Taillight finish panel restoration

[Coelacanth]

I searched the Body & Exterior and '68 - '70 Charger forum sections for any tips or restoration processes for our taillight finish panels and was rather surprised to find nothing. I did see several topics on other car models, but looking for advice from 2nd-gen Charger owners who've restored their finish panels. I have two of them, both in very good condition. Both have the black paint flaking off and will need to be refinished. One of them has dents in the middle where the emblem goes and would need to be carefully hammered smooth again. This one also has holes for an R/T emblem but my car is a 500 and I have a new repro "Charger" emblem with the "V" symbol and obviously the mounting post holes aren't in the correct spot.

Any advice on how you restored your finish panels would be appreciated. Can the original inner trim line be polished and masked off, sand down the rest with 400-grit, and respray with SEM Trim Black do the trick?

 

[dadsbee]

You'll have better luck with stuff like that going through the members restoration section.

 

[Coelacanth]

If I can't find something relevant with a search--and I tried just now even in that subforum--it's going to be a fair ordeal trying to find those posts that have the info I'm looking for. I can't randomly browse through dozens of pages of resto topics trying to find the post here and there about the taillight finish panel. If someone has done this, please share, we'll all appreciate it.

 

[dadsbee]

Just trying to help... carry on!

 

[68Moparmaniac]

Sprayed mine with Hot Rod Black Matte finish from the Coatings store.

 

[Coelacanth]

Beauty. Did you mask off and polish the surrounding perimeter area before painting the matte black? Remove the anodizing before polishing? Thanks for sharing.

View attachment 1675489View attachment 1675490
Sprayed mine with Hot Rod Black Matte finish from the Coatings store.

 

[68Moparmaniac]

Beauty. Did you mask off and polish the surrounding perimeter area before painting the matte black? Remove the anodizing before polishing? Thanks for sharing.

Yes that's exactly what I did. The inner bezels of the taillight housings were painted with the same stuff. Sprays out pretty good and it's not too expensive.

 

[gtx6970]

FYI, the only one that has a full anodized finish panel on it is 1970 Charger.
1968 and 69 just have perimeter moldings as shown above

 

[Coelacanth]

Right, I think the '68 and '69 moldings were chrome. No need to deanodize.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I searched the Body & Exterior and '68 - '70 Charger forum sections for any tips or restoration processes for our taillight finish panels and was rather surprised to find nothing. I did see several topics on other car models, but looking for advice from 2nd-gen Charger owners who've restored their finish panels. I have two of them, both in very good condition. Both have the black paint flaking off and will need to be refinished. One of them has dents in the middle where the emblem goes and would need to be carefully hammered smooth again. This one also has holes for an R/T emblem but my car is a 500 and I have a new repro "Charger" emblem with the "V" symbol and obviously the mounting post holes aren't in the correct spot.

Any advice on how you restored your finish panels would be appreciated. Can the original inner trim line be polished and masked off, sand down the rest with 400-grit, and respray with SEM Trim Black do the trick?

The tail panels on 68, 69 & 70 Chargers were all finished differently. What year Charger are you working on are you working on?

 

[gtx6970]

Right, I think the '68 and '69 moldings were chrome. No need to deanodize.

The end pieces are chrome diecast metal. the upper / lower 2 long mldgs are anodized aluminum pieces

 

[Coelacanth]

The tail panels on 68, 69 & 70 Chargers were all finished differently. What year Charger are you working on are you working on?

I thought I mentioned it, but I might've overlooked it. I have a '70. I began working on the finish panel today. I can say the best way to remove the black paint (and orange, and blue, lol) is with acetone, but this won't remove the anodizing. I started using Easy Off oven cleaner to begin removing the anodizing. Fine grit sanding will be next and I'm not sure if I'll paint the whole thing SEM Trim Black or mask off the middle strip and polish it up. I'll post some update pics tomorrow.

 

[Coelacanth]

Question: Do all '70 Charger taillight finish panels fit poorly? I had 2 to choose from and selected the one that was the better one. Both were straight, hardly any bends or twists, except the one I didn't choose had holes for an R/T emblem and some bumps and minor damage there. I refinished my original one. Anyway, after installing all 17 finish panel clips nice and snug, there are still visible spaces between the taillight panel and the finish panel. I mean, it looks okay from 6 feet away but if you look close, you see some gaps. Maybe this is just normal, typical Chrysler quality manufacturing? It's surprising there's not even a gasket between the finish panel and painted sheetmetal.

 

[rklewis1005]

I thought I mentioned it, but I might've overlooked it. I have a '70. I began working on the finish panel today. I can say the best way to remove the black paint (and orange, and blue, lol) is with acetone, but this won't remove the anodizing. I started using Easy Off oven cleaner to begin removing the anodizing. Fine grit sanding will be next and I'm not sure if I'll paint the whole thing SEM Trim Black or mask off the middle strip and polish it up. I'll post some update pics tomorrow.

