stainless steel trim dent removal and finish

[WZ JUNK]

The last few days I have been taking the dents out of some stainless steel trim.  I work on it for awhile and then I do something else and come back to it.   I get the dents out okay with some tools I made but I am not getting the last part done to suit me.  After I polish the pieces and I look down the trim at an extreme angle I can see a slight distortion every place that I worked a dent.  If you look at the piece dead on as if it were on the car, the distortion is not noticeable.  I know that if I block the pieces long enough I can get this flaw out but I am wondering if I should go to the trouble.  Maybe there is something I am not doing right or there is a way to eliminate this last small distortion other than hours of block sanding.

John

[Leon]

What you're doing is the only way I know of doing it.  Get it as straight as possible then block it out.  Use a hard block so it doesn't give, where you worked the metal it can be harder than the metal around it so when you block it out there could be a tendency to cut the area around the repair more than the area that was worked.

[WZ JUNK]

What you're doing is the only way I know of doing it.  Get it as straight as possible then block it out.  Use a hard block so it doesn't give, where you worked the metal it can be harder than the metal around it so when you block it out there could be a tendency to cut the area around the repair more than the area that was worked.

I want to heat a portion of it today and see if I can take some of the hardness out of it.  I have a extra piece that I can experiment with to see if it helps.  Right now I am working about 40 feet of trim and I still have more to go.  I need to find a faster way to do this.

John

[BFS57]

Hello;
I too am faced with the same problem(ever see the amount of trim on a 57 chevy?) My way to do it is do the minor stuff myself and send the more damaged pieces out. There are a couple guys that guarantee show quality, but my car will be far from that. I have a local guy that does it and charges not too much (but it does cost).
I think it really depends on the end result, If you are trying for a super duper finished product than sending the trim out makes sense. If it's going to be a daily driver than more patience will be needed.
Years ago, I apprenciced to become a musical instrument repair person. I learned how to work dents out of brass instruments and buff and polish until the instrument looked like new (only somewhat thinner). I wish I had some of the dent removing mandrils as well as some of the burnishing tools that we had, It would make trim on a car look absolutely perfect!

Bruce

[sirstude]

John,

When you get real good, I have about 1000 feet on the Olds that needs to be done. At least it seems like that much.  You can work with that so you don't get out of practice.  

Doug