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The body side trim has ridges. The low valleys are painted black and the high peaks are polished stainless. Does anyone know of a restoration shop that can recondition these pieces? Has anyone tried to do this them self with any success?

i think some use pin stripping, i need to do it to my dads and my 400,

also some paint the whole thing, then sand the high rib

G'day DFriday,
to PackardInfo, but I don't have your answer so will leave it to others to do so.

However, I invite you to include your '56 Patrician in the Packard Owner's Registry here on PackardInfo.

As far as I know, no one is doing it or reproducing the stainless. Several of us have done the painting using different methods with varying results.

Riki touched on a couple of ways. The pinstriping method using a roller applicator. Some have tried that method and report it is tedious and requires a very steady hand to keep the pen on track but can be done.

Another method is spraying the entire piece, waiting until the paint gets tacky and then wiping it off the ridges with a cloth dampened with lacquer thinner. The cloth has to be just barely damp and supported over a hard surface like a block of wood. You have to be careful so the depth it goes into the piece is consistent and paint is only removed from the ridges. The cloth needs a fresh surface frequently. Too much pressure can squeeze thinner out of the rag to run into the painted area so another area of caution. That seems to be the most successful method but again, tedious.

I hadn't head of anyone doing the paint, let it dry and sand method but if the paper is cushioned so it can conform to the ridges a bit, extremely fine grit and done by wet sanding, it might be easier to control and might work better than the damp cloth. The only thing I would wonder about is if the stainless would be dulled by the paper

a guy in the sd pac club did in the 80s on his 55 400, looked good,

ps the sanding, ,,

after the paint dried i guess you could run a buffer over it, to polish the rib..

Painting and sanding with 1500 or 2000 grit works . Use a block and be careful. I have also used fine steel wool to remove paint from chrome or stainless. I have had little luck with lacquer thinner since it removes the paint from the channels.
Since you can use fine grit paper to remove scratches from stainless moldings before polishing with a buffer, the shine can be readily restored .
Any way you do it - it's a pain.e

When I did mine, I used black pin striping tape. Took me 3 1/2 weeks doing a little each night and both days on the weekend. Afterwards covered the whole thing with clear. On my wifes car I said no way and painted all the tin foil red.

i also thought of removing it on the 400,,, tri paint ,, but its hiding the rust for now,