How to polish up old chrome center console

-
Chryslerkid

Chryslerkid

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2012
Messages
448
Reaction score
42
Location
Berkeley
Hi guys,

Never done this before and I don’t want to damage my original center console or dash chrome and plastic pieces. ‘68 barracuda with some old dingy looking chrome interior. What compounds and process would you guys recommend to polish it up and get it back to looking presentable? Thanks

7C5DC129-F174-40DF-89DD-31847F36C002.jpeg


144DD4D6-84C0-4829-B8C0-EB89C12AC1C0.jpeg


09408AE6-03DF-4347-9EA5-CA27D339951A.jpeg
 
... it doesn’t appear to be rusted. Maybe a little pitting. I’m not trying to re chrome just refresh as good as can be with what I got.
 
the instrument overlay cant be polished, best bet is to strip and paint or get vacuum plated as it was originally. you can make it look pretty good with "chrome" type paint. Other members here have done amazing work, should be able to search up their pictures.
 
Are you referring to the metal or plastic pieces? Or both? What would I strip paint off of plastic with that is not too abrasive? I’ve stripped paint off of wood with acids but I’m assuming that would be way too strong for this application.
 
Your plastic instrument cluster...leave it alone. No offense but a diy wont make that look better(its already good).
I redid my console, painted the console top in argent silver and redid the center black stripe. I didnt redo any chrome.
For the black plastic body of the console, use some black shoe polish(sparingly) and let it soak in/dry.
I got pics of my console somewhere....
 
I reworked my dash & it was a lot of detailed work. You have to be really meticulous to have it look nice. Mine turned out ok, but not great. The biggest problem I had was with the chrome paint. Seems like it takes months to dry. It still finger printed when I handled it after two weeks. I was using the stuff you buy at Lowe’s or Walmart. Does anybody have any advice on this?
 
Thanks for the like. Just the horizontal flat surface got painted. Black stripe was trim tape from a parts store. All the chrome is original. Taped it off obviously when I painted. Wetsanded the bastard forever and took a few tries to get it where it's at.
I redid my dash bezel myself, it was in waaayyyy worse shape than yours. It came out ok but you can tell it's a DIY and comparable to what you have now.
Chryslerkid said:
Looks nice. Specifically which sections did you use the silver on?
Click to expand...
 
Yeah seems like a very time consuming job with all the prep and sanding ect. I’ll give it a shot but I may just make it worse haha
 
Some of the meatl parts will be aluminum that has been anodized. Ca't do anything there, the rest just use an all purpose cleaner like Pledge . I It has cleaners in it and is not corrosive, abrasive. Microfiber cloth, very soft bristles tooth brush.
 
The center console pieces are pot metal so be careful if you sand on it. Yours looks wayyyy better already than any I have gotten in to work up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top