Painting Instrument Cluster

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idrift

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Anyone have a good way to repaint the black part of the instrument
cluster? I sanded down the chrome areas and painted those with
"chrome" paint and they look good, but the black areas sure look
like a pain to do. Any thoughts or success stories on this?
 
idrift said:
Anyone have a good way to repaint the black part of the instrument
cluster? I sanded down the chrome areas and painted those with
"chrome" paint and they look good, but the black areas sure look
like a pain to do. Any thoughts or success stories on this?
Click to expand...
I have used every thing from spray paint flat black into the cap that comes on the can and thin with laq. thinner on your paint brush (brushes of any size you like) Have 2 beers first if you have shakey hands! LOL
I ahve also invested 6 to 10 hours of fine masking with tape and razors.
My latest job on my wifes 67 Dart; the car came to us with a 318 not orig so I have went to the custom end, got on ebay and bought white face gadge faces (pvc stickers) you apply to face of gadges no needles are removed, and then I reasembled and went with blue LED light replacements. You ought to see that a night! I even bought blue LED at Advance Auto to put in my white face sun gadges under the dash, they come in a 4 pack, 3 used for gadges and the extra one I mounted on the stering colum behind the automatic gear shift indicator. Looks cool not showing "exact" position of gear but better than taking the steering wheel off to replace the stock bulb. I am just a back yard mechanic and I am totally on the cheep due to being layed off for a while. I sure there are others on this site who have better iseads than mine but I thought I would try to help. Later...
 
^^^^^^^I would like to see some night pics of the work you did on your wifes car....
 
Does the brush on look decent? Seems like a good option if it does, I can
have a six pack first cause I shake really bad
 
idrift said:
Does the brush on look decent? Seems like a good option if it does, I can
have a six pack first cause I shake really bad
Click to expand...
I will also include day shots and close up where I had to paint arond words like "wiper" All mine is flat black so you might be able to tell a little, but if somone is looking that close you'll have to pay top bucks for cluster rehab. I'll post picks after dark!
 
sprayed mine with black base and then clear lots of masking needed then i covered wood grain with wood vinyl. see photo gallery 71dartswinger
 
:sleepy2:
idrift said:
Does the brush on look decent? Seems like a good option if it does, I can
have a six pack first cause I shake really bad
Click to expand...
Ok, here's what I have so far, the day shots of brush strokes will have to wait till tomarrow...
They don't seem to be that bright at night in person, something with the camera......

67 #1.jpg


67#3.jpg


67#2.jpg
 
I got my rallye dash finished finally. Not a great picture, but here it is.
I sanded down the chrome areas and painted with "chrome paint" then
masked off those areas and painted the black. I should find some wood
grain and do that too! The chrome paint touches up easy so I'll probably
do some of the areas I dinged around wiper and headlight switches. I
shot the lower dash, dash pad and glove box while it was out. Now I
just wanna drive it! I have some tires to make bald so I can get new ones!

Maybe see you guys at Mopars in the park.

dash.jpg
 
idrift said:
I got my rallye dash finished finally. Not a great picture, but here it is.
I sanded down the chrome areas and painted with "chrome paint" then
masked off those areas and painted the black. I should find some wood
grain and do that too! The chrome paint touches up easy so I'll probably
do some of the areas I dinged around wiper and headlight switches. I
shot the lower dash, dash pad and glove box while it was out. Now I
just wanna drive it! I have some tires to make bald so I can get new ones!

Maybe see you guys at Mopars in the park.
Click to expand...
COOL!!!!!!!!
 
Yea it was a pain, plus I am famous for the snowball effect...while it's out
I should paint the dash pad, and while I'm at it, I should paint the lower
dash, and while I'm at it, I should rewire the gauges and on and on and on.

I just want to get some wheel time in now!
 
You really need to take the cluster out completely to do a good job. Brush strokes will show up... it needs to be sprayed but I have seen pretty good results with the brush.

Good job!
 
I agree, I actually tried a brush first then stripped it back off and spent the
hour masking it to spray it. Oh I am an expert at dash removal now. Have it
down to a personal best of 10 minutes.....
 
What's the best way to strip the paint? I have a dash that was spray painted, and I'd like to remove the crappy paint and re-do, but I don't want to damage the plastic. What's the easiest way?

Thanks
 
Oven Cleaner will take off paint and "chrome". The cheap Easy Off is the best kind. Castrol Super Clean will remove all kinds of stuff too. Also RC cars Nitro fuel will remove paint. All of these should be safe for the plastic but try it on a small out of sight spot on the back or something first. These products could cloud clear plastic normally so be careful with your lenses.
 
I guess that depends if you need to completely remove the old paint.
If it's decent, I'd use some 600 grit sand paper and smooth it out,
then repaint it. I sanded my chrome off completely then painted it.
The black areas on the bottom I just scuffed up then cleaned with a
good painter prep that removes any wax and the dreaded armor all.
Then it painted up excellent. The are not all that hard to do, just take
time and some patience and a six pack or so. I used electrical tape to
mask of the areas next to where I was painting as it gives a much cleaner
edge than masking tape, just make sure the paint you are taping over is
dried well.
 
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