straighten stainless bumpers

["agiyo" <agiyo@xxxxxxxx>]

           "Is it possible to get a stainless rear bumper from an early 70's
spider straightened and polished? Is this a reasonable thing to consider doing
or
is it better just to find another?"

Joe Kollmann took several dings, one faily serious, out of my Spider's
bumpers, using methods fairly easy to approximate.  This note:  Joe Kollmann
could stand over a stump with a ball peen hammer and an piece of aluminum, and
walk away with a damn near perfect BSA Gold Star gas tank.  I've seen it!

He worked the dents out from the inside with hammers and drifts, until the
former dents were just slightly higher than the area surrounding them.  He
then filed and sanded them down until they were level with the surrounding,
unblemished surface.  This was followed by finer abrasives, finishing with
dish washing pads and some liquid polish.

Stainless steel, particularly 30 year old stainless on a car exterior, does
not have the gaudy, hard shine of new chrome.  Make the whole thing look
"right," and make the whole piece match, and your repair will not be noticed.

YMWV,
Joe Cantrell
Portland, OR
Squadra Empirica, Sono lento, ma sono brutto.
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