Cadillac & LaSalle Club Discussion Forum

Cadillac & LaSalle Club Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: Joe Bento #20081 on February 06, 2007, 09:15:08 PM

Title: Window trimings!
Post by: Joe Bento #20081 on February 06, 2007, 09:15:08 PM
Howdy!

So the body shop removed all the glass from the car (a 1940 Series 72, for those of you just joining us).  In doing so, they removed all the Walnut trim from around the interior of the windows.

Well, it seems to me, that this is the best time to refinish the walnut, dont you think?

The problem I have is that there is a fuzzy felt/wisker like trim attached at various points to the wood (some pieces the bottom, other pieces all around the trim) that has a thin piece of stainless attached to it.  It curves a bit around some of the corners, so it seems like these are preformed, sized pieces.  In addition, the pieces from the rear doors has something else attached to the top of the piece (windlace?).  But I cant tell if this is something that was attached to the walnut trim on the door, or was it attached to the headliner and just "stuck" to the door.  It is more fabric like, than felt like.

I apologize for the poor description, but my body manual wont arrive for another week, and if the forum would accomodate pictures, I would snap a shot and post the pics.  But since it doesnt, I cant.  If someone has an exploded view from a manual or something PLEASE e-mail it to me and be my friend forever!

Anyway, the inevitable question is:

Where can I get these fuzzy/felty/fabricy, stainless(y) pieces?  And if possible, not just where, but what part number etc. would be most helpful.

Many thanks!
Title: Re: Window trimings!
Post by: Doug Houston on February 06, 2007, 11:07:01 PM
The stuff you refer to is known as window channel. Its the same material that is in the u-shaped channels that glass rides in.

Many years ago, I re-did the garnish moldings on my 41-60S. they are done the same way as on the 40-72, and many other Fleetwood cars. Thgeres no easy way to get the channel padding off of the moldings without destroying it, so I elected to leave it on. I stripped the wood with water-wash paint remover, and washed off the channel pad with the stripper. It wont hurt the stuff.

You can nask off the channel strips.  I stained with regular walnut stain, and spar varnished over the stain. You must leave varnish harden 24 hours before you can do anything to it. I built up he varnish to possibly 4 coats, wet sanding each coat before the next application. Four coats will probably fill the grain enough to wet sand with #600 wet-dry paper, polish with rottenstone on a pad, soaked with linseed oil. Clean off, then fine polish with wheel mark remover, a milky (and expensive) polish, and if you can read newsprint in the reflection, youve done it right.

Now, I never tested the finish on these pieces, but since furniture and radio cabinets are NOT VARNISHED, the original finish on our moldings could also have been lacquer. Test with a drop of lacquer thinner (youre gonna refinish them, anyway). If the finish dissolves, its lacquer. If not, its varnish, though I doubt that it is. Varnish is a more durable finish than lacquer in this application, so its a reasonable way to go. I did the 41 moldings about 50 years ago, and theyre still beautiful.

One other thing. When youre doing a "piano finish" on decorative woods (Mahogany, Walnut, Oak, etc.), you can save a lot of work by using paste wood filler on the grain after staining. The paint stores can tell you how to use it. Following the filler, youll varnish or lacquer, and you wont be using the clear stuff to do the filling.

See how simple it is?
Title: Re: Window trimings!
Post by: Joe Bento #20081 on February 06, 2007, 11:15:52 PM
Thanks Doug.

The big problem here is that the "channel padding" is so worn away, that there is no "felt" left and the nails that sucure it in place are exposed.  I am not sure how comfortable I am, after everything else I have put into this, leaving them in place.

On the passanger compartment windows, there is also something (windlace?) across the top.    It cannot be salvaged as it is completly peeling apart.

So, where can I get these things?

Thanks!

Joe
Title: Re: Window trimings!
Post by: Anthony Amman #15293 on February 07, 2007, 10:40:17 AM
Joe,

You might try restorationspecialties.com for your window channeling needs.  They have a large selection and a downloadable catalog with illustrations of what they sell in PDF format.  Steele Rubber usually has kits as well.  Metro Moulded Parts out on Minnesota sells all sorts of window channeling stuff in their catalog also.  One of them should have what you need.

Tony