ok so I spent the day cleaning up some misc parts for the camaro today, one being my dash instrument cluster. It doesnt look that bad now that the inch of dirt is off of it but is there a way to freshen this thing up, maybe paint it? And what kind of paint should I use?

 

I had a very odd circular stain on my glovebox, so I sanded it with tough grit, then fine grit, after I cleaned it. I used rustoleom primer, then gloss black, then clearcoat because it was still more dull then the rest of the dash, and it still did not turn out well.

From past experience, I should have bought a new one from paddock.com or yearone.com. It really isnt worth it, painting it doesn't look that great unless you do the whole dash. Otherwise nothing will match. My opinion, either leave it, or buy a new one.

This is my Camaro with the glovebox painted. Its really hard to see but look at my glovebox, its really off black.

http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewga...&id=109236

 

Yeah, I agree. You will need to paint the entire dash. If you mess it up andthe paintpeels up in the future, then you need to repaint the dash and that is not so easy when your car is assembled. I'd go with what SSChevroletset said...

 

Girl, you have put a lot of money into a car that is going to be beautiful when done. Don't cheap out here! The dash is obviously a focal point and will need to be right. Sorry, but my advice is to either junk your piece and spend $300 on a new instrument carrier or build a custom dash to wow the crowd. Since your car will be a "special" one to you and tous, I would probably build a custom dash. The cost of new repro stuff that "looks stock" is high and it never looks quite right. Also, since your broken carrier is a plain-jane piece, I would pop for a proper tach, and a center consol and gauges (all very pricey) to make it "cool stock" if you decide to stay with that look. What ever you decide,Ihave a feelingyou will take it to the next level and I for one am looking forward to seeing what you and your builder come up with. Keep rock'in orocker this is no time for a waltz!

 

No...
But if i did I would suggest a plastikote that adheres to a plastic. I may or may not have cleaned with solvent and then sprayed the interior plastic peices on my buddies 81 corvette just to see if it would work. It did and it kept the original grain look, and it has been in the sunshine for a year with no cracking or peeling. But then again it wasn't my car, and it was an experiment

 

We use PPG Deltron DIU with excellent results. Just about any shop that mixes PPG could make some up for you. But judging by the looks of the radio holes Camaroldman has a point. Might not be worth all the work to prep and spray. It tskes a lot of time to either mask off the silver on the edges or to renew them after spraying.

 

Wow thanks for all the advice. I didnt really want to spend the 300$ on this piece since its about the only piece I got left of the original car. I was thinking of painting it with a plastic paint and doing the silver detail myself. But if that doesnt work then I will have to fork over the money or maybe get lucky and find one on ebay. And as far as the radio goes we are not going with a factory radio and more will need to be cut away.

 

Well, you can try and if itlooks like a$$then at least you tried!!!! I have seen them on eBay a lot but I am not sure if the condition is any better. I am sure that there are ones on there that are in good shape, but you'll have to pay for it!

 

I've had good luck with using Duplicolor Black Trim for small trim items. I haven't tried painting such a large item like that though and I'm not sure how it would match the rest of your dash. Your going to have a hard time mounting your lower cover there with the tabs busted off if you keep that bezel.

The people I've talked to have actually had good luck with the repo dash bezels offered from places like Ricks or NPD. My buddy Steve at http://www.camaro-restorations.commight have an orginal, but I think I bought his last one. If you decide to buy a different one, make sure you pull all the hardware off your old dash for your new one.

 

What tabs are you refering to? The only thing that I can tell is broke on it is the radio opening and one little corner piece on the right side. This dash was fully installed in the car when I took it apart and unscrewed it. It seemed to be mounted fine.

To me it doesnt look that bad but I'm sure you are right about how it would look painted with the rest of the new dash.