fbekholden.com

hey team,

i was just wondering if anyone has had this sort of work done professionally, before.
yesterday i went to kingswood & spoke to allan mc coy at his shop...

i gave him a complete set, (minus 1) of ek molding

1 x rear quater
2 x rear doors
2 x front doors
2 x front gaurds
& front grill...



he qouted me $1,300.00 to repair & "machine" polish...

he showed me some samples & i was very impressed, as i thought it had been chromed...

is this an expensive quote, or is this what i can expect to pay for this knid of work...


thanks
matty martin

Polishing is a filthy, dirty, nasty, labour-intensive job.
Ding repairs are an art that I have yet to master or have the patience for.
Depending on the dings and scratches it may be a good price, the body strips shouldn't take too much time, the grille might be a different story.

Remember Matty you get what you pay for. By the sounds of it you'll have trim like or better than new!

Matty,

As far as the damaged moulds go, I'm sure you could find other moulds that aren't damaged (I did). Go out and buy yourself a pedistal grinder and tapered spindle end to mount a buffing wheel on and get some compound from the hardware.
I've done that, pulled apart the ek grill and polished it all, also done all the side mouldings. They all come up like new. Its really not hard to do and would work out a lot cheaper than $1300.
Of course practise on an old part first to get the hang of it.

if you find someone who repairs trumpets (musical instrument) they have the tools and experence to do that type of work.

thanks team,

well stinky & DR i agree it does look detailed work & i also believe you get what you pay for...

malcom, i'm not confident enough to give it a go myself... YET

munro... OK, i'll look into the trumpet thing thanks

thanks
matty martin

that's the guy that did the repair on the mould i was talking about
matty i'm getting confused you were going with flat paint, why would you go and spend all that money on getting the moulds repaired and polished find some reasonable to good moulds it can be done and give them a polish by hand with autosol or simular, if it were me i wouldn't be going to that trouble or expense unless it was for a show quallity car or resto, you'll be about a thousand dollars better off
just a thought

hey ratbox,

mate, i a bit unsure about the flat finish now. the painter said that if i was going to drive it everyday, car parked out side & in the coast, that it would be better off with a gloss as the salt & rain water would run off better therefore less chance of getting anymore rust... or prolonging it as long as possible...

i might try a old trim with a hand polish with autosol this weekend...


i'll let you know how i go...

thanks
matty martin

I have just done the trims on my FC using a rag wheel on my grinder and using a stick of cutting compound brown in color. There a few different coloured stick available - each one having a different grit compound. I found the brown was the best on stainless. Just be careful you don't get the trim caught on the buff.

hey KFH,

any pics...

thanks
matty martin

KFH wrote:Just be careful you don't get the trim caught on the buff.

That's the tricky part, I have destroyed a few parts this way with the bench grinder steel caps are a good investment too as the flying parts tend to hunt for your toes
It is very gratifying to polish your own stuff though and can almost be obsessive as you discover what you can achieve.

i polished my stainless fb dash trim with autosol and got great results. i did it by hand and was very please, although i do believe that with some fine grit sand paper and wet rubbing, in conjunction with some autosol, the trims could be brought to a mirror finish

(AUST)Mod wrote:i polished my stainless fb dash trim with autosol and got great results. i did it by hand and was very please, although i do believe that with some fine grit sand paper and wet rubbing, in conjunction with some autosol, the trims could be brought to a mirror finish

Yep!

Its your call Matty, maybe try a bit by hand and see how you go. As for the gloss finish, go for it, cost to do shouldn't be too different and the bonus is it will last alot longer. My sisters XT wagon is flat in colour and has been for along time, my Dad has to keep givingit a blow over every 5 years or so to get rid of the white chalky look it gets.

stinky says it's very gratifying polishing yor own stuff.......just make sure no one is watching

Hi matty martin. I was quoted $30 per piece at my polisher but probably just to polish.