D.I.Y Dash Cluster refinish

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DonnieLawson

68 Barracuda
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
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Middletown Ohio
I have a 68 Barracuda 150 mph dash cluster that I need to refinish .
What should I use to strip, or clean it before the paint goes on ?
And what products should I use to paint / refinish it .
I do not have the wood grain dash . Its black and chrome , and the chrome is now mostly worn to a brownish color .
Its not a show car , but I want it to be somewhat close to factory .

Any links to a how to ? Any tips ?
how do I do the chrome color finish and it still hold up good ?
I do have a broken one to practice on that I got the 150 mph speedo from .

Thanks guys ............. I'm getting closer :)
 
I'll be watching this thread cause I'm in the same boat! Any tips you guys have for this member will help me too:cheers:
 
Check this out. Not a rallye bezel but a standard wood grain 70/71 Dart bezel. Repainted all the chrome area with Duplicolor Chrome paint. Not just like the original chrome but close. Lots of prep and masking but in reality not a biggie either and it turned out decent!! Funny, nobody wants to buy it?????
Chas.

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I used #0000 steel wool to prep the surface , clean with ammonia and water, then apply the black paint to the whole bezel , then tape off and apply the "chrome look " paint to those portions and finish off with an argent silver on the long bottom strip of the bezel. The argent silver will contrast with the chrome paint making it look "more" like real chrome. Let the piece dry for at least a day between stages !!

The key is to spend a lot of time with the steel wool and get every little nook and cranny. And have a sharp exacto for taping of the small details. Use good tape ! Try a hobby shop for supplies and advice.
 
It was recommended to me to use SEM black trim paint for repairing my 70 Duster rallye dash. It is supposed to pretty accurate to the original dash color. I ordered mine from Eastwood only to find out that the local Carquest carries it. It can be used on properly prepped metal parts without a primer. Part# 39143.
 
ijg4503 said:
It was recommended to me to use SEM black trim paint for repairing my 70 Duster rallye dash. It is supposed to pretty accurate to the original dash color. I ordered mine from Eastwood only to find out that the local Carquest carries it. It can be used on properly prepped metal parts without a primer. Part# 39143.
Click to expand...
How did you prep yours ? The dash panel is plastic .
I also have a console to do . I took the inserts out of the console and used paint stripper to remove the 3 layers of crappy paint someone put on it over the years . There is some light pitting to deal with .
Thanks
Donnie
 
The SEM stuff is very good. You can find it at your local paint store. Remember that they make both a dye and a plastic paint. The dye is for flexable items like the dash pad and armrests. Use rubbing alcohol or ammonia and water for the final clean before spraying. Use a stiff bristled brush to scrub the grained material and steel wool (very fine) on the flat surfaces.

Did the paint striipper eat away at the console material ??? I'm sure that if you were to use stripper on your dash you would end up with a wad of molten plastic !!
 
I would start by using denatured alcohol. Try SEM landau black for the plastic, as stated from an auto paint supply. Very clean look. They also carry plastic adhesion promoter or general adhesive cleaner by 3M to prep it.
mbaird said:
The SEM stuff is very good. You can find it at your local paint store. Remember that they make both a dye and a plastic paint. The dye is for flexable items like the dash pad and armrests. Use rubbing alcohol or ammonia and water for the final clean before spraying. Use a stiff bristled brush to scrub the grained material and steel wool (very fine) on the flat surfaces.

Did the paint striipper eat away at the console material ??? I'm sure that if you were to use stripper on your dash you would end up with a wad of molten plastic !!
Click to expand...
 
I used the paint stripper on the chrome metal plates after removing them from the console base . It wont hurt the metal or the chrome .
It cleaned up very nice . I need to take care of some pitting before I spray it .
 
Well , I stripped 'er and painted 'er .
Looks allot better then it did , Good enough for a driver .
Some pitting on the chrome , but the painted finish looks pretty good
Dash will be the next project while the cars being mini tubbed
Donnie

Cuda console.jpg
 
Oven cleaner removes paint from plastic without hurting the plastic.
Then, from what I am told, before you paint with chrome paint, paint it a high gloss black, its supposed to make the chrome paint look more like the real thing.
 
Krylon makes a black sem. paint called Fusion that is designed
to be painted on plastic parts without using primer. Worked great
on my dash pad and dash parts.

I used a chrome paint on the chromed parts and it looks pretty good.
 
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