I restored the stainless steel molding from my 1968 Firebird a few months ago and thought I would share what I learned with the club.
The trim looks great and I'm glad I did it myself. I will list the tools I used, the order of tasks, and some things I would do differently next time.
"Revive Your Ride" by Larry Lyles has a chapter devoted to this work - very helpful.
The tools
Metal Working
Brass brush
Wood "chisels", tapered and rounded
File
Sanding Block
Dry Sandpaper 150 grit
Screwdriver
Light Hammer
Body Hammer
Pliers or Dykes
Sand and Polish
Foam Sanding Block
Wet Sandpaper: 180, 220, 320, 400, 600 grit (some people go to 800 or 1500)
8" Bench Grinder
Eastwood Buffing Kit, incl. Sisal, Spiral, and Loose Cotton Wheels
The key thing to understand about stainless steel trim molding is that it is not coated. There is no plating of stainless. It is one continuous material. This means we can hammer it flat (gently), tap out dings, file or sand flat bumps, and after all that metal-working we can wet-sand and polish to make it look like nothing ever happened. It's pretty awesome.
The Tasks
Metal Working
-Wash molding first. Brass brush helps by not adding scratches.
-Place molding on a flat wood work surface.
-Massage out light dings with wood chisels, not hammering, just holding the wood piece in your hand and pressing down. It's amazing how well this works.
-Tap out deeper dings from backside of molding using light hammer and wood chisel. The screwdriver was good for deeper dings that resisted the wood. Lights taps only with hammer!
-Tapping from the back removes dings, but creates high spots on the show side of molding. Sandpaper on a block levels these. I used a file for leveling some spots, but watch you don't leave deep scratches - Keep that file flat!
-Dykes were helpful for bending sides of trim back into place.
Sanding
The idea here is to rub the metal with progressively finer grit, starting with coarse sandpaper and finishing with White Rouge on a Loose Cotton buffing wheel. IMPORTANT: If scratches remain after a step in the progression, go back and work that small area with lower number/bigger grit to remove them. Then use finer and finer grits until that spot blends with the rest.
Once you have the trim leveled and dings removed, fill a large container with water and throw in some sheets of wet sandpaper. I ripped 8x10 sheets into four pieces. The wet/dry sandpaper needs to soak for 5 minutes before use.
I started with 180 grit. If your repairs were minor you could start at 220 no problem.
I wrapped the wet sandpaper around a foam sanding block and sanded each piece. Dunk the paper in the water often to remove debris.
The trim looks great when you are done with 600 grit. But wait till you get it on the buffing wheel.
Buffing
Buffing wheel moves fast. Careful here! I used a full face shield and leather gloves. Hold the piece below the horizontal centerline of the wheel so the piece gets thrown down and away from you instead of at you.
I see some people hold the trim perpendicular to the wheel while buffing. This trim was too fragile for that, in my opinion. I let the wheel work parallel to the piece and it came out looking great.
I started with Emery compound on a Sisal wheel. Then Stainless compound on a Spiral wheel, then last White Rouge on a Loose Cotton wheel.
What I'd do differently
Hold the trim piece with both hands at all times while buffing. I was at the last stage with a piece of thin drip rail molding and let the Loose Cotton wheel have its way with it. It happens wicked fast! Bent the piece in half - beyond repair. Good thing I found a replacement piece on eBay. I was new to using a buffing wheel and so this is the price of learning.
1968 Firebird 350 Coupe, currently being restored
I can't seem to turn down a project that is priced right. I probably do about 1/3 of them, keep about 1/3 of them, then sell the other 1/3 when I decide to go another direction.