Well i have been hand polishing all sorts of metals for a while, and have seen a lot of guys buying new grills, trim...ect when they could get the. Looking back to original if not better shape. So here you guys go

1st, you goi g to need paint stripper to apply to whatever peice your working with, this removes any debris that has built up, cover the entire peice and rinse it off completely, use ruber gloves cause that stuff will burn like hell!
2nd get wet/dry sand paper from walmart or any local auto store! Your going to need from 400-2000 grit and every grit inbetween
Start with coursest paper first and sand in one direction until you get all the scrathes, nicks, and whatever else is on the surface off! The repeat with the next grit, with each change of grit make sure to sand cross pattern to the grit before, keep doing this until you get to you 2000 grit paper, this is a long process but worth thenout come
Next go to home depot and get 3 cotton polishing heads for a power drill you will need on small, one med and a large one, also buy cutting compound, you will need the brown colored for you small polishig wheel, white forthe med and green for the large wheel, with each wheel your going to do the same as the sand paper and polish cross ways fromm the wheel before
Once your done using the wheels you should have a nice shiney peice!!! Remeber take your time, o yeah i should add that mothers finishing polish brings out the "bling" any questions ask me i will post work i have done i the past

 

Nice write up.

Jim

 

What about dents and dings?
Have you ever done a 1969 Ranger grille?
If so, how long did it take you?
I've known several people who have attempted only a few succeeded to re-do a grille. What are your rough man hours to completely polish a 69 ranger grille?

 

There isnt much for dents unless you have a ball point hammer and a block of wood, you will want to work the dent from the inside with the hammed and the wood placed on the outside, i am working on my 79 F250 grill right. Ow i will post pics when done, but rough esimate is about 8 hours of total work, the main thing i use to judge the scratches is if the grit of paper is leavin deeper scratches then whats on it then switch to a less course grit, but either way the scratches just have to be worked out by sanding, like i said it takes time a patience, i do the polishing myself if that something your intersted in pm me and we can work something out

 

Can you make a grille look like this?
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I've never used "wood or a ball point hammer."
I do aluminum grilles and aluminum trim. I've heard of some people using wood but I can't grasp the idea.
An assortment of hammers is needed just like a body shop uses.
I'd be curious to see the wood and "Ball point hammer method"

 

Awesome looking grille.

Jim

 

That grille looks awsome, i will be finishing my grille up this weekend and should have the same results!!! I learned the hammer and wood method from an old school bike builder, and all the wood is for is to absorb the blow from the hammer and it doesnt leave impressions or dent the peice further like a hammer does, but i use also because its cheaper and i havent had the money to but the hammers to work metal! Maybe you could give some pointers on working dents out better then i could

 

One more picture of grille ****.
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"gangstakr" does some sick work on these grills , I saw his grills listed on ebay before I knew he was a member here. Here is a another post on here where he was assisting another member doing the same thing. Also on page 3 I jumped in with what I hope were some helpful tips on a "How to" write up that I did. Hope this helps anyone who is trying to take this on... Good luck to all



https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1088963-how-to-make-a-grill-shine.html
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https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1088963-how-to-make-a-grill-shine-3.html
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I remember it well you did a nice write up on it. I'm sure plenty of people were watching that thread. I did most of the coaching through P.M's.
I actually stopped writing about the grilles because of some idiot telling me I did'nt know nut'n. So I figured why bother. I still sell on ebay however I don't get much time to do that as I'm flooded with emails and requests I can barely keep up. It has been a good hobby.
Bad thing is, my regular job get's in the way. But I got to keep that job.

 

Yeah to many "know it alls" out there because they saw it on TV......LOL I don't post much at all for that reason on any topic. My build post https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-a-2002-a.html is the most I've ever put myself out there to be judged and it's a little scary sometimes but when it all started I was hoping to find someone who might have tried it.....so far nothing. Your skills defiantly show in the quality of the shine and I'm not talking about the pic's on here, your ebay adds that I've seen show the quality very well.

Silvabullet78, thanks for posting your way of doing it. I think it really helps when we all can share our way of doing something and pulling in each others ideas into the mix to help us get better at this hobby.

 

Thanks fopar, I know what you mean! I was a little worried about starting a thread like this but i am tlad i did because it lead me to gangstakrs thread that was a lot more in depth and i actually learned some stuff myself. Gangstakr f the people that try to think they know what they are talking about, great if they do, and share it if there is a bette way is may thought! But if they are talking s*** and not letting the work show who cares! Lol talk is cheap, and the hand polished grilles on ebay arent!!! Hahahaha!!!! BURN ON THEM

 

I am glad to have run into Gangstakr He did help me alot with my grill. unfortunatly I had to stop working on it due to halloween and christmas decoration projects. I am still going to finish and I am still gonna keep my log for you Robert. Hope to get back at it soon.