Fixing dash console cracks?

[shifty]

My new dash console has a crack in it. It's not huge (about 3" long), but I want to make sure it doesn't spread and take a chunk out! Does anyone have any experience with fixing cracks like this? I'm open to suggestions, but I'd like to hear some advice from anyone who restores these dashes regularly (I know we have one member that restores them and sells 'em on eBay, just can't remember who).

Here's a picture. The crack is being pulled out ~2mm by hand to show where it is and how it's spreading.

[panhandler62]

That is plastic, pretty much the same stuff model cars are made out of. I would use model glue to bind the crack, back it with a single, very small, strip of fiberglass (just for strength) on the back and touch up the remaining blemish with spot putty.

A bit of wet-dry, an airbrush and some masking take and your'll be good to go.

[Tx Firefighter]

Board vendors sell those bezels brand new for about 30 bucks.

[Americanrider]

Go find a hobby store for some plastic spot putty and some super glue. Glue up the backside and putty/sand the front, repaint after a few weeks to make sure it's holding and not flaking off. Also make sure that there is nothing binding up when you mount it or that something is sticking out and putting pressure on that area. Look for rub spots on the backside.

[shifty]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Board vendors sell those bezels brand new for about 30 bucks.

That's what I paid for the entire console

BTW, welcome back, haven't seen you in a while.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Shifty: if you're keeping the original dash bezel, you can fix it with super glue. I would stay away from toluene glue [Testor's Airplane Cement] since too much of it would soften and warp the plastic. First you want to stop the cracks from extending by drilling a 1/16th hole at the very end of each crack line. These holes can be filled in with body putty. Then flow in the super glue -- it will suck up into the cracks thru capillary action -- and let it dry. Later --sand down the front side, prime and paint. Too much hassle? Buy a new one.

[shifty]

Thanks '68OS! That's a good idea about drilling the holes, I woulda never thought about it.

Aren't there metal trim rings for these things?

[barn9]

I guess I'm on the other side here, but I wouldn't waste my time, or a dime, on an old, dilapidated bezel like that when I could have a nice new bright and shiney one for not that much money. If you consider your time to be worth anything at all, why waste it on an obviously bad bezel? Seems like an exorcise in futility to me. But like I said, that's just my opinion, not trying to tell you what to do.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by shifty

Thanks '68OS! That's a good idea about drilling the holes, I woulda never thought about it.

Aren't there metal trim rings for these things?

Nope. No metal trim rings unless you want to fab one yourself. The trick about drilling the holes I got from Aircraft Sheet Metal class I took in high school. That's how they used to repair aluminum aircraft skin.
Fixing the original part can sometimes be preferable to slapping on a Chinese repop. At least the original was made in the USA. Even if it can't be seen you will know it's not a chink part.
You could try spraypainting the rim with chrome paint. Not sure how good that looks, but that's about what the factory did. It's only plastic. No way they could really chrome it. Or you could try painting the rim with a contrasting color or the same color as the dash/ interior. My '68 interior color was Fawn, a mix of silver/gold. I restored my dash bezel with flat black on the face and Fawn around the rim and inside the instrument circles. Same as original. '69 was when they changed the location of the wiper and light switches, deleted the choke and chromed the rim.
The time you spend working on your own truck is your own good time.