Painted Dash Bezel

[Brainchild]

Ok I just refinished the dash bezel on my 71 GMC,and I think it came out great.I used Krylon paint,and masking tape,and my pocket knife,and it looks great.Not as good as a new repop,but one of the best changes I could do for around $10.

So here's how I did it.
I washed the whole bezel with soapy water in the kitchen sink (while the wife was gone ),and allowed it to dry.


I then layed tape over the whole bezel,and cut out the holes where the guages were,and around the inside edge so I could paint the outside edge,and used Krylon Original Chrome paint.


Allowed that to dry overnight,and then remasked it,but covered the holes,and the outside edge,and painted the black witrh Krylon Black paint.Removed the tape,and viola,it looks great.




Once again it doesn't look like a new one,but it is 10x betterthan the one in there right now.Whadda Ya Think?

[Drogster]

Looks great! Gotta love the $$$ saving ideas out there...good job.

[john_doe]

It's good to see something you can do with just a few bucks with the price of everything else costing so much. And it looks great.

[Brainchild]

I can't wait to see it in the truck

[silvertonguedevil]

Wow! I never thought about doing something like that. Looks perdy dern good ta me!

[barn9]

Just a thought I had while looking at this, I wonder if a coat of clear (at least over the chrome/silver area) would help not only the shine of it, but add a little scratch protection also. Like I said, just a thought.

[Yukon Jack]

Looks great. I too chose to paint mine, but I went all black. I like the way you kept the chrome.

[Palf70Step]

Looks good Brain.. Like Yukon, I redid mine, but it is all in black.

[J Y Dog]

Did mine last Sunday while watching the Day. 500. Did pretty much what you did Brain except I didn't cut the holes for the guages etc. just shot it from the back. The face on mine is green and in good shape so I left it at that.

This weekend its tape it again and clear it. I put a little paint on a rag and did a passable job on the letters.Just something to do between comercial breaks, flippin burgers and beers.

Jim

P. S Good looking job On yours!

[Brainchild]

Barn,I tried a clearcoat on a scrap piece I did,and it turned the chrome paint gray,and looked like just a silver paint
I thought about the scratch protection factor,but it just didn't work.I'm open to ideas though

[smbrouss70]

Just thought I would throw out a tip that I used on the letters. Spray some chrome or silver spray paint into a paper cup or bowl or anything that you don't mind having paint in, then soak the end of a Q-tip in the paint then wipe the excess paint off on the edge of the bowl. Then just roll the Q-tip over the letters, being careful not to get paint anywhere you don't want it. Mine worked out great, but I should've cleared it because now the paint is wearing off of the letters.

[72402]

Love that House of Krylon stuff. Looks good and didn't cost an arm and a leg. Good job, Brain.

[Brainchild]

Krylon Rocks,as far as I'm concerned.

Thanks for the tip,I'll give hte ol Q-tip a try,carefully of course

[72402]

You can also do that with a new pencil eraser. Pour a little paint on a flat surface, dab the eraser in it, and carefully apply it to the raised letters. Kinda like a rubber stamp.

[purple gas]

From what a body shop owner has told my there's only a couple people on the planet with the formula of how to clear coat over sprayed on chrome finishes, and they ain't talkin. Buddy says he's tried everything he can think of , and they all screw up the finish. Maybe some wax might help?

[Brainchild]

Maybe it would be better is it wasn't a rattlecan finish,or it might not make any difference.Maybe I should do so trial and error til I figger it out

[nitor]

I would wonder if automotive body paint, perhaps metalic silver would work, then clear over that. I'll try it.

[modifiedGMC]

Looks good. Any time you can save money is a good thing (no Martha Stewart pun intended). I heard alot of people saying that the chrome paint now looks almost like real chrome.

[nitor]

I tried painting a bezel once, it looked almost factory. But after the silver paint dried, it would rub off on my hands. I cleared over it, and it turned gray.

[Brainchild]

Well I guess gray would look better than what it does now.I can't tell where the chrome is supposed to be The paint rubbing off may be a factory problem as well.

[nitor]

Ya, I suppose any color, gray or not would be better than no color at all.

[dmec]

i have done panels like that, but used black wrinkle paint to get the factory look.

[sactoC10]

You certainly did a great job, showing what can be done with some patience when on a low budget...been there, stilll there!

[Brainchild]

lol I'll always be there.Too many projects and not enough money.Or is it which do I need worse,I'm not sure,I'm just a tightwad prolly

[patrick66]

My old '67 Suburban had the standard black bezel with the chrome rings. The interior was dark green, so I matched the color with the interior, rather than going the stock black. The contrast of the dark green dash bezel and dash pad over the light green dash metal came out beautifully. I used a satin silver on the instrument rings and the outer part of the dash bezel. Looked great!