re anodizing aluminum trip parts / Vendors

[35chevcoupe]

First off I'm not sure if this is under the heading ?
Anyway wondering where or what everyone is doing with there aluminum parts on there restoration projects ?  ( drip rail / vinyl top trim )
I talked to the people at Eberts classic chevy parts ( thanks to Jim M. for the referral ) and I have sent some pieces to them to get re anodized .
Wondering if anyone has used them in the past ?  or heard good or bad feedback about them ?

[gssizzler]

 From a cost stand point it might be more effective to buy new drip rail moldings,and if you have wide reveal tirm to also buy them new! Then just the top trim would need to be restored!

[schlepcar]

John,

      There are still a few guys out there that strip,straighten,polish aluminum and stainless. It adds up faster than one might think when charging by the foot. I have not been happy with ANY aftermarket mouldings,but it may still be an option to buy new and polish them as used. I have a guy here in Michigan that does very nice work,but he has a real job and it takes him awhile. He has done wheel well trim,upper reveal mouldings,rocker mouldings,windshield surround,and other pieces for my project. I had an extra set of rocker moldings and wheelhouse trim that I sold to Kevin and I had paid around $100 for each piece that was restored. The finished pieces shine like chrome once completed,but require occasional cleaning to keep them that way.

[35chevcoupe]

Dan,  I sent some pieces to Eberts classic chev and they are going to give me a price before they do anything . I checked there website out and it looks like they do really nice work . I guess I was hoping to get some feed back from someone who may have actually had some trim redone by Eberts .
When I talked to Suzane at Eberts she said they use the same method for anodizing as they did in the sixties , that way the trim comes out with the correct sheen .
IF I decide to go with them ill post some photos of the finished product and leave some feed back .
There are some other places around here that do it ( minneapolis area ) but I haven't heard very good feed back from them  .

[elagache]

Dear John, Jon, Dan, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

. . . .
I talked to the people at Eberts classic chevy parts ( thanks to Jim M. for the referral ) and I have sent some pieces to them to get re anodized .
. . . . .

I hadn't heard of these guys, so thanks for the discussion.  Since I'm kind of a pack-rat when it comes to bookmarks (and plenty of other things! . . . .   )

Here is the current website:

https://ebertschevroletparts.com/

Apparently the company has abandoned the Chevy parts to concentrate exclusively on restoring trim.

Cheers, Edouard 

[GS66]

Eberts will eventually get mine to redo. My friend Gary had his 67 GTO pieces done and they looked outstanding. He shopped around a lot before going with Eberts too.

[schlepcar]

Keep us posted on that anodizing process.....I think once completed they would retain the factory look,but I am curious as to the final shine. The polished material often looks like new chrome but without a finish it has to be re polished occasionally. The stainless trim is so hard that it stays fine without any coating,but the aluminum would be constantly subject to dulling from the environment. I noticed this on my windshield moldings that still look new,but the aluminum needs the elbow grease to stay that way.

[35chevcoupe]

Well the trim pieces came back from Eberts and I am very happy with the shine . They look just like they came on the car when it was new .
Couple draw backs though . when they clean them to get old anodizing off its kind of the same process as rechroming pot metal , the main long vinyl top trim piece was full of deep pits that they couldn't do much with so i ended up buying another set and will try it again .
Other draw back is the $$$$$$ . I probably would buy reproduction parts if I did it again and I knew they were available .
All the drip rail trim is reproduced but the vinyl is not .
So jon you were correct , from a cost stand point it is cheaper to reproduction when available .

[elagache]

Thanks John for taking the time to report on your experiences!

Thanks to you. we all can handle dealing with these sorts of parts with a bit more skill and still get the beautiful results we want.

Cheers, Edouard