My beautiful 68 dash!
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 12
From: Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois
My beautiful 68 dash!
Im getting close guys! Should have it all installed in the next week or so. All the panels and bezels are original of which I restored! It actually looks much better in real life. Camera glare, etc!
What do you think!
What do you think!
Last edited by AWilson; Apr 14, 2014 at 08:18 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,200
Likes: 1
From: Belle River Ontario
2015 C3 of Year Finalist
Careful putting the gauge cluster back together, that pesky oil pressure line breaks very easy if you have the original....
Trust me, I know.
Looks awesome, great job.
Trust me, I know.
Looks awesome, great job.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 12
From: Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois
Prepping the bezels involved prepping them by sanding smooth including sanding or razor blading any pitting down. Then painting them a couple times and then sanding till the pits are filled. You have to use the finish paint not primer for this other wise the next step will not work as you will scrape through to the exposed primer. Maybe black primer would work.
As for keeping the chrome clean, you don't. You just spray it all, wait an hour or so and then take a razor blade and carefully scrape the paint off the chrome you want exposed. It scrapes a very fine line and looks great. I read about it on the forum, didn't believe it would work, tried it, and its just fine. UNLESS the exposed chrome is pitted. Then you have trouble. Fortunately I had little to none of that.
That is how I did it. Maybe there are better or easier ways. But that is what I did.
thanks!
Racer
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 425
Likes: 3
From: Jefferson City Missouri
I LOVE the key in the dash!!! That's something that you and I have that many of the others don't. I love reaching up and turning the key. The column key is so common.
You dash looks great! That is really going to dress up the interior.
Is the only thing you did to the chrome is razer the pitting? I wondering what I should do with mine, strip it and get it re-chromed and then paint it?
You dash looks great! That is really going to dress up the interior.
Is the only thing you did to the chrome is razer the pitting? I wondering what I should do with mine, strip it and get it re-chromed and then paint it?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 1,912
Likes: 12
From: Schaumburg (Chicago) Illinois
I LOVE the key in the dash!!! That's something that you and I have that many of the others don't. I love reaching up and turning the key. The column key is so common.
You dash looks great! That is really going to dress up the interior.
Is the only thing you did to the chrome is razer the pitting? I wondering what I should do with mine, strip it and get it re-chromed and then paint it?
You dash looks great! That is really going to dress up the interior.
Is the only thing you did to the chrome is razer the pitting? I wondering what I should do with mine, strip it and get it re-chromed and then paint it?
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Instructor
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 222
Likes: 1
From: Tampa Fl
St. Jude Donor '14
It looks great! I would love to dye almost my entire interior to get it back to one steady tone of it's original 69 saddle.
I wished the 69 would have kept the key in the dash too....I think it's much more 'hot rod' there.
I wished the 69 would have kept the key in the dash too....I think it's much more 'hot rod' there.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,461
Likes: 361
From: Monson MA
Your work looks awesome. I pretty much did the same with my 68 dash but my center bezel was broken like most and had to be repaired. Is the shifter boot original or did you buy a new one, if so please tell me were you got if from. It appears to have the correct number of folds.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 692
Likes: 2
From: Seguin TX
It looks great and I wish I would have seen this earlier I just redid all of my dash panels, lights etc. I had no idea how to tackle the center console aluminum pieces but now I know and guess I will take mine back apart. Great job again though.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 37,637
Likes: 3,118
From: Crossville TN
Vinyl dye is NOT paint. It is a member of the 'paint' family; but it has significant differences from regular paint.
It is flexible; it is very thin in consistency; it is very dense in pigment; it leaves a very thin but well colored layer which bonds to the [plastic] parts; it will not peel or chip when dry; it does not fill-in part surface grain--even with multiple color changes and layers of dye.
I only state this to refute your comment about it being paint. If you "paint" your interior parts, you can NEVER AGAIN get the benefits of any dye you put on later.
BTW, if your 'dye' went on like spray paint---they sold you spray paint with the word 'dye' in the label.
P.S. Your work is terrific! I hope that you were sold dye, rather than paint.
It is flexible; it is very thin in consistency; it is very dense in pigment; it leaves a very thin but well colored layer which bonds to the [plastic] parts; it will not peel or chip when dry; it does not fill-in part surface grain--even with multiple color changes and layers of dye.
I only state this to refute your comment about it being paint. If you "paint" your interior parts, you can NEVER AGAIN get the benefits of any dye you put on later.
BTW, if your 'dye' went on like spray paint---they sold you spray paint with the word 'dye' in the label.
P.S. Your work is terrific! I hope that you were sold dye, rather than paint.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 3,039
Likes: 504
From: myrtle beach sc
Army
You are so fortunate to have a non broken center bezel. You did some beautiful work there! The 68 only shifter boot is available, ZIP sells them, that is where I bought mine from. Lou.