Greetings - how did this turn out? I have a 70 Charger and making a list of things I need to address. Since they don't reproduce these, I want to learn whatever I can to restore it.

 

[Coelacanth]

Greetings - how did this turn out? I have a 70 Charger and making a list of things I need to address. Since they don't reproduce these, I want to learn whatever I can to restore it.

It was a pain in the ***. The original finish on these panels was bright-dipped anodizing. Thus, they can't easily be polished if they're oxidized or worn-looking, you'll need to strip the anodizing first. You'll wear your wrists down to nubs before you sand off that anodizing, then you'd need to wear your elbows down to nubs polishing the now raw aluminum back up. When I tried simply polishing the existing worn-looking, mottled panel, some areas got shinier but others stayed mottled. I tried spraying on Easy-Off oven cleaner as I've used that to strip anodizing from RC car parts for years, but it didn't get the results I was hoping for. It still didn't look good.

I basically said to hell with it and sanded it with 320 grit to scuff it up and sprayed it with SEM Trim Black, I am going for a more mean, goth look with my Charger anyway.

I have a spare finish panel that I can use at some point in the future if I change my mind, but the middle has holes drilled for an R/T emblem and my Charger is a 500.

 

[rklewis1005]

It was a pain in the ***. The original finish on these panels was bright-dipped anodizing. Thus, they can't easily be polished if they're oxidized or worn-looking, you'll need to strip the anodizing first. You'll wear your wrists down to nubs before you sand off that anodizing, then you'd need to wear your elbows down to nubs polishing the now raw aluminum back up. When I tried simply polishing the existing worn-looking, mottled panel, some areas got shinier but others stayed mottled. I tried spraying on Easy-Off oven cleaner as I've used that to strip anodizing from RC car parts for years, but it didn't get the results I was hoping for. It still didn't look good.

I basically said to hell with it and sanded it with 320 grit to scuff it up and sprayed it with SEM Trim Black, I am going for a more mean, goth look with my Charger anyway.

I have a spare finish panel that I can use at some point in the future if I change my mind, but the middle has holes drilled for an R/T emblem and my Charger is a 500.

View attachment 1742049

View attachment 1742050

Thanks - sounds like I have some work in front of me. I'm going for the "original" look, but I have time.

 

[Coelacanth]

Stripping it would be much easier if the thing wasn't so bloody BIG. If you could have it stripped in a big chemical bath somewhere, it would be more feasible.

I had another question earlier in this topic about the fitment of these finish panels...is it normal for them to fit rather poorly, with gaps and spaces? Both of mine are very straight but even using all the fasteners, I can see gaps between the finish panel and the taillights. They certainly don't seem to fit flush.

 

[rklewis1005]

Stripping it would be much easier if the thing wasn't so bloody BIG. If you could have it stripped in a big chemical bath somewhere, it would be more feasible.

I had another question earlier in this topic about the fitment of these finish panels...is it normal for them to fit rather poorly, with gaps and spaces? Both of mine are very straight but even using all the fasteners, I can see gaps between the finish panel and the taillights. They certainly don't seem to fit flush.

I made a cardboard "trench" out of 2, 48"x12"x12" cardboard boxes taped together (end 2 end) and lined it with a double layer of 6 Mil thick plastic sheeting. I put some play sand in the bottom to form a U-shape. I soaked parts like the driveshaft, jackstand and other long parts in EvapoRust and cleaned them up nicely. I'll try to repurpose it (change the plastic out) for Sodium Hydroxide (lye) bath to strip this finish plate. The car goes to the shop for metal/body/paint in December (hopefully) so I'll have 6-9+ months from then to get all the parts ready for reassembly.

 

[Coelacanth]

I made a cardboard "trench" out of 2, 48"x12"x12" cardboard boxes taped together (end 2 end) and lined it with a double layer of 6 Mil thick plastic sheeting. I put some play sand in the bottom to form a U-shape. I soaked parts like the driveshaft, jackstand and other long parts in EvapoRust and cleaned them up nicely. I'll try to repurpose it (change the plastic out) for Sodium Hydroxide (lye) bath to strip this finish plate. The car goes to the shop for metal/body/paint in December (hopefully) so I'll have 6-9+ months from then to get all the parts ready for reassembly.

Cool, let me know how that works for you, I might consider going that route with my extra R/T panel.

 

[rklewis1005]

Cool, let me know how that works for you, I might consider going that route with my extra R/T panel.

I have access to a parts car (at my Dad's 700 miles away). I might have to wait and compare the two finish panels, then test on the one in worse shape. This car is an SE and I believe the other is a "normal charger". I'm trying to limit irreversible mistakes on this car for items that aren't reproduced.