SSR Interior Metal Trim

[LydiaGP]

Hi there,

I'm wondering if any of you have any experience with the interior metal trim on a Chevy SSR? I've got a detail upcoming on one. It has some minor scuffs/very fine scratches on the interior metal trim on the doors near the handles. Just wondering what you all have found to work on the trim. Sorry, I don't have any pictures but based on a Google search it appears they didn't change it during the years they produced the vehicle. It looks like brushed stainless.

Thanks in advance!

[Crispy]

Kind of hard to recommend if you don't know what you are working on.

If they are clear coated then correct like any paint.

If they are bare aluminum (which I doubt) then metal polish.

Plastic use very fine polish.

Either material should be sealed or coated after correcting.

P.S to check use metal polish one white cloth, if it turns black uncoated metal.

[LydiaGP]

Thanks! I guess I should have specified better. I agree with your first statement; that was why I asked specifically if anyone had experience with that particular trim on that particular vehicle. I only mentioned the same trim on all years as I didn't get what year the vehicle was. The customer pointed out some minor scuffing on it when I inspected the vehicle. I intended to look closer at it to get a better idea what it was but didn't end up doing so (I had just gotten over being pretty sick when I inspected the vehicle and I guess I wasn't 100% after all) . Since that was something in particular the customer mentioned, I wanted to be as prepared as possible and thought perhaps someone here had worked on before and might be able to relate their experience with it.

Thanks for the suggestions, though!

[Eldorado2k]

I've never detailed 1 of those vehicles, but I'm curious about which products you currently have on hand that you would consider using on it if you had to do it right now?


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[LydiaGP]

What do I have on hand? A lot, mostly Meguiar's. Obviously it depends what material it ends up being as far as what product I would use. While I do still have some Hot Rims Aluminum Polish (yumm, cinnamon), I highly, highly doubt it is bare aluminum. Beside that, what I'll plan to bring (and usually have with me at every detail to be on the safe side anyways) is:
PlastX
M105
M205
M80 (yup, still have some leftover I need to use up. Problem is, I've grown to like the SMAT so much I rarely use it)
PRC/D151
#26
Metal polish (Mother's, because I needed some and couldn't find Meguiar's locally)
NXT 2.0
NXT Tech Protect (if it were actually brushed stainless, which I doubt, this or #40 might help even the sheen after doing what I could for the scuffs)
#40
A12 Cleaner Wax
Various cleaners to remove goo, although I don't expect those to be needed here.
#7, again not expecting to be much help here.

The way I see it, if there are minor scratches, my only chance of getting them out is if it has some kind of coating (clear coat, plastic, etc.) and the scratches are in the coating. If it's some kind of bare brushed or "textured" (for lack of a better word) metal I don't anticipate being able to remove scratches without damaging the finish on the remainder of the metal, AKA in that case I wouldn't try.

I guess I just posted in the off chance someone could tell me what it was so I could complete my plan of attack ahead of time! I like to know what I'm getting into and I'm kicking myself for forgetting to check it again.

On a side note, Eldorado2k, I sent you a pm a while back about a thread. You never responded (which is fine - doesn't bother me) but I realized it may have come across like I was mocking. I wasn't, in fact it was the opposite. I'd rather not elaborate, just wanted to clear that up. I did see your response on the thread answering the question I and another member had asked so that was all I had wanted. Just wanted to clarify that.

[Eldorado2k]

Hmm.. Well not knowing how elaborate they actually decided to go with those pieces makes it sort of hard to pick the correct product, because we all know that on most modern vehicles what looks like metal could most likely be plastic, and if it really is actual brushed stainless... Based on those 2 possibilities I'd make sure to at least pack these 2 in my bag.

Essence if it's plastic, and Britemax Final Shine if it turns out to be actual stainless steel.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170131/ffab051e320636ded247a269f85a6b31.jpg

And of course Megs M205, but that's a no brainer because I never leave the house without M205. Lol.

As far as the PM, sorry about not replying, it's just that I got a bunch of PM's asking that same question, but most of them were from lurkers I've never even seen before.. Plus I wasn't online as much for a few days and in the end just decided to subtlety drop it in the thread for the ones who would know it when they read it. [since it's not a product available on AG I sort of felt it best to keep it short]

But I got your PM, and reading your recent posts on MOL lets me know you're part of the Megs fam. [if you're cool with Stoops, you're part of the fam] [emoji4]


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[LydiaGP]

It did end up being metal. Quite frankly, not sure what metal. I would guess brushed stainless? Edmunds.com says it's "alloy". Whatever it was, it had the brushed finish/matte look. It had spots of minor oxidation/corrosion on a lot of it, but they came off easily with something with a little polishing ability. I ended up using Hot Rims Aluminum Polish on it. Yes, I know it wasn't aluminum, but the Mother's metal polish I had wasn't cutting it (I think I must have left it in the hot sun in my truck as it was really runny). The hard part was finding something that didn't leave it looking smeary when viewed from an angle (even when carefully removing all of the product). I tried several things and they all seemed to leave an uneven finish when viewed from an angle. Meguiar's A12 Cleaner Wax and NXT Tech Protect both ended up doing the job to not leave it looking funny from an angle. Yes, those are strangely diverse products. I tried the Tech Protect because, on brushed stainless appliances, something with some oil is usually the best way to get an even finish. I tried A12 because, why not? I had some and was curious how it would do. Also, I wanted to leave some kind of a protection on the metal to help prolong the time before the oxidation started up again.

Makes sense on the PM!

Stoops and I go way back. Ok, not really. But I've "known" him via MOL since before he started working for Meguiar's. He's a nice guy and very helpful. I'm glad to see how much he's moved up within the company.