Hot Rods Yup another off shore rant .32 junk grill inserts

Ok we pulled the motor and trans to replace a bad clutch release bearing.
Today I was near finished reassembling everything and the late afternoon sun caught the [ I think vintique) grill insert which was purported to be stainless, obviously some sort of junk that is not allowed to get wet or go near the coast.
My question is is it remotely possible to get a quality repro insert made of real stainless. Our surround was made in 32 and the poor insert has only been in 4 years, we drive any weather.

 

Get rid of the rust then paint it like a real deuce grille and you should be good.

Edit: is the trim around the perimeter rusty too, or just the bars?

 

............................French gray

 

This insert is the only real fake poser junk repro part on the car. Plus nearly the only shiny part as well , I feel the insert defines it as a 32.

 

Have you tried Bob Drake? He has them. You might ask them where they are made.

 

Drake doesn't seem interested in supplying country of origin, in other words silence.
There has to be more than one manufacturer.. I don't want to break out the steel wool every few months, as I imagine I will end up chasing my tail on this one with polishing.
No it's not going to get painted,

 

I find other manufacturers don't want to give country of origin either.

 

Give it a real good scrub with fine steel wool, then clear coat.

 

Try clear-coating it yourself.
Something like this specialty stuff might do it:
https://www.everbritecoatings.com/cart/index.php?main_page=page&id=3
What have you got to lose, just $25.

 

The last reproduction insert I bought was from Dales Manufacturing Company.

They are 100% polished stainless steel ~ both frame & bars,my only complaint is there is no crank hole. HRP

 

Last I called Dales weren't doing the inserts anymore. Guy that was making them left or retired I think was the reason.

 

Or " Sea Gull Gray" which was also used,they look so much alike it's really not noticeable. HRP

 

When I was building my Deuce roadster I found that the inserts offered by two companies did not fit properly in my original grill shell. I ordered one from Dan Fink and it fit like Henry made it. PS, some stainless steel will rust.

 

You are correct sir,That's why Dales stated their insert was 100% stainless steel. HRP

 

I must be lucky, my Dales does have the crank hole. A crank hole could be added to a grill that does not have one, with a bit of patience.

 

Danny, Woodiewagon46 was/is most likely referring to some of the alloys of stainless designation that actually will rust, just not as easily as plain steel. One of those alloys that I worked with a good bit as it was magnetic and could be placed on a surface grinder magnetic chuck to grind to precision flatness and thickness. 430E is the one I worked with quite a bit.

 

I've used quite a few Dales inserts and it's a shame they are no longer making them. I contacted them and they said they will have grilles again sometime in the future??? Side note, the other day I was looking for something in my storage building and surprise, I found a Dales insert with crank hole buried behind a pile of parts. Part of a group of 6 that I had the bars powder painted satin black. Don't panic they were some of the ones he made with steel bars. Great to have an extra for the next project. As to stainless, I've got a high end side by side refrigerator with a stainless shell and a magnet will stick to it.

 

Different grades of stainless. That is the question you need to ask your suppliers. 100% stainless has as much meaning as saying a burger is 100% beef. Could be sirloin, could be assholes and hooves.

 

Your grill insert is probably made of China duplex stainless basically a coated plain steel product similar to aluminized exhaust. Next is the 200 series real stainless but low content of chromium and nickel both the duplex and 200 are easy to stamp out parts from and look real nice for a short time. What is best is the 304 and 316 series but much higher cost and harder to form with the problem of becoming work hardened and will crack in the tight bend areas like the 32 grill is shaped. Also the old saying you get what you pay for I guess a good high quality insert would coast 3 times as much if any one made them now.

 

Might be worth more with a little rust on it . Sell it off and buy another

 

Guess I lucked out as I bought a Vintique insert several years back & just checked it & a magnet will not stick to it. Fits fine also.

 

I have a couple of extra original inserts for a just in case and one for that next project. HRP

 

I've heard you should never, never use steel wool on stainless steel, not even once. The iron in the steel wool (or brushes, or razor blades, etc.) reacts with the stainless steel and makes it rust. No matter what quality of alloy of stainless steel you have or where it was manufactured.

I ruined some fairly expensive medical equipment one time that used type 316, which is used for surgical stuff and is more corrosion resistant than 304, which is the standard stuff your grill should have been made from.

If you've used steel wool on your insert, I would treat it like regular steel from now on.

 

Just had a closer look and am fairly certain its as slick111 described , simply coated steel , if you expand my image you can see the coating is coming off in a pattern . its never been hit with steel wool ,( hit with a million bugs though) though that was my next step. Amazingly a magnet hangs on for dear life, so what was your first clue it ws not stainless!!!!

 

You could call and ask, however Drake's web site shows their 32 stainless inserts (with and w/o crank hole) are 'out of stock'.

 

The grille should be made from 430 stainless or one of its variants like 434, 435, and 436. That's what the material is made for, and that's what automakers have used for SS trim for at least the last 50 years. 430 is magnetic as are all the 400 series SS materials. The SS on the high end refrigerator mentioned up above is likely 430 as well.

http://www.aksteel.com/pdf/markets_products/stainless/ferritic/AK Ferritic Auto Trim Final.pdf

I can't tell from looking at the pic, but if its flaking off then its likely mild steel that's been flash chromed. Quick and cheap way to make mild steel look like stainless, but not real durable. Typical example of flash chrome is cheap kitchen sinks that look like stainless but sell for 59 bucks. Generally no peeling problems on those sinks, but they have to be cleaned regularly with scotchbrite to get rid of a brown haze that's really the beginnings of rust.

If its not peeling then the rust could be iron that transferred from the tooling to the surface of the material during forming. Most manufacturers of roll formed or stamped SS products take care to prevent that from happening but if the tooling is made cheap as possible then transfer is likely. If that's the problem, then a couple cleanings with scotchbrite will likely get rid of the free iron and the rusting problem.

As mentioned above, don't use steel wool.

 

I got lucky and bought a Dales with the hole.

It's still boxed up, I wish I had bought a couple extras knowing they've stopped producing them.

At that time they had consistently the best reviews.

 

Original grille shells vary in shape and size.
Hence, some inserts won't fit.
The only stainless that I've seen rust was from china. I was told that it has various other metals in it also. May explain why it is also often magnetic.

 

Try Obsolete & Classic Auto Parts (405-631-3933). I bought a Dales from them a while back. They had several at the time.

 

About 25 yrs. ago, I bought a pair of stainless, sealed beam retainer rings for a project. Same store, same packaging. Very shortly, one started rusting but the other stayed rust free until I sold the truck 15 years later.

Gary