69 C3 wiper door trim finish?

[dick foehringer]

getting ready to have my 69 convert painted and want to know how the aluminum trim on the wiper door and the fender top pieces are to be painted. should all the aluminum be shiny or is it painted body color with only the rear bead left silver?
thanks, dick

[Chuck S.]

Re: 69 C3 wiper door trim finish?

Dick, it's not aluminum, it's stainless steel.

The moldings are body color except for the bead, which is left natural stainless steel. If you thought it was aluminum, it must be pretty dull. To do it right, you probably should strip the moldings and buff the bead before refinishing, because it will be next to impossible to buff without damage once they are painted.

[Chuck S.]

Re: 69 C3 wiper door trim finish?

Dick, it's not aluminum, it's stainless steel.

The moldings are body color except for the bead, which is left natural stainless steel. If you thought it was aluminum, it must be pretty dull. To do it right, you probably should strip the moldings and buff the bead before refinishing, because it will be next to impossible to buff without damage once they are painted.

[Joe L.]

Re: 69 C3 wiper door trim finish?

Dick------

In both PRODUCTION and SERVICE the 3 trim pieces involved were originally fitted with a tubular plastic shield which covered the bead. After painting the shield was removed, leaving the bare stainless bead. It would be possible to make a similar shield by slitting, lengthwise, a length of small diameter plastic tubing that you could purchase in a hobby shop. However, it's probably just as easy to simply carefully mask off the bead with tape prior to painting.

[Joe L.]

Re: 69 C3 wiper door trim finish?

Dick------

In both PRODUCTION and SERVICE the 3 trim pieces involved were originally fitted with a tubular plastic shield which covered the bead. After painting the shield was removed, leaving the bare stainless bead. It would be possible to make a similar shield by slitting, lengthwise, a length of small diameter plastic tubing that you could purchase in a hobby shop. However, it's probably just as easy to simply carefully mask off the bead with tape prior to painting.