Tailgate Band Restoration Bring back the shine !!!

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78 Chevyrado

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First thing, If your band isn't too bad you can probably just wipe it down lightly with some WD-40. I used to do that on my 87, and it made it look like new until the oil went away again.

On to what I did to this band:
I got a used band off of ebay. It was faded like they usually are, so I tried a new to me way to fix it that has worked so far with no problems.

First thing to do is get any and all old paint off of it, like the outer trim like and the chevrolet letters.

Then I used some of that etching aluminum wheel cleaner on it. I let it soak in good for 5 minutes or so and then rinsed. The etching cleaner got all the stains out so the aluminum was all the same color with no splotches. At this point the band will be white, but don't panic....yet lol.

Then take a scotchbrite pad to scuff the surface LIGHTLY. you don't want scratches on the smooth part of the aluminum, and on the brushed part make sure to only rub WITH the grain, not across it. Also be sure to get down in the paint line groove and the in the chevrolet letters good. It won't matter if it gets scratched where black or yellow paint is to go, just don't scratch it where the aluminum will show.

Like all paints, you need something for the paint to "bite into" however, more bite means less good looks on the smooth parts. I can say now though that after4 years and 50k miles, this tailgate band still looks like i just painted it. I keep it polished and waxed, same as the body paint.

Once you have it clean and oil free and scuffed up, spray it with a clearcoat. Lay the panel face up, and put on a light first coat just to make sure the panel is as clean as you think it is. Then put on a second coat just enough to get good coverage. At this point the band will kind of look milky, again don't panic...

I left mine out in the sun all day and within a couple of hours the clearcoat had lost all the milkyness and cleared up and I ended up with this:
You must be registered for see images attach




Now it's time to paint the letters and outer stripe on it. The reason you have to clearcoat it first before doing the letters, is if, like me you have to mask off the letters to paint them, you need the clearcoat for the tape to stick to. I put tape on the raw aluminum after the etching cleaner, and when I pulled the tape off, every single bit of the adhesive came off the tape and stuck to the band. Big mess... Make sure to use a tape with an easy relase adhesive. remember you didnt scuff up the surface much and used no primer, so be careful with the clearcoat when sticking things to it. Let it dry in the sun a day or two before using tape on it.

Then mask off and paint your letters and stripe and then let them dry a day, then put another layer of clear over the whole thing. I put mine on kind of heavy, where it wouldn't have as much texture to it when it dried.

Here's my finished band, with black stripe and Gold Chevrolet letters.
You must be registered for see images attach




The emblem on the right side isn't stock, but was part of a broken fender emblem, and it cover the small dent in the band quite nicely and looks stock to people who don't know any better.

I later added the silverado part of the fender emblem too, but it's not stock. All they do is hide a dent. I filled the emblems in with epoxy so the back would be smooth and then just used double sided emblem tape to attatch them.
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HotRodPC

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Good Job, Thanks for sharing. Seems this would work on other chrome trim pieces too huh??? Like the band around the cab or windshield trim???
 

Old77

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1. Very cool write up and thanks for the info
2. Welcome back after a long hiatus! I've always loved your truck. Come back again and post up :)
 

Stroked

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Good write-up! I never would have thought about clear coating aluminum. I guess you can buy clear coated aluminum wheels though, so why not.
 

8T6K5

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Very cool...
 

89Suburban

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Very nice, thanks for shareing. :)
 

rainyraven

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looks great.. Gonna have to try this out :)
 

chengny

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Nice procedure ( and excellent images) - I never noticed this thread before.

Can I add a step?

The lettering can be re-colored if desired. This method is a little bit unorthodox but it works great and the end result looks sharp:

Go to the drug store and look carefully through the high-end nail polish. Bring along a piece of trim with lettering or the bowtie/GMC logo that hasn't yet faded. Nail polish comes in hundreds of colors and sooner or later you'll find a pretty close match.

Using a Q-tip, clean the indents with some acetone or MEK and let dry. Lay the trim so that the lettering/logo is on a horizontal surface. Warm the nail polish in a bowl of hot water to improve it's flow characteristics.

Using the brush provided with the nail polish, fill the letter indents one at a time. To avoid ragged letters, stay away from the edges. The polish will do it for you. It has a tendency to flow and will fill out the embossed areas right to the point where the upward slope starts. Use as little as possible to avoid cracking.

It lays down nice and smooth and the end result looks almost like factory.

Let dry for a day or two and clear coat if desired.
 

itsachevy

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oven cleaner is tha bomb on aluminium , just remove it though because it will remove paint , shines the heck outta chrome bumpers too just leave it on for a minute , i found the liquid stuff works better than aerosol ! semi truck fuel tanks -clean and bright like new !
 

84silverado

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Great write up, thanks. Wish I had seen this befor I sent mine off to be polished. But mine had a couple of small dents in it (don't they all) so they will get these out for me. Just seems like every time I get behind one of our trucks, it has at least one dent. But after 20 some years I guess it is to be expected. You go to buy a new one it is around $600.00.
 

78 Chevyrado

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Figured I'd chime in after a long time since doing this mod.

