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Got the bumper and lower grille bits off finally. Had no idea it was so complicated.

Tentative plan is to rechrome the bumper bar, the dagmars and the lower grille sheet metal (which needs a fair amount of straightening). Depends on final cost.

This seems like a good time to clean and polish the rest of the grill and the bits (like the screen) that are not being chromed.

Can you suggest power tools (as in which drill pads and the like) are most useful?

What polish would you prefer; and what can I put on to best protect the finish?????

There are so many car polish products the choices are stupefying.

What do you like, and are there tricks in using the product?

The photo is a reassembly snap from dropping the bumper, not after the final stripdown,,,, Clicking on it will give a much larger image...

Figuring to reassemble with new nuts/bolts. Going to brush/sand the black stuff and respray black. Any preferred paint for rust control?

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I used 0000 steel wool and then a soft rag and ordinary chrome polish by hand on my actual grill. The spaces are so small there is not too much a tool can get to or do.

I have the gold screen but believe yours will be the same as far as having a relatively small amount of chrome on the vertical and horizontal elements. Look carefully at places toward the edge out of the direct wind flow and see if yours has a two tone effect.

The screen obviously is chromed and then the front and maybe up to a quarter inch on the sides on the elements. The rest of the pot metal element from where the chrome stops in front to the screen in back has a duller silvery finish -- roughly 3/4 of the piece. After careful masking and with the screen off, working from both sides I used a shade of silver paint to cover the needed areas. Was reasonably pleased with the result.

Clean with chrome polish; DuPont used to make an excellent one, NAPA has one, also Simichrome is very highly recommended and perhaps the best. Use a soft cloth where its not too dirty, with Scotchrite pad or as HH says, 0000 steel wool as needed. Cutips help in the sharp corners. After it's clean, protect it with good old fashioned Simoniz or Blue Coral pure paste wax. I'd avoid power tools completely.

I did my 56 about three weeks ago and it took me three hours on a rolling stool to get it done. I used a good chrome polish, a Dremel Moto-Tool with a series of polishing wheels/points, some German Simi-Chrom polish, then repeated the whole thing, minus the Dremel part before sealing it with carnuba wax. For me the anodized gold screen was the hardest part. I could not find any wax or polish residue from prior owner attempts making me think this was the first real attempt to clean the grille in more than five decades. Basically, it appears to have held up well. My son calls it a "five footer" with regard to the chrome, stainless and screen parts.

My car came with a spare 56 senior grill which allowed me to see how the assembly was made. The screen is riveted, not screwed to the die-cast portions, making disassembly for cleaning not very feasible. Cleaning the outer corners would challenge a fine dental hygienist. By weight, the upper portion of the spare grille must weigh twenty pounds. By today's standards, it's too complicated, weighs too much, breaks and won't bend and probably cost a fortune relative to its difference from the 55's. But it remains one of the non-engineering hallmarks of the senior 56's. I will just think seriously about driving this car at speed on Florida highways during Love Bug season.

Have used both Simachrome and Wenol (both German products) with very nice results. Really did not see much difference between the two.
Wenol claims to have a protectant in their product.