Author Topic: Fresh air chromed louvers.  (Read 2203 times)

lreppond

  • Full Member
  • Gold
  • *****
  • USA, CA, San Leandro
  • Posts: 639
Fresh air chromed louvers.
« on: September 25, 2023, 23:33:15 »
My chore-o-day for the pagoda was getting the fresh air vents cleaned.  To the best of my knowledge, they’ve NEVER been cleaned.  Surpringly, they were not pitted but covered by a thick layer of scum that had collected on them.  Think of never cleaning the interior of the windshield in 50+ years and you can envision the vent louvers in my car!  Equipped with Qtips, foam paint brushes, detailing bristle brushes, rubbing alcohol, ammonia solution, Flitz and cotton and microfiber cloths, I embarked on the chore.   After almost two hours, I got only one done and decided to call it a day!   Tomorrow I’ll work on the drivers side vent.

The good news is that one inch wide foam brushes do a wonderful job of safely getting between the louvers.  They won’t  scratch the surface but have just enough abrasive qualities that they can remove a large portion of the scum build up when dipped in an ammonia solution.  They are also excellent for applying small dabs of polish too.  Then, slip off the foam portion and wrap the plastic tongue in cloth to remove the polish and buff. 

Yeah, it’s a time consuming job but not difficult.  The end product makes it worth it and the vent apparatus can also be cleaned in place. 
~Len

1971 280 SL
576G red/251 Beige
4 speed manual
Family owned since new (father —> son)

mdsalemi

  • Pagoda SL Board
  • Platinum
  • ******
  • USA, NC, Davidson
  • Posts: 7067
Re: Fresh air chromed louvers.
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2023, 23:37:38 »
Nice work!

I made the mistake of taking mine all apart and having all but the actual louvers themselves re-chromed. I cannot believe I got them back together. Just lucky. Nobody would touch the louvers for re-chroming so I just cleaned them up as best as I could...
Michael Salemi
Davidson, North Carolina (Charlotte Area) USA
1969 280SL (USA-Spec)
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
2023 Ford Maverick Lariat Hybrid "Area 51"
2023 Ford Escape Hybrid
2024 Ford Mustang Mach Ex PEV

lreppond

  • Full Member
  • Gold
  • *****
  • USA, CA, San Leandro
  • Posts: 639
Re: Fresh air chromed louvers.
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2023, 00:01:36 »
Nice work!

I made the mistake of taking mine all apart and having all but the actual louvers themselves re-chromed. I cannot believe I got them back together. Just lucky. Nobody would touch the louvers for re-chroming so I just cleaned them up as best as I could...

I read and re-read your thread on this subject.  First of all, I doubt I could remove the part and then if I could, I seriously doubt I’d ever be able to disassemble it much less put it back together and re install.  With that in mind, my only option was to clean in place.   Next time you want to do some surface cleaning, try the foam brush method. It’s very effective, easy and almost no chance of damaging anything. 
~Len

1971 280 SL
576G red/251 Beige
4 speed manual
Family owned since new (father —> son)

stickandrudderman

  • Vendor
  • Platinum
  • ******
  • United Kingdom, England, Richmond
  • Posts: 2929
    • http://www.colinferns.com
Re: Fresh air chromed louvers.
« Reply #3 on: September 26, 2023, 08:05:38 »
My advice to anyone contemplating stripping these louvres for re-chroming is don't unless yours are really bad.
First, the spindles for the louvres are very small and easily broken.
Second, the chroming process adds bulk such that you cannot reassemble them without spending hours with a needle file removing the plating from those delicate spindles so that they'll fit into their bearings again.....
A little trivia....
Early louvres have a different shape tab on the centre one.