68 Dash Resto Using Bare Metal Foil

[dkn1997]

I have been wanting my dash to look better for the entire 10 years I have had the car.  I am just too cheap to send it off the one of the vendors to have it redone.  I know they do a perfect job, but my car is a driver.  However, I wanted the best looking job possible and I also wanted to do a little better than just using a mettalic sharpie or a silver paint stick.  In another thread, Bill440RT and JIMSHINE turned me onto this bare metal foil stuff. 

Here are some pics I took. I am not totally done yet, but It's getting there:

The supplies, Bare metal foil, cleaner to degrease the dash, krylon semiflat black (recommended by my local hobby shop, he said it would not fill the crevices in and he was right)  Not shown, but I used 2 exacto knives, mineral spirits to degrease the bezel before painting.

[dkn1997]

This will be a total freshening, including replacing the entire lense with a better one I have, and refacing the gauges.  starting with the bezel.  check out the backside, I am pretty lucky that most of the switches, etc.. are pretty good.

[dkn1997]

Here you can see that I have the entire thing lettered with a white paint stick and I still have to "chrome" around all of the square bezels on the left side of the cluster and all of the small gauges. 

[dkn1997]

By the way, I have previousely practiced on a spare bezel and I found out a couple of interesting things:

1.  Using a silver metallic sharpie marker is just as good as a silver paint stick.  much easier to use is you go that route and there's nothing wrong with that at all.  I will admit that the bare metal foil is not easy to use, but the results are pretty damn good.

2.  One of the reasons I never did get my practice piece to look good was the "relief" on the raised letters.  I always made a mess and never could successfully use the white without it looking like a two year old did it.  Today, working on my original, untouched bezel, the letters were much more defined.  I used the exacto knife to really define the letters.  The hardest ones are the 4 places that say "off"  they are small and the "F" will give you a problem if there is any paint build up on it. scape all areas out with knife before using the mineral spirits and painting.

3. this krylon semiflat black did a nice job of covering while not so thick as to fill in the ribs or around the letters.

bare metal foil:      $15
Krylon paint:         $  5
exacto knives:       $  6
cleaner:               $   7
mineral spirits:        $  3

[kamkuda]

What a difference    Looks great

[Silver R/T]

awesome, do mine next

[DC_1]

where do you get the foil?

[rt green]

when i did mine, i went to the motorcycle shop and bought a can of PJ1 satin black engine case paint. the finish is the best i've ever seen. also, being a high heat resistance paint, its a lot tougher finish than normal krylon. that PJ1 company also makes a vynal dye paint in black for cycle seats, and has the same nice finish. not the glossey shine that makes the seats look cheap and painted.         bruce

[dkn1997]

where do you get the foil?

http://www.bare-metal.com/bare-metal/bare-metal_foil.html

I am not done yet, but one sheet should do it.  the turn signal bezels will be the hardest, so small.  I may have to use the silver sharpie on them.  I tried once already, and it did not work well. 

silver: thanks for the compliment.  but make no mistake, it's not as good as what you would get from performance car graphics or cv vacuum platers, but it's a little better than just using paint.  If looking close at it, you can tell it's not chrome.  So I guess have the worlds first 1/1 dash. at 1 mph or1 foot away, it looks mint!!

On the paint, I don't know how durable it needs to be.  For my car, which sits in a nice shady garage when not being driven, I don't see it taking that much of a beating.  The bare metal foil might give up the ghost before the paint does.

[dkn1997]

 

[dkn1997]

Finished the main bezel, I could not get the foil to work on the turnsignal bezels or the smaller gauge bezels.  I used a silver sharpie on those.  I don't think it really takes that much away.  I find my attention drawn to the larger gauge pods and the border anyway.

[bill440rt]

dkn1997,
Glad to hear the bare metal foil worked out for you, dash looks great! 

If it makes you feel any better, my dash has been done with this stuff since the late-80's, about 20 yrs. STILL looks good after all these years, it may only have slightly yellowed some. My '68 sees show duty & cruise-night outings, so I am very pleased the way it held up so good. The dash bezels were probably painted with Krylon as well. It's been so long I don't remember. But, that too still looks like the day I painted it.

Keep going. The radio & glove box bezels are a breeze compared to that gauge bezel!!! 

[Ghoste]

Looks good.  I wonder how many people just wallking by and glancing inside would ever notice it isn't a regular replate?

[BigBlockSam]

wow, that looks great. i've been thinking of doing my own dash. you just made up my mind for me . thanks Rene

[dkn1997]

Looks good.  I wonder how many people just wallking by and glancing inside would ever notice it isn't a regular replate?

I bet some will.  from a distance all you would see is the shine. this stuff picks up the light very well.  I am not a very coordinated person.  I have always been good at fixing everything under the sun, but I cannot draw a straight line or anywhere near a perfect circle.  I cannot do any kind of art work very well at all.  with that said, I bet that someone with good hand/eye coordination could get this stuff to look perfect and probably do around the small bezels and turn signal lenses. 

I will tell anyone this.  if you want a more than presentable job, you can use a silver metallic sharpie.  You almost cannot F that up.  the only hard part then would be using the white paint stick around the letters, but If I can do it, anyone can.  No it does not look like chrome, but looks better than "what's left of the chrome" like most of start out with. 

[JimShine]

That looks great! I wanted to do it myself, but never found the time.

[2fast4u]

looks like it was done professionally to me! 

2fast

[dkn1997]

got my decals from performancecar graphics tonight and went right to work.  took me about an hour sitting at kitchen table with frequent interruptions to give the kiddies juice, cheerios, putting various cartoon dvd's in, etc..

I did not know you have to take them out of the cluster to do them.  directions say to sand/paint old faces if they are rusted.  well, since I have never seen an original in my life that's not rusted, they would have to come out.  very easy work with the right size deep socket.

here is the beginning:

[dkn1997]

mr anal marking my gauges with a label maker so i don't get them mixed up after i sand and paint all of the faces black

[dkn1997]

one down.....

[dkn1997]

mock up...no lense in, and I did not even have to do the clock, it was mint, as most are.

[dkn1997]

here is before and after to show you what well under 100 bucks and some hard work can get you...

[FastbackJon]

Very nice. I have had many '66/'67 dashes in and out but have never taken the '68's dash out.

[BigBlockSam]

that looks great 
that will brighten up your dash . Rene

[Silver R/T]

nice work