Opinion wanted

[Kelly 1,028]

I'm looking for all of the input I can get on the dash I'm trying to restore. I don't have any real good ones to go by, Is it kind of a brushed finish not chrome?

I striped the chrome off and the copper plating under that and took out the pits then sanded with finer and finer paper till I got this finish. Does it look about right?

Now if I can get decals or try to get someone to make a silk screen to paint it. I have a buddy that does T-shirts I need to talk with him about that. But I will need a good panel to copy the lettering off. Anyone have one they would sell that has fair to good lettering still? I've looked at the decals on ebay but I'd like to not cover the whole thing, just use the letters. I have about 6 more dashes to do, and some are different years so lettering is different. I'd like to make them as close to orig. as I can. Thanks Kelly in MI.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,120]

Well, I don't have an answer, but I do have an opinion. I love the way that dash looks as it is and I wouldn't want to cover that up either unless it is for a perfect restoration. Find an artist, maybe a place which does lettering, and have them freehand what you would like on there, they can do some amazing work.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

Kelly, your dash looks good, but the originals were brushed chrome (satin).

Here's how that's done: (excerpt from NMF's site)

"Satin (Brushed) Nickel/Chrome Plating:

Chrome is plated over satin nickel to achieve a hard finish that is semi-lustrous with some reflectivity. It is also referred to as brushed chrome; it does have lines or a grainy appearance that is applied by mechanically polishing the surface before or after the nickel plating. It is used in the plumbing, lighting, and furniture industries." http://www.natmetal.com/index.htm

I'm guessing that "chrome" powdercoat could be used if a non-pitted original dash plate was carefully prepped to preserve the roughness of the nickel. The silk screen printing will be a tough thing to duplicate, but if they could do it 43 years ago, I'm sure it would be easy to duplicate it now -- by the right person/company.

I have only ever seen two dash plates that were perfect originals - a photo of a NOS one on ebay and one on a 1969 Charger 12 that I looked at three years ago. (the tractor was kept in a heated basement all it's life and was only used for summer mowing)

[Greg B. 1]

Kelly,

You might try a hobby shop, or a blueprint supply house. Ask for Letraset dry transfer lettering. There are many fonts available. you would have to do one letter at a time, but they do come out nice.

I like the looks of that dash.

Greg B.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,342]

I'm in agreement with Karl. It looks good the way it is. :D

[combatmp29r 27]

Kelly i agrre it looks good. If your looking for an original look, than it needs a rougher look. I've thought maybe blasted with nut shells or something along those lines would do it? :D

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

You might also want to try satin clear enamel spray paint (it's gonna rust now anyhow) directly over the current bare metal -- just try to intentionally "dry-spray" it so it's a little rougher. :D

[Kelly 1,028]

Terry I'm going to put a clear on it, I'll try the satin finish. I didn't have any tonight at home, I can sand this with a little ruffer paper, if that's what you think it needs, Do you have a pic of one of the ones you told me about? I'd love to see what I'm trying to duplicate, Kinda hard to do when your quessing. Thanks for all the coments guys. Kelly

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

I'm not sure if sandpaper will give the right look, Kelly.

The original texture looks more like a rough wire wheel was run sideways across the dash -- hard enough for it to show up, but not hard enough to gouge the surface.

Here's the only picture I have of a "nice" one. It's out of the 1967 sales brochure and I apologize for the fold lines. You can see the reflection of the operators hand, etc. is blurry -- due to the rougher texture of the plating.

[chevelletown 37]

Nice job on the finish. I have a guy that does laser etching and the detail is awsome. All he needs is the art work to scan or you can email him digital images. I don't have his info with me but if you're intersted I'll post it later.

[Rollerman 290]

Kelly I always went the elcheapo route & painted them...you probably caught that on my 1045?

I never knew you could get that kind of a finish out of the stock dash from removeing the plateing though.

Looks like you had a nice dash to start with though...a lot of them are pitted.

I'll probably buy one of the ebay decals from PA for mine.

Keep us posted with your results though.

[kpinnc 10,715]

Wow Kelly, I wish I knew what to tell you to do to preserve that look.

Looks really nice- hopefully the clearcoat will last!

Kevin

[Stigian 1,234]

Im not sure how you would get the factory finish, but i think it looks good Kelly

A few coats of clear would stop it rusting and make any finger marks easier to wipe off :P

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,342]

TT,

I do like that look on that dash you shown from the brochure. Nowadays, all we have is plastic. Plastic on everything. Even my 314-8 has a few plastic parts, though they're at least in areas that won't get abused or worn too much. The biggest complaint I have with the newer "cheap" tractors like the AYPs, MTDs, the cheaper CC's and even the cheaper LA series from Deere is there is no steel support for the steering wheel columns. Take a look under the dash of one of these and the steering wheel and the shaft is supported by on the plastic dash. At least on my JD X320 there is a steel support up there. Okay enough of my rant. I'll get off my soap box, now. :P

[Banjo 0]

I'm not sure if sandpaper will give the right look, Kelly.

The original texture looks more like a rough wire wheel was run sideways across the dash -- hard enough for it to show up, but not hard enough to gouge the surface.

Here's the only picture I have of a "nice" one. It's out of the 1967 sales brochure and I apologize for the fold lines. You can see the reflection of the operators hand, etc. is blurry -- due to the rougher texture of the plating.

There appears to be some kind of a pattern on the entire brochure page. A newbie like me thought the dash panel had that "pattern" on it, then I noticed it was also on the hood and finally, all over the page! The panel does not have any pattern on it does it? Without the pattern , it looks like a brushed metal, if that is the right term.

[TT-(Moderator) 1,127]

You are correct.

In order for me to make the picture big enough to see the details on here, I had to cut that part out and enlarge it. I'd say that resulted in the strange looking pattern.

There wasn't much else I could do to help the scanned image clarity of this 41 year old brochure.

The original plating actually makes the dash panel look a lot like brushed stainless steel, just a bit more shiny.

(sort of like the new "no fingerprints" refrigerators or maybe even stainless sinks)

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

Here's another restoration option:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=190201355246

[combatmp29r 27]

Yep those look really close to original. He's making all 4 different styles of them too :thumbs:

[wh500special 2,053]

Kelly,

Your dash panel looks wonderful. With the rust and pitting on nearly all of mine I'd doubt they'd e-v-e-r look as nice!

If you can rake a few of these panels together and get them all prepped similarly, you might look for a plating shop who can "hard chrome" plate them. The plating can go on at various thicknesses and generally will telegraph any surface irregularities through, so the brushed finish should remain after plating.

Hard Chrome is different than decorative chrome (bumper chrome, trim chrome, etc). It is a harder plate that is meant to reduce surface wear on industrial applications like molding dies and other hard tooling. It is a different animal altogether than any restoration chrome and really is a special use product. It does not usually have the mirror-like sheen of decorative plate and would probably be a good candidate for applications like your dash panel.

The resulting surface would be much harder than the base metal. i.e. you'd have a heck of a time applying the brush marks after plating and surface scratches from keys and such would be eliminated.

There are far fewer vendors who hard chrome plate, but being in an industrial state like MI you are sure to have one that can accomodate you nearby. You might have to do some calling around or consult the Thomas Register, but you will find something.

The copper plating you removed from under the chrome on your dash is usually used to level the surface of the base metal before the decorative layer is applied. There may be other electrochemical reasons to have it there, but I'm 99% sure it is just like a "primer coat" for the final plating. In the case of the brushed finish of the original plate, the copper layer might have been where the brush marks were applied (I am speculating).

Electroplaters can probably drive off both the original chrome plate and the copper in their plating tanks (assuming they're willing). All it takes is a reversal of the applied potential (voltage). If the base dash plate is in otherwise good conditon, it might save some work going that route.

I haven't had anything screen printed for a few years, but at work we had silk screens made all the time for labeling our products (be them textile goods, electronic panels, and anything else). You might find it feasible to have a few screens made (for the different colors) and then form a hobby sideline of revamping dash plates. Again, you might consult the Thomas Register for such services. Tee shirt screen printers might be able to help, but you might need to look a little further for specialized shops that cater to the labeling business. Look for places that might supply to equipment builders and such.

All of this would be a bigger hassle than I personally would want to undertake, but if you have the desire and freetime it might be a valuable service. if you could find someone to punch out the actual metal pieces too you can go from cradle to grave on the whole item.

Not sure what kind of market there is for such repro parts, but I'm sure you could put them on Ebay in limited supply to recoup some of the investment. Start churning out wheel covers too and you'd be in business.

Hopefully at least something in my rambling is useful to you...if not sorry for the excessive blathering! if you need a less confusing explanation shoot me an email (or, just shoot me...)

best of luck and again, nice work!

Steve

[Kelly 1,028]

Steve, My dash was pitted not real bad but did have pits, and covered with sufface rust. I should have taken a before pic, but it was one of those in the shop and just started doing. I used a DA sander to strip it to the base metal then I used a body file to take the metal down till the pits were almost gone then back to the DA and more file work, then block sanding starting with 80 grit and going finer till I ended with 1200 grit then I used a 3" hand held air buffer to polish it. I was told I had it too shiny so I sanded it with 600 grit and put a coat of satin clear on it. I'll have to post a new pic tonight, I think it looks pretty close to the decals on ebay with out the lettering.

I have a buddy that does silk screening but I haven't talked to him yet, I think I'm going to buy a couple of the decals from ebay so he has a pattern to go by.

I checked on regular chroming and it's pricy about $40-50 per. dash that is preped looking like chrome, the prep. is alot of the cost. they said double if they preped it.

[wh500special 2,053]

Wow, that could get pricey quickly.

it has been a while since I had anything chomed, but I seem to recall having some 1" square bars about 12" long plated for about $8 apiece. Granted this was 7 years ago and they were freshly machined steel but I was impressed how cheap it was (although we did a couple hundred in a batch).

Can't recall the name of the shop, but it was in East St. Louis, IL. Might have been "Music", "Muzik", or some permutation of that.

anyway, nice job!

Steve