i have redone my whole interior with SEM color coat made sure i followed all directions and put 3-4 coats on everything. when it came time for the dash mine had cracks in it so i posted here asking who’s better and i went with Al knocks. i called Al knock and ordered it to be sprayed in the SEM paint code that i was using an got off the phone happy an excited. well after 6 weeks an a phone call i finally got it. one it showed up not sprayed to color and was very light in some areas to the point where you could see the black showing through and some scuffs. called them sent it back and sent them a picture of what i was using. well yesterday after two weeks later it showed back up with scuffs and still doesn’t match looks like they did one quick coat with little prep. i has dust specs in it and just at a loss for words. $758. was the cost shipped an now i have to re-spray it myself. i would be embarrassed to put my name on something of this quality. gonna call them on monday but what’s the point they already messed it up twice. very let down!

 

Sorry to hear, pics would help and may also get you a better outcome with the vendor if you agree to take them down.

 

these were from the first time it showed up






more pics to come

 

there second attempt





it’s close but not a 100%

 

It would be near impossible for them to perfectly match the color to the dye you are using.
Even in mass produced cans, the spray dyes can be slightly different from lot to lot.
I’m surprised they agreed to attempt to do it.
Second, depending on the color you are spraying over and the color they are spraying over could drastically change the end result color.
It also seems possible that the dye was stuffed some during shipping.
I would have ordered the dash as they produce it then dyed it to match it to my interior after I received it.
Just my opinion.

 

Sorry to read this. I've been happy with the quality of all the stuff I've bought from Knoch. Particularly the leather seats he redid for my 68 and 70. I bought head rests for the 68 that he made with the original OEM tooling.

Your panels look beautiful...from a little distance. The core problem is that the panels were originally black and they're being essentially painted over to the light cream color. The panels should have been fabricated with light cream color plastic substrate in the first place to avoid repainting. I think that would have cost a lot more. Have you ask if some custom panels can be made for you with native light cream plastic substates? There are high end interior shops that will cover the panels with leather....or a "leather like" modern substitute. I think this gets into the stratosphere of expense....something you'd see in a car at a SEMA show.
......................
While Al's merry men and woman were installing my 68 soft top, I had the pleasure of spending several hours with Al talking about this and that. A super interesting person with a very pleasant personality. This was at the Pomona swap meet. Al's a little bit of a pack rat. As vendors were leaving, I rode with Al in his pickup as we drove around looking at stuff vendor's had abandoned just in case something valuable was left behind. One of Al's workers said he had a derelict B25 in pieces....now that was a really valuable find!

 

Poor spelling of Al Knoch.

 

😂😂 woke up hung over and made the post.

could be a lot of different factors

1. the colors over different base colors definitely plays a role but they should know that an apply enough coats to bring out true color

2. if they agree to take the job they should make sure it’s 100% when i do a side job an realize i may have shorted myself or got in over my head. i still do the best job possible not just whip through it,just my standards

3. if i knew it would have resulted like this then yeah i would bought a black one for less money and did it myself. would of saved myself time an money and 8 weeks of turnaround time.

i work very hard for the money i make. paying that much for something and being unsatisfied with the piece is a let down.

 

I bought an upper dash pad of theirs for my ‘76 on a vendors website. It was a returned/discounted item because of “blemishes,” so I was able to get it for $280. It’s a bit apples to oranges because it’s the different style dash, but I was able to redye the black to light buckskin myself with good results.

 

Think of it this way.
I just had my car painted 1968 Corvette Safari Yellow.
It was an oem color for 68 and the painter used the oem paint code.
Let’s say I scratched the hood as I was installing it and sent the hood to another paint shop and they painted it 68 Safari Yellow and shipped it back to me.
Even if the second paint shop used the same oem paint code, the hood would not match the rest of the car.
Even if the original paint shop painted just the hood, it would never be a perfect match to the rest of the car.
If I shipped the hood I would expect buff marks, scratch’s and possible damage to the hood upon its return during its shipment.
I’m not being argumentative, I’m only stating facts.

 

Scuffs are either not letting paint dry long enough to pack, packaging in shipping, or both.
not sure your year but it almosts looks to me like Oyster.
there were 2 Oyster shades.

 

I think OldCarBum hit it on the head.

