Cuda Console Restoration

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CudaChick1968

CudaChick1968

Leanna ~ The Mistress of Metal
FABO Vendor
Joined
Jan 17, 2005
Messages
11,204
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Location
Greenfield, Tennessee
This is the center console I received late last year from another FABO member who teaches auto shop at a high school. It was in pretty rough shape as you can see, and severely pitted throughout.

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He didn't want me to invest a lot of time in it since it's a school auto shop project, and at the outset I wasn't sure if it would even work out at all since it's made out of pot metal.

Some more "before" pictures ...

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After getting it blasted, there was a lot of damage under what was left of the old chrome.

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Another thin coat of metal filler -- LOTS of it on this job lol -- in progress here ...

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And after a couple weeks of sanding, filling, coating and curing :-D here's how it looks now. It's not perfect by any means -- far from it in fact -- but it's a lot better than it was on arrival. It would probably be okay for a driver. The powder colors are Super Chrome and Ultra Silver Texture.

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I know I know, the ash tray slider's supposed to be chrome. But it was trashed and it kept blowing out. Ughhh, pot metal!!

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With more time and effort, future attempts may even result in show quality results.

I'm out of picture room on this post so I'll post some more in a couple minutes. Comments are welcomed and appreciated as always!! :thumbup:
 
Wow, that looks awesome!! I bet the older style with the line up the center would look cool too, nice job!!
 
Looks great!

You started with a lot worse than me.

I prefer that the ash tray lid not be chrome. In my opinion
it looks out of place. I think it should have been argent
from the factory.

I like the way that came out Leanna.
 
Yea, that looks goood!! Nice job Leanna, that thing looked like crapola before, looks 1000 times better now!! Geof
 
Leanna, that is why you are considered the greatest by all the folks here on FABO. The after picturess look outstanding compared to the before pictures. Ya got my vote.
 
have been waiting to see it after we were talking, you did an awesome job considering what you started with and it being pot metal, looks great, Joe
 
Leanna,workin lady.Done one of those, not for the faint of heart.Stunning!
 
Very impressive!! I think you are on to something there :thumbup:

Most of the console lids I've seen are pitted, but the one you started with was really bad.

I love the powder color you chose......congrats and very cool resto
 
You "made a silk purse out of a sow's ear" Leanna. Great job! Those pits are the pits for sure. If you have enough metal, you can keep sanding till they come out. But by that time you'd be sanding a hole on your benchtop. LOL
Keep up the good work, Mike
 
Nice job there !

I probably would have thrown those parts away and looked for better ones, but you did a nice job bringing them back to life.

I just bought a used console from a fabo member, hope it looks better than what you started with when it arrives.
 
That looks great. Way to bring a part back to life.

Now I have to wrap my head around the concept of a gal who gets giddy when someone sends her **it. Not to mention how well she polishes it.
 
Thanks ya'll!! I'm sure Mike the customer will be delighted with the feedback. :-D


74Dusted said:
Hey Leanna, My dad wanted me to ask you what "Metal Filler" was.
Click to expand...

I'd be remiss to just answer the question without an explanation 74Dusted, and I've referred to this quite a few times the last couple of years in reference to working on pot metal. The entire thread is on point somewhat, but particular attention is directed to my Post #6 in this thread:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=56198

I can't speak to how well it would work without being heated up and have heard from a few other sources that it wasn't 'worth a damn for fixing exhaust leaks' -- what it was manufactured for LOL!! -- but it's the only thing I'll use under my powder on metal that's less than perfect.
 
MileHighDart said:
Nice job there !

I probably would have thrown those parts away and looked for better ones, but you did a nice job bringing them back to life.

I just bought a used console from a fabo member, hope it looks better than what you started with when it arrives.
Click to expand...

Thanks MileHigh! That's pretty much what the customer said too. "Anything you can do with it is bound to be better than it is now ..." Good luck with your purchase! Hope it's everything you need and was represented accurately.


Revhendo said:
That looks great. Way to bring a part back to life.

Now I have to wrap my head around the concept of a gal who gets giddy when someone sends her **it. Not to mention how well she polishes it.
Click to expand...

Kev, you never fail to make me smile. Diamonds?? Gold?? New cabinets in the kitchen?? Nahhhhhhh, just give me car parts to play with and I'm a happy woman. :-D
 
Looks cool!!! :glasses7:

When you started out after sandblasting it was "pitiful".... :D
 
That looks pretty good. I've got decent top plates for my Barracuda, but I have this crazy idea that if I had a CNC mill I'd do a one-piece top with engraved shift indicator (maybe with lights) and a pair of cup holders back in the glovebox area.
 
It looks great.
I'm afaid the textured area will be hard to keep clean though. Can't really tell how course it is in the pics.
 
Wow;That looks really nice.You are correct-pot metal is a lot tougher to work with.Makes me think about going with a console in the 68 after all.
 
Metal filler(alumalead),killer stuff! Sometimes touchy to mix,but stuff is bulletproof.
 
I can't get over how you turned a turd into something nice!! Pitted potmetal is ugly on any car, this is a good alternative to saving some rough parts and some money! There are lots of pitted 64-66 Valiant/Cuda tail light bezels out there...I bet this would work great on them too!!! :D
 
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