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Painting the dash tonight

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drooartz

drooartz

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Diving into the dash painting tonight. Finished up the wire-wheeling, and wiped it down with acetone. I've got the primer coat down now, black paint to follow in 20 minutes or so.

Since this will be covered with vinyl anyways, I'm not too worried about the quality of the work. Just need to get it covered for rust protection. Won't look all that great painted, but it will be protected and I'll be able to get the new vinyl on it this weekend.

Pictures to follow...
 
Peice of cake Drew.
 
Got the paint on, no problem. It's not going to win awards, but it will protect the metal, and no one will see it under the vinyl anyways.

dash1.jpg

Ready for paint

dash2.jpg

Primered

dash3.jpg

Watching paint dry (and checking the BCF)

dash4.jpg

Painted
 
What are you going to put between the vinyl and the dash so that the imperfections and the radio cutout do not show?


...I've never recovered a dash before.
 
Original dash had only vinyl over the radio cutout, nothing else. I'm hoping the new vinyl will cover as well. The vinyl is backed with some soft material, so it should cover over the small holes without trouble. Dash is in really good shape, only 2 small screw-sized holes that shouldn't be there. I may give a light sanding to the front to smooth down any paint irregularities, we'll see how it feels once the paint has dried completely.

I've never done this before either, so we'll see how it turns out. I've got 4 yards of vinyl, so there's plenty of material on hand if the first go-around doesn't turn out well. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
Do not sand, no reason too. Vinyl covers all use contact cement and streatch it on. Close pins around the edged if you have any flaps that want to come up.

That's as good as it gets Drew.
 
When I prepare my dash I'll need to fill a few extra holes first. Mine has had the radio "blank" removed and extra holes cut for a ammeter and a clock. And... a missile arming switch.
 
I may do the same. I was going to weld some metal flush and then grind it down... but your approach seems faster and just just as effective.

I'm also torn between adding gauges to the dash or making a pod to go below it. I want to add a voltage gauge and a boost gauge.
 
Trevor Jessie said:
And... a missile arming switch.
Click to expand...

Do you still have the switch? Mine is missing and I've been looking for an original for quite some time now. It has to match the ejector seat button though /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
While we are waiting on Drew to finish covering his dash... here is another question (not worthy of its own thread): Where should I mount my cruise control switches? I was thinking mini toggle switched on the shifter hat.
 
If they do not match I would suggest a hang down pod.
 
So... if they match you would put them in the dash?
 
If this will be on your Bugeye and you don't mind cutting into the dash, I'd vote for a matching switch on the dash. The Bugeye dash has a pretty large area, and another switch could be added without it looking to be out of place.

Vinyl work on the dash will happen on Saturday. Stay tuned...
 
Yep, and if they do match there is lots of room on the dash. In fact there was even an optional clock that was installed by the dealer.
 
And I'll offer up a suggestion for "covering" unwanted holes without the need to weld: Use the epoxy "panel bond" material to adhere the patch piece to the back. Then fill with "AllMetal" filler to level the front.

With all the available space on the Frogeye facia I'd vote for mounting all add-on gauges and switches in it. If they're matching the originals especially! Looks bespoke, IMO.
 
Trevor Jessie said:
Where should I mount my cruise control switches?
Click to expand...

Knew a fellow with a Sunbeam Tiger who mounted his in his ashtray. Not sure if bugeyes have ashtrays, but it was a really nice mod.
 
No ashtrays, we have the whole outdoors.
 
Just my tuppence, but I've always cut patches to fit the extra holes and welded them in flush. I filled a radio cutout by making a piece like the original blank cutout, and it looked like it had never been touched.
Jack, Bugeyes had ashtrays! They were held on to the tunnel with screws, just to the rear of the shift tower.
Jeff
 
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