Dash Trim Facia

[rphillips]

I recently accuired a set of early dash facia trim pieces with the basket weave vinyl, similar to this picture. They were supposed to be in "excellent condition", maybe I expect too much, but the aluminum looks like ot was drug behind the car for a block or two. My question is this, is it possible to sand/polish the scratches and nicks out of the metal? Has anyone attempted this, and then just replaced the vinyl?It appears to be aluminum. I will post some pictures of the actual pieces when I get home this evening.

[rphillips]

Ok here are some pictures of the exact pieces. Surely someone knows it the metal can be sanded and refinished, this stuff is hard to find...

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[rcooled]

If the scratches aren't very deep, those pieces can probably be re-finished to look like new. I'd check with a machine shop in your area....not an automotive machine shop but one that does industrial machining. They'll be able to tell you what can be done with those parts or refer you to someone who can, like a metal finisher or electro-polisher.

[kenrinc]

If I remember correctly that trim is anodized aluminum so most likely you'd have to strip the anodizing off first, sand until the scratches are gone and then polish back up. I've done this and it is not a fun job. I'd pay someone to do it any day. At that point you'd have to either have them re-anodized or be content with having to polish and clean them on a regular basis (maintenace headache). Any plating shop would be able to at least suggest a good course of action... also a good place to have them polished. Pretty simple job for a shop.

Ken-

[randywebb]

use a probe to find the deepest gouge or dot & post how deep that is.

platers usually fill w/metal first then sand and plate - won't work on your Al...