The scuffs were likely due to shipping. Packages get jostled around a lot. Just daub some color from your spray can on those rubbed-off areas ...with a foam brush. Then re-spray on another coat of your color on the entire dash to get better color match and coverage. If you want to de-nib the dust, take a little 1200 grit in those areas before you spray on your final coat. Problem solved. Spray a fine mist of enamel reducer on it before painting ...if you think you need to soften the previous coat up...for better adhesion. I'm sure A/K didn't make any money on the deal ...seeing's how you sent it back for a re-do.

Note: I don't want to be the one to tell you there's no Santa Clause ....and hopefully you know this ...but eventually the "Dye" on your dash (and door panels/seats/whatever), is going to rub off anyway in certain places given enough abrasion. Just like your dash pad was in certain spots. Be prepared and don't let it frustrate you. Just have some touch-up 'dye' on hand so you can touch up worn-through areas as needed.

The truth is you're not 'Dye-ing' anything. Dye out of a spray can is a misnomer. Its a bad word, but sounds good. Dye implies, I think to most people, that the substrate is somehow being permanently 'infused' with the color, like would be the case of a natural fabric. It's just PAINT. Whatever gets rubbed on enough on your interior will also rub the 'dye' off eventually, exposing the base-color below. If you took acetone on a rag ...you could rub it all off effortlessly. You must have seen a 'dyed' interior 10 years old where there are rub-through areas all over ...haven't you?

That said, it's a quick and easy (and cheap) way to change the interior color. As long as the dyed parts don't get disturbed much it'll look good. But be prepared to touch-up as needed and you'll be ahead of the game. Including the corners of the dashpad. But overall your interior looks great.

 

One thing that might take things to the next level on adhesion would be to spray hard plastic parts with an adhesion promoter before painting. What works really well (and cheap) is PVC solvent. A very light (wet) fine mist coat, like out of a touch-up gun. Let it flash off, then follow with a light coat of primer similar to the shade of the color you are painting. Then it will adhere better.

Though it may adhere better, any painted plastics/vinyl will still be prone to wear in high-wear/friction locations (eventually).

 

Mark G is totally correct!

 

i understand all of this. an SEM has a system which i’ve used all there products with great results. i’m not saying anything bad about there customer service or the quality of the piece itself. the coating job is where i’m let down. it shipped to me the first time with some scuffs so i was hoping they take more precautions in packaging. was in a bag with paper around it in the box. lesson learned.

 

Does A-K make their own dash pads? Or are they made by Corvette America (aka Top Flight) (??)

 

I'm not going to swear to it but I think Al is selling the Corvette American dashes. I know there are certain parts that they do buy from each other.

 

so……… i dealt with the middle man?……

 

LOL.... they all sell parts each company makes, including their own ...and import stuff. These companies grew organically out of 'need' during the late 70's and 80's as C1's & C2's suddenly became 'collectible' and worth a bunch. Guys were pulling Corvettes out of barns & restoring them like crazy and prices went up..there was a whole new industry ...restoring corvettes. I got in on that with a guy I used to work for who was a barn-find-hunter ..and restorer (in the early/mid 80's). Back then you could still get quite a few things for those cars from GM, but not interiors, carpets, and other items. The founders of a lot of these catalog companies saw a need and each seemed to specialize in certain things to fill in the gaps for the market:

Corvette America seemed to specialize in a lot of interior parts. Ralph Eckler ....used to specialize in fiberglass and exterior parts, fiberglass items, etc. Doc Rebuild has his things..rubber and hose items. Paragon used to make their items, brackets and hard-parts ...T-tops by Melrose. Mid-America was high on accessories, literature and such. Zip has the things they mfgr (or have mfgr'd for them) which they seem to specialize in. IDK what Corvette Central makes probably some things. A-K kind of has his own interor mostly seats ...IDK if he actually makes his own door panels (maybe??) ..I think he did on the early cars -- not sure on C3's. You'd buy items from Ecklers which literally came in Corvette America bags...with a C/A sticker on them. Same with other parts from other vendors. lol.

There's been a lot of consolidation, but the mfgrg has been largely brought in-house by various companies similar to what it's always been.

Been like that forever. I don't know for sure A-K doesn't make their dash pads. I think all the later (bigger) C3 dash pads are made by C/A (Top Flight).

 

I bought my rear battery and storage compartments as no one else had them , bought all new carpet from aac and door panels from another vendor.. the carpet on Al's part were off quite a bit, I sent it back and received the same color,. I have medium saddle, there's looks like dark saddle.