I did this mod back in around September of 2007.

after almost 5.5 years and around 40k miles... it still looks like new like it did in 2007. sometimes, when I drive it daily in the rain, for like a week, it'll get white spots here and there, like the water is soaking in... they worry me when I see them, but as soon as it dries out they go away and you'd never know they were there...

chengny... ur addition sounds good. it's another choice on how to do the lettering.. try what works best for you! try both, if ya mess it all up a bunch of laquer thinner will make it all better... :boxed:

But I can say after all this time, the procedure I outlined had worked way better than I thought it would... when I came up with it, I figured on redoing it every year or two... haven't touched it yet... other than polishing and waxing it with the rest of the body.

And yes, this would work exactly the same for the cab trim, and of the brushed aluminum on the truck.

EDIT: About a year after I did this mod, I did repaint the CHEVROLET letters black, because the gold paint didn't show up at all, it didn't look so good from a color stand point. I just masked them off, painted the black on, NO more clear, and let-her-hunt. :)
 
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steelburner83

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very nice I was looking for a way to fix mine up, I think I'm going to have to give this a try down the road
 

willhucks29

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Tailgate trim Help

First thing, If your band isn't too bad you can probably just wipe it down lightly with some WD-40. I used to do that on my 87, and it made it look like new until the oil went away again.

On to what I did to this band:
I got a used band off of ebay. It was faded like they usually are, so I tried a new to me way to fix it that has worked so far with no problems.

First thing to do is get any and all old paint off of it, like the outer trim like and the chevrolet letters.

Then I used some of that etching aluminum wheel cleaner on it. I let it soak in good for 5 minutes or so and then rinsed. The etching cleaner got all the stains out so the aluminum was all the same color with no splotches. At this point the band will be white, but don't panic....yet lol.

Then take a scotchbrite pad to scuff the surface LIGHTLY. you don't want scratches on the smooth part of the aluminum, and on the brushed part make sure to only rub WITH the grain, not across it. Also be sure to get down in the paint line groove and the in the chevrolet letters good. It won't matter if it gets scratched where black or yellow paint is to go, just don't scratch it where the aluminum will show.

Like all paints, you need something for the paint to "bite into" however, more bite means less good looks on the smooth parts. I can say now though that after4 years and 50k miles, this tailgate band still looks like i just painted it. I keep it polished and waxed, same as the body paint.

Once you have it clean and oil free and scuffed up, spray it with a clearcoat. Lay the panel face up, and put on a light first coat just to make sure the panel is as clean as you think it is. Then put on a second coat just enough to get good coverage. At this point the band will kind of look milky, again don't panic...

I left mine out in the sun all day and within a couple of hours the clearcoat had lost all the milkyness and cleared up and I ended up with this:
You must be registered for see images attach




Now it's time to paint the letters and outer stripe on it. The reason you have to clearcoat it first before doing the letters, is if, like me you have to mask off the letters to paint them, you need the clearcoat for the tape to stick to. I put tape on the raw aluminum after the etching cleaner, and when I pulled the tape off, every single bit of the adhesive came off the tape and stuck to the band. Big mess... Make sure to use a tape with an easy relase adhesive. remember you didnt scuff up the surface much and used no primer, so be careful with the clearcoat when sticking things to it. Let it dry in the sun a day or two before using tape on it.

Then mask off and paint your letters and stripe and then let them dry a day, then put another layer of clear over the whole thing. I put mine on kind of heavy, where it wouldn't have as much texture to it when it dried.

Here's my finished band, with black stripe and Gold Chevrolet letters.
You must be registered for see images attach




The emblem on the right side isn't stock, but was part of a broken fender emblem, and it cover the small dent in the band quite nicely and looks stock to people who don't know any better.

I later added the silverado part of the fender emblem too, but it's not stock. All they do is hide a dent. I filled the emblems in with epoxy so the back would be smooth and then just used double sided emblem tape to attatch them.
You must be registered for see images attach

I know its a few years down the road but i just cannot get the anodizing off of the trim! I picked up some of Eagle One's Etching aluminum wheel cleaner and i sprayed it and let it soak for about 5 minutes but when i spray the trim off its like it did nothing. I made sure it was clean before and everything. It just looks the same even after rinse and scotchbrite pad. Is there anything im doing wrong?

Thanks,

Will
 

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Oven cleaner takes off anodizing.
 

chengny

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Maybe you actually have removed the anodized film and are down into the aluminum substrate but don't realize it. Normal anodization of aluminum yields an anodized film that is only 2-3 nm thick. A nanometer is equal to 1/1000000 of a mm.

Also, given that these trim pieces are clear anodized (no dye used in the process), there will be minimal color difference in the surface - whether the anodization is still there or not.

One tacit characteristic of anodized aluminum is that the film will always be non-conductive. To test whether the band is still anodized or not, simply set your multimeter to continuity beep and touch both probes to the surface. Distance between the probes and pressure applied to them are not important. A properly anodized surface will be non conductive even if the probes are only an inch apart and you poke really hard.

If you get a beep (continuity) the anodization is gone, if you get resistance keep scrubbing. Like Art suggests above, oven cleaner will ease the removal process.

Use Zep Heavy -Duty Oven & Barbecue Cleaner - that stuff is wicked strong. It has a pH value of 13- 14. I get it at Home Depot:

You must be registered for see images attach
 
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