratty, especially after a fresh coat of paint. The quick and easy solution is to swap the beat-up stuff for new replacement parts, or get them professionally restored. While both of these routes are sound solutions, there are a couple of things you need to consider. First, most replacement parts are nowhere near the quality of factory OEM trim. Second, professionals charge a lot.
For another option, we met up with Gary Turnau of Mothers in Huntington Beach, California, who was gracious enough to show us how to R&R stainless trim ourselves. To straighten the trim, he uses everything from small punches, hammers, and pliers, to oddities like the back end of a file and scrap steel stock. He then goes over the trim with several different grits of sandpaper and a buffing wheel to polish it to the brilliant luster you see here. Yes, the selection of tools might seem crude to some, but we like to call it Car Craft engineering…because it works. Gary’s best advice is to spend the time and money assembling the best set of trim you can find before starting the job. So, if your trim isn’t shaped like a pretzel, you’ll be happy to know the only limitation to reaching show-quality levels is the amount of patience you have.