repainting dash bezel

[R3dplanet]

I have a '65 Barracuda. For perhaps the second or third time I've pulled the plastic gauge bezel and stripped the paint off it.

From what I've seen, it would look that originally the plastic body was painted with silver or gray paint, and then the perimeter and large diameters that surround the gauges and the blinker insert were chromed. Or plasti-chromed.

I found that you can find replacements for $220 from eBay and elsewhere like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mopar-65-Valiant-Barracuda-Dash-Instrument-Bezel-NEW-/370516434589?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ABarracuda&hash=item5644801e9d&vxp=mtr

But I'd rather not spend the money unless I have to.

So now that I have a completely stripped plastic bezel, does anyone have some expert tricks on making it look original? It would be nice if someone produced actual chrome rings for the gauges. Getting plastic chrome plated would be prohibitively expensive.

Thanks for any clever thoughts.

-marcus

 

[4spdragtop]

Check these couple of threads out. Mine is a 69 bezel
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=165333

And Cosgig/Geoff started a thread as well in a friendly competitive way
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=216799

lots of members chiming in with help/advice

 

[Wheels]

here is my 65 with a quick clean up. Spray bombs (cans) from wall mart
Argent and black . Not quite as nice as full resto , but way nicer then
the before shots. I am looking into a U.K. company that is puting out chrome paint that actually looks like chrome , going to try it on my 68
cuda bezel.

 

[chryslerfat]

I could not find their website but here is the info. I pulled off the web with a phone and address. They do quality work VAE restorations

http://www.manta.com/c/mrs6pyt/vae-dash-restorations

 

[4spdragtop]

vae is out of business...I tried googling with no luck....someone on here posted a link to them and their website states they are outta business. Gcar does it.

Wheels, that dash turned out pretty darned good!! What is the UK company with the "chrome" spray bomb???

 

[Rocky_JS]

depending on what you are looking for you might be able to find someone to do vacuum metalizing more easily than someone to finish restore your panel. trophy's ect. are metalized. But you will have to do the finish air brush/ painting of argent, black etc. Just need to find someone who will do small scale. I am sure they are out there and plenty.

It appears that dash restorers that do vacuum metalizing are a dying breed and are drying up. This is possibly due to the dash assy's that are now being reproduced. In many cases the prices are comparable for replacement than to repair and re-plate. A nice thing about getting one done is the colors you can chose aside from chrome, gold, blue, red etc...

 

[amx364]

Dash is 66 barracuda, black trim around was not done due to issues of apperance. Paint is very close match (for a 66)

 

[chryslerfat]

I found one from the web in Il.

http://rayvac.com/index.html

 

[airgrabber]

I believe the factory process is to vacuum plate the dash in aluminum first, and then a custom mask is used to cover the areas they want chromes and spray a lacquer based semi gloss black on the rest. I did a 70 Dart Rally dash a few years back. After removing the lenses, and stripping all the old aluminum by soaking in clothes detergent, I made any needed repairs and then I sprayed the entire surface with Rustoleum silver paint.
Very light coats are called for otherwise if it gets too heavy it tends to fish eye very noticeably. You want a silver that is somewhat powdery - some silvers tend to look like dull grey instead of metal. Silver lacquer may be best but you may need a primer coat to keep it from eating the plastic. Need to experiment...
Once it dried for a few days I taped it off and sprayed with rustoleum semi gloss black. It's best if your tape off is NOT sharp to the edges, because you'll never get an absolutely crisp line at the corners no matter what. Let the black slightly run into the silver, not the other way round. Silver running into the black areas is way more noticeable.