Trim material
 

I did a few searches first and couldn’t find any answers, so I’ll Just ask you experts directly. What material would a 1972 suburban upper and lower trim be made out of? I believe mine is aluminum and pretty banged up. Was going to restore it myself but not sure it’s worth it, or possible if it’s not stainless.

Re: Trim material
 

it is aluminum and I believe it is anodized

Re: Trim material
 

Ok, thanks for the reply. Do people restore these or does it make more sense to get an aftermarket replacement? My truck is by no means an OE machine.

Re: Trim material
 

I restored mine back in the late 1990's when no one was making burb repro parts, but now days places like MAR-K sell an entire OE burb trim package.

Re: Trim material
 

Thanks, I just looked at Mar-k. Doesn't look like they make the upper trim, but I didn't dig around too much.

Re: Trim material
 

Oh, I missed the upper trim part of your post.
I haven't seen anyone talk about reproducing it, so you may look around for trim restoration shops. They will usually have the hook up for the anodizing.

When I was looking for someone to do mine, I learned through the guys that run low rider Impala clubs how they got their trim done. I ended up in a tiny little shop with no name by the Burbank air port, and never would have known about them with out the tips from other car people.

Re: Trim material
 

I just googled Burbank anodizing plating, and there are surprisingly a lot of plating companies there. You may want to call a few and ask them if they know of shops they work with that restore automotive trim for classics.

Re: Trim material
 

Chris-

Great idea! I initially planned on restoring it myself so maybe I will continue with that path and utilize a shop to have it re-anodized. There are a few threads on here with details on restoring the aluminum, time consuming but seems like something I could tackle.

Re: Trim material
 

I would talk with the shop 1st. If they are like the chrome platers they would rather you let them handle it all so nothing gets messed up. Just a thought

Richard

Re: Trim material
 

I will try to figure out the plating company I used, since I talked to them first and they kind of shy'd away from my small piece work job. But they did confirm that if I worked with the local trim restorer, then they are happy to do it since he would bring large batch work.

As far as the restoration, I know that the guy I worked with did not want stuff that was already worked. Since the metal would be weakened or stretched, and required more work to get it right.

Some of my rear burb trim was pretty bad, as in torn, dented and bent. The shop did not care, and they welded up the tears and holes.

Re: Trim material
 

thank you guys for the advice and wisdom. I will start by finding a few shops and talking to them before I just rip it off and start messing with it!

Re: Trim material
 

Have you checked out this place?
Seems like it's in your backyard.

http://www.shineonmetrim.com

Re: Trim material
 

Wow, yeah almost literally my backyard. Strong work! I’ll call this week.