dash lights.. does yours??

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

fun with cameras... I dont want to bore y'all but this site seems to need a stimulus..lets see your dash board..can any one else take pictures?? c'mon gang!

[Tom_Overfield]

Well, here is a repair to a 41 dash that someone had butchered. The curve was made with one those shrinkers, did a fablous job of making the curve with the one side already bent over in a smooth radius. The dash and glove box have since been bead blasted and primed. Awaiting my attention for wood graining.

Tom

[DSpringer]

I can tell you who NOT to send your dash to for woodgraining. Shipped it off last September. When the guy responds it's "I'll have it done next week." Then I don't hear from him for a month. I'll be lucky just to get the parts back. I have to fly all the way across the country to recover them. He's in New Hampshire, I'm in NorCal. (I'd send pics but my Attach Files button disappears every now and then.) -Dave

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

The 41 wood grain seems to be elusive to many. Done correctly , makes the whole interior, I had a 41 Custom with deep mahogony and gold macoid like the connies, really something.

Thats nice looking metal work!! I get fired up when I see something that was butchered...put back / made right!! That is an art ..very cool Tom!!

[Tom_Overfield]

Sorry to hear of your problems with the vendor Dave, I got two prices on my dash and windshield frame and thought whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....I did my dash once but the color was not correct and I simulated the grain with a sponge.

Here are some photos of the process done correctly. My total investment for the woodgraining kit was around $350.00 and that was only because I bought a few extra items along with the big graining plate. here is the process described briefly.

Bead blast dash, glove box door and windshield frame.

Give each several coats of primer, I used a brand called U-Pol in spray cans.

Let dry for a week or so.

Sand the primer lightly with 400 wet, then dry and allow to sit overnight to be certian it is dry.

Attach dashboard to something to make it secure. I used a 2 by 12 by the length of the dash, then secured it to the bench vise. The is to prevent the dash from moving as you apply the woodgrain with the roller.

Spray a couple of coats of the base color which in my case was a mahogony color base. let dry overnight at least.

Apply ink to graining plate, (I used mahogony color ink for this as well) roll over this plate with the soft rubber roller included in kit, then transfer this to the dash by rolling it on. It took me a couple of times to get it right but the ink wipes right off if you goof up. There will be areas that will look different, not as dark, grain doesnt look deep enough, etc, dont worry about that, once cleared it will look wonderful. Let this dry over night.

Apply the clear coating, I used the U-Pol clear I bought from the place I bought the kit and it is not affected by the sun. Apply several coats of clear. My application looked great to start with but even after a week was not hard as I thought it should be so I put everything in the sun to cure. This did cure it, however the clear was not all that smooth anymore. Grab some 1000 grit and go over everything with this paper wet using plenty of water. Then buff, it will come out like glass. The next dash I do I will use a commercial clear with hardner and spray it on with a gravity gun, that will solve the issue of the U-Pol clear being soft.

Here are some photos of the process and the results

Tom

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

WOW THAT IS AWESOME!!!

[Guest B1rdman]

this any better ??"

gene

[Guest Jim Zephyr]

No, my dash light are out, darn it! Jeff can you fix? do you have the right

bulbs?

Tom that is a fantastic job on the woodgraining!

[Keith L.]

Sorry to hear about your woodgraining woes, Dave.

This isn't a photo of a dash, but it is connected.

As some of you might know, I've been molding and casting knobs for Zephyrs. Started with knobs for my '41 and now has grown to all years. Here is my latest effort. I am pleased with the outcome. Just need to paint with correct cream color. Standard Zephyr Horn button are tan with maroon color lettering.

Even with a NOS item, often there are still small scratches and flaws that need to be cleaned up. Therefore I mold a copy of the original, and then clean up the copy. That way I'm not disturbing or damaging the original item. Then I mold and cast the restored copy.

BTY, I will be casting '40 and "41 steering wheels and I need cores. The worse condition the better. If any of you are interested drop me a note in the private message box or send me an email. kc_lee@cox.net.

Thanks to John Murphy for the loan of his NOS '40 Continental horn button and all the other items from his vast collection he's loaned me over the past year. Also thanks to Larry Hann for the loan of his '38 items.

[DSpringer]

Tom- Thanks for the instructions. This gives me the confidence to give it a try. Nice to know it is possible to get such a professional looking job with the kit. Doing it myself will help out with the budget considering what it will cost to recover my stuff.

Keith- I'm still interested in having you do my '41 steering wheel. I have some LaSalle cores, if you want to practice on those. Let me know when you're ready.

[Phil Knapp]

YUP, they light!

You can even read the original mileage: 84125 1/2!