The dash clean up thanks to Ross's encouragement(Title correction I was on serious drugs earlier)

[mr. fix it]

So after seeing how @Ross Wooldridge had repainted his dash pieces in his 66 Monaco I decided to step up for the few dollars and hours of elbow grease needed to clean up the dash pieces and bring them back to OE as much as possible.

He had mentioned that Easy-Off oven cleaner was a good way to gently strip paint of of plastic pieces so I gave it a go after following around for about 4 hours on the glove box panel.

I have to say I'm very happy with the results of the stripping so far.

It takes about 2 hours to soften up the paint and then using water and a firm plastic bristle brush it comes pretty much right off.
I used a micro flat bladed screw driver to clean out the grooves.

These pieces have been painted 4 colours previously with no real attempt to remove the previous coats even nicely sprayed onto the plastic lenses as a nice touch to dull the clarity

The detail on these panels is incredible!

I'm also redoing the gauges as well and touched up the needles to cover any fading

I'm not quite ready for paint just yet but should be by the weekend
The final pic is the glove box ready for paint.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Make sure you neutralize the Easy-Off - not sure how you do it, but perhaps someone here knows, or you can look it up.

Looking forward to seeing the results of your labours!

 

[1978 NYB]

Nice work!

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Apparently vinegar works to neutralize the Easy-Off, and then you can just wash with soap and water afterwards.

Prep is the biggest part of a good paint job - be it on plastic or a car body.

 

[Zymurgy]

Looks great, nice job.

 

[mr. fix it]

Parts are stripped, sanded as required & 1st coat paint.
Here is the first coat of flat aluminum & silver frost

Sure is looking a lot better than the previous satin black only colour

now I have to be patient and let the paint cure before attempting to mask the parts off for the black insets and chrome striping

 

[mr. fix it]

Who has any recommendations for the lettering? it is supposed to be black when it is done.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Looks great Tom! Use the same satin black paint as you use for the blackout.

 

[mr. fix it]

Lenses are cleaned up and reassembled

My idea of adding chrome trim isn’t quite working out as well as I hoped so I’m likely leaving the frosted silver with satin black inserts as a final finish
The dividing lines are crisp and clean now
It’s a vast improvement over the original mishap of a refinishing previously applied

A lot of masking tape gave it’s life in the refinishing of these panels
There may be more to follow

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Well done on your first go 'round.

Tell me about the challenges with the chrome finish you ultimately left off... perhaps I can help. Leaburn has had success with Bare Metal Foil, but I've not tried it as there are too many corners and such where cut marks would show up.

 

[mr. fix it]

I tried using chrome trim instead of paint
It is very chrome but hard to trim so it doesn’t appear jagged even with brand new razor blades very difficult to create a clean trim line

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Yup - really hard to work with that stuff... I think bare metal foil is not quite so hard.

I was thinking that some sort of silver leaf like gold leaf where you burnish it on... but I never got around to looking into it any further.

 

[mr. fix it]

I have a few idea yet. just got to research them...

 

[mr. fix it]

Ok
So I investigated the bare metal product
I thought about the chrome paint route but dismissed it because I’m enthusiastic but sometimes lazy as well so I went with a colour matching/complimenting direction
I like the uniqueness of the way it turned out
Opinions will vary on the good or the bad of not sticking with Factory colours but my Polara is anything but Factory colours and matches the interior red colour already there
The flash make the parts look really glossy but in reality it's a satin finish...
Have a look and decide for yourself

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

It's certainly one of a kind!! Having fun is what it's all about!

 

[mr. fix it]

It's certainly one of a kind!! Having fun is what it's all about!

Thanks Ross.
I think it works for what it is.
If it was a full on 100 point restoration then I'd be sneaking into your paddock and scooping up that 4spd Monaco of yours LOL!

I'll post pics in the next few days once it is all assembled.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

I look forward to seeing it.

 

[Zymurgy]

Nice work Tom looks great

 

[mr. fix it]

I ordered a replacement glove box insert this morning. The one I had was for a 66 Monaco with factory A/C from REM that doesn't sell the inserts anymore.

Thanks for the link Ross.
www.vansauto.com

 

[cbarge]

Love the red pinstripe. Gives the car a more sportier look.