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tony barnhill
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
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Re: Recovering a Bugeye dashboard - tips?
Rick - what's the big deal about the old radio working?
Rick - what's the big deal about the old radio working?
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Recovering & repairing a Bugeye dashboard - tips?
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Re: Recovering a Bugeye dashboard - tips?
What Tony outlined should work but originally the vinyl was glued to the steel without any foam backing. Personal preference. The trim rail above the dash was covered also. When I got my BE it, of course, had a mess of spurious holes. I fixed the holes careful to not distort the panel from welding. Then I skim coated the panel and covered it with vinyl. The radio hole had been filled by a PO by tacking in a piece probably to prevent distortion. When fitting one of his tacks broke and it is visible. Other than that my dash looks OK and original. I also covered the trim rail above the dash that he had left bare but polished. I wanted to get rid of the glare off of it.
As to radio's, Rick, I've got a whole pile of them, all, unfortunatly, AM.
In these parts there are'nt many AM stations worth listening to any more.
I miss being able to drive for half a day listening to the same AM station and I refuse to pay for satellite. You have to pay for everything now days.
Guess my age is showing!! KA
What Tony outlined should work but originally the vinyl was glued to the steel without any foam backing. Personal preference. The trim rail above the dash was covered also. When I got my BE it, of course, had a mess of spurious holes. I fixed the holes careful to not distort the panel from welding. Then I skim coated the panel and covered it with vinyl. The radio hole had been filled by a PO by tacking in a piece probably to prevent distortion. When fitting one of his tacks broke and it is visible. Other than that my dash looks OK and original. I also covered the trim rail above the dash that he had left bare but polished. I wanted to get rid of the glare off of it.
As to radio's, Rick, I've got a whole pile of them, all, unfortunatly, AM.
In these parts there are'nt many AM stations worth listening to any more.
I miss being able to drive for half a day listening to the same AM station and I refuse to pay for satellite. You have to pay for everything now days.
Guess my age is showing!! KA
Re: Recovering a Bugeye dashboard - tips?
What Tony outlined should work but originally the vinyl was glued to the steel without any foam backing. Personal preference. The trim rail above the dash was covered also. When I got my BE it, of course, had a mess of spurious holes. I fixed the holes careful to not distort the panel from welding. Then I skim coated the panel and covered it with vinyl. The radio hole had been filled by a PO by tacking in a piece probably to prevent distortion. When fitting one of his tacks broke and it is visible. Other than that my dash looks OK and original. I also covered the trim rail above the dash that he had left bare but polished. I wanted to get rid of the glare off of it.
As to radio's, Rick, I've got a whole pile of them, all, unfortunatly, AM.
In these parts there are'nt many AM stations worth listening to any more.
I miss being able to drive for half a day listening to the same AM station and I refuse to pay for satellite. You have to pay for everything now days.
Guess my age is showing!! KA
What Tony outlined should work but originally the vinyl was glued to the steel without any foam backing. Personal preference. The trim rail above the dash was covered also. When I got my BE it, of course, had a mess of spurious holes. I fixed the holes careful to not distort the panel from welding. Then I skim coated the panel and covered it with vinyl. The radio hole had been filled by a PO by tacking in a piece probably to prevent distortion. When fitting one of his tacks broke and it is visible. Other than that my dash looks OK and original. I also covered the trim rail above the dash that he had left bare but polished. I wanted to get rid of the glare off of it.
As to radio's, Rick, I've got a whole pile of them, all, unfortunatly, AM.
In these parts there are'nt many AM stations worth listening to any more.
I miss being able to drive for half a day listening to the same AM station and I refuse to pay for satellite. You have to pay for everything now days.
Guess my age is showing!! KA
James_the_elder
Member
Offline
Re: Recovering & repairing a Bugeye dashboard - ti
Clean off all of the old crud on the panel face and on the sides also using a wire brush, solvents or whatever it takes. Make sure you don't leave any lumps behind on the surface because they will telegraph through the vinyl and you will not be happy with the appearance.
