1963 Rocker Moulding - Quality

[Richard G.]

I recently purchased a Pair of Rocker Moldings for my 63 through http://keenparts.com.
I installed them and was happy with the quality. I purchased a pair of OEM rockers in the late 70's that were on the car but were driven for 3 years so they badly needed to be replaced. I did a side by side comparison of the OEM rockers to the ones from Keen. They weren't perfect but I also had over the counter replacements not originals to the car to compare them to. I inspected them for length and the crimps on the ends. Certainly deemed them an acceptable replacement.

All went well till I took the car outside and noticed the new rocker moldings appeared to be warped. I knew they were straight having recently installed them. After closer inspection I found the blackout between the ribs was varied in thickness and they were not defined at the edges. This gave them the appearance of being wavy. Obviously the mask they were using, to paint the black contrasting, was defective. Had to be worn or just wasn't applied correctly. I am sure the cost of the dies are a major expense and it seems silly to damage them with a cheep and poorly done application of paint.

Here are pictures;






I tried but failed to get a decent picture of the waviness. This is in the shop, outside it is very noticeable.



Below is a picture taken of the old OEM rocker. A lot of difference in the quality of the paint application.



For what it's worth. I doubt their are many manufactures of this panel out there. If you do purchase a set you may want to pay attention to the paint quality.

Rick

[Edward J.]

Re: 1963 Rocker Moulding - Quality

Rich, I have a set of Keens 63 rockers and did not notice this on mind, I really thought they did a good job, but I guess there can be some flaws when it comes to masking and painting.

[John D.]

Re: 1963 Rocker Moulding - Quality

None of the repro and GM service replacement rocker moldings are correct. You old timers know this.

[Richard G.]

Re: 1963 Rocker Moulding - Quality

Yes I am familiar with the some of the differences.
I may restore my Over the Counter Rockers but even then its not guaranteed to be 100% correct.
It was what GM sold in 1978 however.

My point was the die and stamping process is the expensive part of reproducing this part.
Then mess it up with a bad spray paint process it is just beyond me.
However, it may have been that day's output. I see others have had better luck.

[Patrick H.]

Re: 1963 Rocker Moulding - Quality

It's not that hard to repaint them, or even touch them up.
I've done it with SEM Trim Black paint.

The replacement sill panels are painted just as poorly, and have to be stripped and repainted if you want them correct.

[Richard G.]

Re: 1963 Rocker Moulding - Quality

I will use your suggestion and see if I can repaint them.
I will do some testing and see how difficult it is to get the old black paint off.
If it is difficult I will make an attempt repainting them without stripping the old off.
Rick

[Patrick H.]

Re: 1963 Rocker Moulding - Quality

Stripping them - at least on later cars - is very easy.

You can then use painting masking tape (blue or green stuff) to mask it off, and a bit of lacquer thinner on a rag to smooth the edges once the paint is removed.

An alternate is to tape them off as-is, and use Trim Black to touch them up and make straight lines. Easier, I would think.

[Frank D.]

Re: 1963 Rocker Moulding - Quality

I have an NOS set (or they were years ago) that need re-anodized so they'll go to Andy Cannizzo soon. The repros on the car now do have a weird look to them from certain angles - guess I'll try a paint job...