ac faceplate redo

[drmiller1]

I am thinking about fixing my ac control faceplate. It has the usual background wrinkles and generally looks pretty rough. It does work however so I really want to keep it if possible. I know LMC sells a replacement, not interested though. I have seen Camaro's and Vette's with faceplate redo's, so it can be done. I would like to know if any one on here has done this and what are the difficulties. I do not want to give myself more work and expense by breaking anything, although I seem to do that alot

[chengny]

The wrinkles are in the metal plate that sits behind the clear faceplate. It is easy to make like new.

Pull the tips of the control levers off (sometimes they are wicked hard to get off - use a pair of vicegrips with a rag wrapped around the tip to protect the finish). Wiggle and yank till they pop off.

To remove the clear faceplate, use a small tipped screwdriver and push up on the top clip. Get your fingernail or another small tool behind the top edge and pull it outward. The bottom clips don't move - they just locate the faceplate. The plate will flop out in your hand.

The metal backing plate just lays in there, held in place only by the clear plate.

It is aluminum. Use paint stripper or sand the paint off till you are back down to just the metal.

Refinish with a satin black trim paint. I use either SEM or Duplicolor, whatever is on hand - both come out like factory.

While the clear faceplate is out you should get some Meguiar's PlastX and try to clear up the finish. Only do the front - the lettering is on the back. The stuff does work but it takes some time. Put the plastic piece on a flat surface, sit down, watch TV for a couple of hours and buff the scratches out. A faster method is to clamp a buffing pad onto a orbital or oscillating sander and run it over the plastic for about 10 minutes (always keep the PlastX wet).

[drmiller1]

Thanks chengny,
The background plate on my 76 was a paper or cardboard with a vinyl top layer. If this is stock for this year or not, I don't know. What I did was trace another plate on a commercial quality sign board( this board is smooth but strong and just about the exact thickness of the original). Then I sprayed it with satin black, the result was a big improvement. I used needle nose pliers with a couple of 5/16 fuel hose pieces to remove the knobs, very easy, no damage. The lens had a few big scratches, but most came out.