I want to restore a spare set of early (1970) seat belts to improve their appearance and also to make them easier to adjust since they are not retractable. It seems that there are different finishes on the belt mounting ends and the belt latches that are a more natural metal appearance as opposed to the chrome on the adjusters and the belt latching tabs.
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I have taken one latch apart and cleaned it up via bead-blasting, a vibratory cleaner/polisher, and some elbow grease with metal polish and a brass bristle brush (you can see how it started off). The finish of the latches (once the covers are removed) and the anchoring ends appears to be some sort of a flat metal finish. Does anyone know what finish it is? Or how to achieve it?
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I think the chrome will clean up well enough once the belts are removed and the chrome can be cleaned/polished a little.
Has anyone sent out an early set of belts to a restorer and been happy with the results? Who did you use? What was the cost? Any pics?
What about the dated fabric tags stitched to the belts? Anyone have a source on these?
Comments or suggestions would be appreciated.