Refurbishing my non-rallye instrument cluster

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72demon-777

72demon-777

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I am attempting a DIY instrument refurbish project. I purchased white vinyl gauge stickers from http://www.whitegauges.net as well as upgraded white LED instrument cluster lights and plastic lens polish to try and make everything clean and "new" again. The wood grain is in really good shape but all of the chrome trim around the outside edge has worn off back down to the plastic.

I'd like to refurbish the chrome trim but am unsure the best way to go about it. I believe my only two options are to use a chrome paint or a chrome detailing "tape". Does anyone have any experience doing this and what did you use? Any tips/tricks/advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't really have the money to send this out to have it professionally done.

Thanks in advance for all the help.
 

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You basically have two choices.

Use chrome paint....which will just come out looking silver/aluminum.

Or take send it off to get chrome vacuum plated.

The tape wont work. There's no way to get it around those corners smoothly.
 
shadow 21 said:
I just installed the white gauge kit from whitegauges. The chrome was a little rough on my gauge cluster, I painted it aluminum. I also got the needle paint and the polish, they both worked great!
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Shadow21 that turned out awesome, nice work!

Here is a link I participated in with a few other members having fun re-doing our cuda bezels. Mines still not done....LOL

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=216799
 
Buy a silver Sharpie from your local craft store. It will look fine if you're not doing a 100+ point resto....Covers the yellow nicely & you won't notice once it's in the car :)
 
Thanks for the advice, I've purchased replacement LED bulbs to brighten up my display because it was REAL bad beforehand and my gauge kit should arrive today (crossing fingers). Shadow 21 your finished product looks AWESOME, I pray that mine turns out looking as nice.

As for the chrome trim, this car is not a 100+ point car nor do I ever really want it to be. I'm building it to drive around town, I just want it to look as nice as possible given a limited budget. Wife and two kids limit the budget, ha.

I will post after pics once I get her back together. My next "concern" is just how I get all of the wires reconnected, they were a pain in the butt to get apart with such little room to work with... :-/
 
Sheesh, I replied this morning but apparently it didn't take. Anyways, I'm adding some update photos of my refurbish project. First was taken after I had masked and sprayed matte black around the trim, the underside and the speedo window. Second shows the new white gauges which were super easy to install and I think are going to look real nice. Finally, a shot after I sprayed the metallic aluminum on the trim pieces. I used rubbing alcohol right after I removed the paint the help remove any overspray and I'm going to go back tonight with a fine paintbrush to touch up a couple spots.

Overall I'm real happy with how everything came out. Thanks for the advice and giving me the courage to tackle this job as I couldn't afford to screw it up :finga:
 

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6pk2goDemon said:
Buy a silver Sharpie from your local craft store. It will look fine if you're not doing a 100+ point resto....Covers the yellow nicely & you won't notice once it's in the car :)
Click to expand...
I agree. We have tried everything with the bezel trim; free hand painting, masking then spray painting, and finally with a silver metallic Sharpie....and the Sharpie wins by far !
 
BLKNBLU340DSTR said:
I agree. We have tried everything with the bezel trim; free hand painting, masking then spray painting, and finally with a silver metallic Sharpie....and the Sharpie wins by far !
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266077025-9462ea7a54fb8c930356b66f694bf311.jpg


LOL you just replied to a thread that is 3 years old
 
BLKNBLU340DSTR said:
I agree. We have tried everything with the bezel trim; free hand painting, masking then spray painting, and finally with a silver metallic Sharpie....and the Sharpie wins by far !
Click to expand...

Do you have any pictures? Would like to see what the Sharpie paint job looks like.
 
Same thing that I had to do New white face and a steady hand. We are always looking for ideas are we not even if the treads are older. Take your time and a slow hand.
 
Did mine the hard way masking the crap out my bezel! Used mopar rally paint came out great. Did touch up with sharpie in the fine thin outline for around gauge openings. I admit masking was a total nightmare! This is where the exacto knife is your friend.:eek:
 
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