1969 B-Body Dash Restoration

[rikubot]

After laying down that primer it became obvious how little it covers up flaws in the metal. I could easily see the texture from the sand blasting. This morning I sanded the top of it, cleaned it up and shot it with the rat rod satin. It covered up the texture pretty well but it spit once about half way through the process and I shot it outside and two or three pieces of lint made their way to it. It looks okay but it isn't perfect so I might sand and redo it.

If I redo it I'll follow exactly what you did Green. What did you end up going with? I really liked the finish you came up with. How many cans of each?

[rikubot]

The flash really accentuates the flaws but they are still noticeable in decent lighting.

[green69rt]

I went out to the garage and had to test to make sure I was giving you good info.  I had a piece of old fender that I sanded down to mostly bare metal.

Pic #1 - So, what I would say, if you are working bare metal use rustoleum self-etching primer,  over other coatings use your epoxy primer.   part # 249322 for the self etching.
Pic #2 & 3 - wait about 20 minutes and then spray a coat of the "FINE" texture,   Part number 7220.  Apply second coat after 20-40 minutes if you think it needs it, too much texture won't hurt.
Pic #4 - Wait about 20-40 minutes, spray coat of flat black, part #7578838.  Wait about 20 minutes and look at the final gloss.  If still too shiny, spray another light coat of the flat black.


Pic #5 - The final color will not be a dark, dark black.  The shine makes the color look lighter, maybe a little grey.  Crappy picture, sorry.

Spraying the flat black knocks down some of the texture.    After mine dried for a couple of days, I wiped a wet paper towel over it to see if the texture shredded the paper, if it does then just shoot another coat of flat black till you're happy.

Edit: forgot to add, make sure you clean the surface real good.  Pic #6 is what I use.  Get it at the local paint shop (not SW.)

Handle carefully for several weeks so the paint has a chance to harden.

Mitch

[rikubot]

Thank you for the detailed step-by-step. You do both the front and the top like this, correct? I'm thinking I might do the rat rod satin to the front side and re-do the top side the same way you have done. So if you spray the texture and then the flat on top of it, you say that it might STILL be too glossy? Does this mean the flat is less flat than normal when it's been applied to the texture? I don't want a sheen but I also don't want full matte. I appreciate the pictures but sometimes they just don't show enough  how it looks in person.

After putting about three coats of the rat rod down I was pretty happy with the cover and what it did to the sandblasted metal texture. It is still a little bit too shiny for my liking, though. I'm most likely gonna sand and attempt your method, at least for the top. I'm still undecided on what I want to do to the front side.

In the mean time I put everything back in it for safekeeping. I'm pretty happy with the fitment of everything except I have to manhandle the cluster downward as I tighten the screws because when mounted the bezel sits about 1mm higher than the radio bezel. Here's a good pic of it all together. Have a look at that horrendous A/C lower dash pad 

[green69rt]

It might take more than one application of the flat to tone down the gloss.  And let the flat dry in between coats as it changes as it drys.  I stopped at two coats.  This is why you really need to do a test piece.   If you don't have some scrap sheet laying around, go to Lowes or Home depot and buy a piece.

As for the front, since it is almost totally covered with bezels and pads, just get it close and don't fret about it.  The only part that really shows is the ends and the doors are in the way of seeing those.

[rikubot]

I think I've got a scrap piece of metal laying around here somewhere. I've been on the fence on whether I should leave it or re-spray it but I think it will bother me if I end up leaving it. Not just the blems but the finish is just a bit too reflective.

I'll go ahead and finish the front up when I get back into town. Do you know if you can spray non-epoxy on an epoxy primer?

[green69rt]

I'll go ahead and finish the front up when I get back into town. Do you know if you can spray non-epoxy on an epoxy primer?

I have, just let the epoxy cure and then top coat it.  2K epoxy is a good undercoat for a lot of stuff. 

[rikubot]

It's looking pretty good with the new pad. Big thanks to Mitch for helping me out with a really nice non-a/c pad. I'm gonna try to get the front of the frame sprayed sometime this weekend.

[rikubot]

Did the self-etching primer on the ash tray today. I had to help the ole lady out with a project so I didn't get much time in the garage.

[rikubot]

Got a nice Kicker 4x10 for the dash for $10 from a friend. I'm looking for the mesh that goes between the speaker and the frame if anyone has any ideas. I've seen one in a picture but I'm not certain they had it from the factory.

[rikubot]

Doing a little experimenting with different paints. Here's some SEM trim black. Still a bit too shiny. Might try a matte clear over it.

[green69rt]

Doing a little experimenting with different paints. Here's some SEM trim black. Still a bit too shiny. Might try a matte clear over it.

Let it sit for a couple of days, it may dull down as the paint cures.

[rikubot]

I was wondering if it might. I'll give her a little cure time and reassess.

Update: the paint matted up just a little bit. The front of my dash won't have quite the texture of yours or the factory style but I'm okay with that. Waiting on a can of paint.

[rikubot]

I've been trying to come up with a way to play music in the car without a head unit. I came across this this Bluetooth amplifier that links directly to your phone. I'm going to link this up to the dash speaker, two 6x9s I'm back, and hopefully a small sub. A review I watched said I can run a sub so I'll see what happens. I'm thinking about hollowing out the radio and mounting it there but it's so small I could put it just about anywhere, and it has an extension for the Bluetooth antenna.

[rikubot]

I ended up stripping and painting that middle pad. It came out looking brand new so I will probably do the others. Just have to finish scuffing the primer then shooting the front of the frame then I can put some stuff on it. It won't have the factory correct texture but I think it will look pretty good.

[green69rt]

I ended up stripping and painting that middle pad. It came out looking brand new so I will probably do the others. Just have to finish scuffing the primer then shooting the front of the frame then I can put some stuff on it. It won't have the factory correct texture but I think it will look pretty good.

[rikubot]

Here's my current set up for the sound system. Just doing a little bench testing with some makeshift equipment. That little 4x10 wakes up the house if nothing else is wired in. I was quite impressed!

[rikubot]

Got the frame painted. The sandblasting texture came through after the paint and looks pretty close to factory, believe it or not. I'm happy with how it came out. It dried to the touch quickly so I put some of the finishing parts on it just to see what it will look like  

[rikubot]

One more for the night.

[rikubot]

Here's a better picture of the dash as it sits right now. It is about 90% finished but still needs a new upper pad, some chrome detailing on the bezel, the top refinished, and some failsafes added to the wiring. I think it will look pretty good in the car. Thanks for all of the help, everyone!

[Dino]

Looking good!

[green69rt]

 

[rikubot]

Thank you guys  

Dino, I had made you a drawing for all the help you've given me and I have t gotten around to finishing it, but here is one version. I am not sure if I like the font but it is 100% hand drawn:
Also I ran it through a filter on my phone just to see what it would do and it came out like this.

[rikubot]

I've got the dash harness wired into the dash. It's a new harness from M&H and I was wondering what kind of failsafes could be built in to help make the system safer. I know that the amp meter is a huge issue. I'm curious to hear  what you have done or what I should do with my dash. The heater control wiring is in great shape and I'd like to keep it that way so any advice is appreciated. Most of the backlighting bulbs have been changed to LEDs which I know run cooler and pull less power.

[Dino]

Thank you guys  

Dino, I had made you a drawing for all the help you've given me and I have t gotten around to finishing it, but here is one version. I am not sure if I like the font but it is 100% hand drawn:
Also I ran it through a filter on my phone just to see what it would do and it came out like this.

Cheers buddy!