Has anyone restored a rusted hatch down-stopper?  It's the part on the side with the spring-loaded wedge-shaped plastic part.  I can probably clean/polish the metal and give it a plating of shiny tin-chrome, but you have to get the plastic part and spring out first.  I suppose you could bend the two sides apart to get the plastic out, and the spring would come out with it, but you''ll never get the metal back to what it was originally.

 

Is there a better way?

 

I dont think the plastic will come out but the spring will. Unless you can separate the metal into two pieces then the plastic will come out. I have a new set and where they spot welded the two pieces together they(nissan) spray painted silver the spotweld over the zinc plating.

 

I do have new rubber in the correct black color.

http://www.240zrubberparts.com/apps/webstore/products/show/4423534

 

Steve 

mine were rusted and worn, didn't seem worth fiddling with 'em so i just bought a new pair online - i believe they were pretty inexpensive.

It is if you think $80 is inexpensive.  The dovetails are just as inexpensive.

 

I think I know how to dissemble the stopper.  If you take the lower spring plastic holder out, you can slide the stopper down to where the 'ears' will go out the slots in the back.  See the photo.

 

I had my parts re-plated - took out the spring and retainer before the job.  The plastic slide piece would not come out without bending the ears on the part so I didn't mess with it.  It was already discolored from age and came back a bit more so from the plating shop.  A bit of white paint freshened it up quite nicely.