Restoring trunk pinch weld
This was a successful weekend project that I wanted to share.
Since the pinch welds from my car were really dirty and rusty, I decided to try restoring them. I started out by cleaning them with Simple Green and then soaking them in Evaporust. Afterwards, I tried gently wiping them down with acetone to remove overspray (note that acetone, paint thinner, or any other solvent will easily melt the pinch weld). This is the end product:
Its OK, but you can still see some significant staining and discoloration. The ends were also looking unsightly:
Next, I filed the ends down with a needle file and finished scraping off the remaining overspray with a plastic spudger.
To deal with the staining, I decided to try a fabric and vinyl paint. I had a can of White Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric paint. I tried a test spray and it was a very bright white, while the original color of the pinch weld is off white.
I found this offering from SEM when searching locally for a better matching paint-- literally "off white":
To paint the pieces, I made an "apparatus" out of cardboard and rested it on a jerry can:
The paint dried very quickly and had a nice, flexible finish. Here are some before and after shots:
And then I packaged everything up for when I assemble my interior...
Edited by Shawn Piper
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