Don't use spray adhesives. In my opinion they are not up to the job, considering the range of temperatures the car has to endure. Use contact cement instead. It is the stuff they use to put Formica type laminates down on a kitchen counter top. Use a foam roller and put down two thin coats on the panel and on the back of the vinyl. Make sure the woven back of the vinyl is well saturated with adhesive. It should have an even shiny look when dry. Let both parts dry completely; overnight is not too long. If you don't let the solvents escape before you laminate the parts, the trapped solvent (especially the spray types) will keep on working and you will have a sticky mess to clean up at some point. I think the trapped solvent reacts with the woven back of the vinyl also.
When you are ready to laminate the vinyl to the panel use the slip sheet method, working from the center to both ends. Use two pieces of clean brown wrapping paper leaving a gap of about two inches at the center, and work slowly two inches at a time to each end. Try not to stretch the vinyl, at least not on the face of the panel. Borrow your wife's kitchen rolling pin but don't go crazy with the pressure. You just want to get the vinyl down nice and even with no air bubbles or wrinkles. Work on a warm day and the vinyl will have a little extra give.
You can do a little stretching when you begin to wrap the vinyl around the contoured sides of the instrument panel. You are trying to wrap a flat piece (the vinyl) around a complex curved shape (the instrument panel sides) smoothly, so you might have to make some V-shaped cuts to remove extra material. Go easy on the stretching. Remember you just want the vinyl to go down nice and flat with a minimum of lumps and bumps. If you put too much tension on the vinyl it will just want to keep on fighting the adhesive and over time the vinyl will win.
You might want to check the price the local custom auto or boat upholstery shop would charge. The bugeye panel is not too large and you might be pleasantly surprised. They use the right vinyl and the right adhesive and they have done a lot more complex stuff than just a bugeye instrument panel. A friend of mine went this route and it is on his car, looks perfect, and it is done, while I am still messing around with mine. If you are obsessive-compulsive, like I know I am, you may want to attempt this project, just know that you are in for a struggle. Good luck. There is a thin line between clever and stupid.
Clean off all of the old crud on the panel face and on the sides also using a wire brush, solvents or whatever it takes. Make sure you don't leave any lumps behind on the surface because they will telegraph through the vinyl and you will not be happy with the appearance.
Don't use spray adhesives. In my opinion they are not up to the job, considering the range of temperatures the car has to endure. Use contact cement instead. It is the stuff they use to put Formica type laminates down on a kitchen counter top. Use a foam roller and put down two thin coats on the panel and on the back of the vinyl. Make sure the woven back of the vinyl is well saturated with adhesive. It should have an even shiny look when dry. Let both parts dry completely; overnight is not too long. If you don't let the solvents escape before you laminate the parts, the trapped solvent (especially the spray types) will keep on working and you will have a sticky mess to clean up at some point. I think the trapped solvent reacts with the woven back of the vinyl also.
When you are ready to laminate the vinyl to the panel use the slip sheet method, working from the center to both ends. Use two pieces of clean brown wrapping paper leaving a gap of about two inches at the center, and work slowly two inches at a time to each end. Try not to stretch the vinyl, at least not on the face of the panel. Borrow your wife's kitchen rolling pin but don't go crazy with the pressure. You just want to get the vinyl down nice and even with no air bubbles or wrinkles. Work on a warm day and the vinyl will have a little extra give.
You can do a little stretching when you begin to wrap the vinyl around the contoured sides of the instrument panel. You are trying to wrap a flat piece (the vinyl) around a complex curved shape (the instrument panel sides) smoothly, so you might have to make some V-shaped cuts to remove extra material. Go easy on the stretching. Remember you just want the vinyl to go down nice and flat with a minimum of lumps and bumps. If you put too much tension on the vinyl it will just want to keep on fighting the adhesive and over time the vinyl will win.
You might want to check the price the local custom auto or boat upholstery shop would charge. The bugeye panel is not too large and you might be pleasantly surprised. They use the right vinyl and the right adhesive and they have done a lot more complex stuff than just a bugeye instrument panel. A friend of mine went this route and it is on his car, looks perfect, and it is done, while I am still messing around with mine. If you are obsessive-compulsive, like I know I am, you may want to attempt this project, just know that you are in for a struggle. Good luck. There is a thin line between clever and stupid.
