Has anyone else had a terrible experience with getting trim to fit properly? I've bought a ton of nice chrome trim for my '70 El Camino, and none of it fits. I've bend them beyond hope trying to get them to fit. Now they can't be returned. Nothing lines up or has the right bends. I've purchased these parts from The Paddock. Does anyone have any reliable suppliers? I don't mind spending the money, I just want it to work. Thanks anyone.

from my experience not much of the new trim you buy is worth using,IMO just get your old trim pieces repaired and polished.
Van

Thanks Van!

I got scared off buying the new bed trim kit because everyone had a horror story. I think the corner cast pieces are the problem. I had my original cast pieces repaired and rechromed. I bought the four long straight pieces and they fit fine. I had to do a lot of polishing on the tailgate top piece to make it decent. The original front corner pieces don't fit the best either.

haha yeah the new stuff stinks. i had to use a mallet to get the trim on in the end.

Novice that I am, I bought a buffer and all the wheels and compound. Started with a scrape piece of dented aluminum trim. Tapped out the dents, filed, sanded, then buffed. Had the part ripped from my (gloved) hands several times before I figured out where NOT to buff. Loosing the part bent it up some more... more practice for me ??? Anyway, I finally got the hang of it; didn't take too long. Now the aluminum pieces that I fix are straight and shiny as chrome. Stainless seems to be a bit easier, except the harder material takes more effort and time. My suggestion: if you have the original pieces, try to work them first before buying repops. Other suggestions: wear an apron and a full face shield, and polish outside ... buffing makes a mess. Oh, and be patient, real patient.

Take it from Van, find a polishing shop that restores and polishes. great shop here in Michigan if you want it, they are great and reasonable on the prices. If the pieces are not worth saving nothing works like NOS stuff. Norman:beers: