I've finished the dash housing. I painted the black part around the instruments first, then the rest of the dash in dark saddle. This was originaly a Monte dash, so I stripped the woodgrain off the insert and painted it dull black. Now I'm wondering if it would be best to leave it as is or go ahead and paint the silver around the edges of the instrument cutouts. I'll post some pics as soon as I get them loaded in the hard drive. I want to know what you guys think.

Pics:
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdash1.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdash2.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdash3.jpg

Randy,

Personally I think the silver would be a nice finish. Years ago I purchased a Silver Paint Pen. It's like a felt tip marker except it has silver paint in it. I'm not sure where I got it. Maybe an art supply store? Or an automotive paint supply?

I used it for the silver on the steering wheel. Same basic idea.

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FastSS396Man
Brian

Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manflqtr3.jpg), Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manflqtr2.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manrrqtr3.jpg),
Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manint1.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manint2.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396mantrunk2.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manfrchassis.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manexh.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manengine1.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manrchas1.jpg)
69' SS396 Chevelle
L78 396/375hp
M-21 Close Ratio
Cortez Silver
10 year Resto
It's brand new again!
02' Harley FatBoy, Diamond Ice Pearl and lots of chrome!
ACES# 3466

You can find silver paint pens at a hobby shop or sometimes even Walmart/Target - Testors makes them, they'll be in the plastic-model-kit section.

Hope this helps.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by derekf:
You can find silver paint pens at a hobby shop or sometimes even Walmart/Target - Testors makes them, they'll be in the plastic-model-kit section.

Hope this helps.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks for the assist Derek, it's all comming back to me now that I'm drinking coffee instead of RollingRock... I believe I did purchase that paint pen at a hobby shop for model cars. It's a few years old and still works good.


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FastSS396Man
Brian

Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manflqtr3.jpg), Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manflqtr2.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manrrqtr3.jpg),
Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manint1.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manint2.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396mantrunk2.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manfrchassis.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manexh.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manengine1.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manrchas1.jpg)
69' SS396 Chevelle
L78 396/375hp
M-21 Close Ratio
Cortez Silver
10 year Resto
It's brand new again!
02' Harley FatBoy, Diamond Ice Pearl and lots of chrome!
ACES# 3466

WOW now thats an idea I hadn't thought of. I am also in the middle of restoring the dash for my 72 Chevelle SS 454 (clone project). I have cleaned it and sprayed it black and it looks good. So then I started taping off to shoot the rims around the gauges and I have 4 hours of masking in it and still more to go. I guess I am a little anal about the job being done but I do want it to look good. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif I may just have to cheat and go pick up a silver pen.

I have a question how well does the paint stick and how long has it, does it last?

Thanks

Deon


[This message has been edited by 72SS454Chevelle (edited 05-19-2002).]

Just bought a paint pen at Hobby Lobby in the model car section. Testors 2546. Works great on the lettering. have to have a steady hand.

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1969 El Camino SS 396

A dream coming true
She says it's a nightmare

Randy,
Befor I replaced the dash strip on my 66 SS, I redid the out line with the 2546 Testors paint pen, It's not chrome, but it looked real nice. the paint pen did a very good job.

Rocky Hill

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A Man And His Chevelle!
It's A Beautiful Thing.

My66SS (http://www.geocities.com/rocks66ss)

In the Army we often use those paint pens to mark equipment we take to the field. Lockers, tool boxes, tools, shovels, etc. Usually use either the yellow, blue, or white. It holds up really well.

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Paul Hesco
www.chevelles.net/nfc (http://www.chevelles.net/nfc)

I have an idea on what to do. I'll post pics when I'm done.

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the dash bezel originally vacuum chrome plated and then painted over?

ehjorten,yep they sure were.I think its called vacuum metalizing.

There have been mixed comments on those paint pens.

If you just paint it and you like it,thats fine.But once you compare a properly restored metalized dash you'll throw that pen away for good.

Yeah...I did some touch-up on my current bezel with a silver paint pen, but it doesn't look that good. Eventually I plan on replacing the dash bezel all together or having mine redone.

-Erik

Here's an afternoon's worth of work. That's a black painted Monte insert laying on the face of the instrument panel. I simply taped off the rest of the dash and painted around the openings with metallic silver.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdsh4.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdsh3.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdsh2.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdsh1.jpg

I liked the first pictures a lot..
But i like the new ones even better!! http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Way to go! Great job!

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Shai
1972 Chevelle Malibu custom 4dr (http://72-chevelle.cjb.net)

ChaosMalibu@chevelles.com
TC GOLD member #1278

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Randy Mosier:
[B]Here's an afternoon's worth of work. That's a black painted Monte insert laying on the face of the instrument panel.


WOW! That looks GREAT! I am about to start a similar dash project and was worried about how the monte dash would look. Looks GREAT!

Nice job!

Rob
70 El Camino - Sweep to gauges in the works!

or you could use bare metal foil. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/wink.gif http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdash2.jpg
OPPS sorry randy I overwrote your picture labeld tempdash2 sorry my bad------------------
Philip Mullaly
72 TPI El Camino
You can never fix a Ford,You can only work on them alot.
70 442 (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/442lftsd.jpg)
The Z-meano (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Caminoside.jpg)
Cowl induction injection (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tpienglft.jpg)

[This message has been edited by pmullaly (edited 05-21-2002).]

I am not sure if my dash is differet but on my 71SS just the top edges of the instrument circles are silver, the rest of it is black.

Bill

pmullaly,now that foil looks good.Didn't you or someone else have a post about that foil? Can you get that at a hobby shop? any tips on using it?

Randy, It looks great!
Pmullaly, I second Supersport 396 2000 I'd like to know also! Jim

Rich L79 splained how to use that foil and where to get it in a post about detailing model cars.

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von '69 300 Dlx SS TC #15 ACES #1575
My '69 SS (http://mywebpage.netscape.com/jerryacheson/vons69.html)

Bare Metal Foil will look great but you’ll want to shoot some clear over it. With out protection it can nick very easily. You can buy it at any good hobby shop. I would suggest that you buy the real thing, “Bare Metal Foil”. It takes a little practice but if you follow the instructions it’s pretty easy to use. Another product you may want to try is “Duro-Chrome”. This can also be purchased at hobby shops. It’s a paint product that is sprayed over black enamel.

Bubba



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ACES member #04788
Maryland Chevelle Club member #075
Maryland Automotive Modelers Association
Have you ever noticed that those instruments designed to detect intelligent life in the universe are all pointed AWAY from Earth???
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Bubbas396.jpg

The final paint work is done, if I don't scratch it again! I scratched the insert while i was installing it. I had to tape it in place and reshoot it. I used a satin black which had a little more gloss to it.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdsh10.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdsh12.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdsh13.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tempdsh14.jpg

Randy I hope you've installed the gauges and wiring before installing the dash in the car.
It's much easier that way.

Yes I did post about a year ago about doing the foil. if you do it just take your time,cut the foil into thin strips,and apply them one strip at a time.After applying around the bezel trim with a new exacto.
Very little pressure is needed to slice the foil.
Mine has been on for 2 years with no problems, and it has not been cleared over. I keep the dash dusted off with a california duster no cleaners and the car is driven daily

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Philip Mullaly
72 TPI El Camino
You can never fix a Ford,You can only work on them alot.
70 442 (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/442lftsd.jpg)
The Z-meano (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Caminoside.jpg)
Cowl induction injection (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/tpienglft.jpg)

It's not installed yet. I'm still putting things back together. I still need to clean the instrument cluster and I have to figure out the wiring on an AM/FM radio I bought off Ebay. So it will still be a while before I swap this into my car. The longer the better as far as I'm ocncerned. That way, all the paint will have had time to set up and completely harden, minimizing the chances of scratching it.