# Instrument Cluster Housing Plastic Repairs and Painting?



## Sick467 (Oct 29, 2019)

I am looking at repairing a minor crack in my '67 cluster housing, following up with repainting it, then applying the real-wood veneer instead of the OEM vinyl wood grain. 

For those of you who have reworked your original housing, I have a few questions regarding the whole process...

*1.) What epoxy works with this type of plastic and can be sanded nicely?*

I plan to lightly dremel the exterior of the crack about half way through the plastic and reinforce the back side with extra epoxy. The crack is only about an inch long, but does go all the way through...



















*2.) * *Does the wood veneer overlay merely contact cement to the tan/brown surface that I have found under the original wood grain vinyl? * This tan/brown layer appears to be a plastic layer that has been applied to the housing. *If the wood veneer should not be applied to this tan layer of plastic...how would you remove it without causing a train wreck? *Ultimately, I am concerned with the thickness of the real wood veneer on top of the tan plastic layer not looking right, I don't know how thick the veneer will be.










3.) There are 3 colors to the housing, the interior color (for my car, it is 219-B blue), the chrome around the holes and chrome perimeter of the woodgrain, and the color inside the gage holes and just under the top of the housing above the holes...*What color is the darker blue inside the holes and above? *And,* What could be used to simulate the chrome?* I have used the Rustoleum "Metallic Finish" - part# 7718830 - with good results on steel parts so long as true chrome is not expected.










I have not wrapped my head around how to mask and paint the various colors just yet and will take any advice as how to best attack that sequence.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

I raced sport bikes for many years and I've always used fiberglass repair tape with either JB weld or 5 minute epoxy.

I have ultrasonic plastic welders, but I only use them if it's going to hold liquid or pressure.

I had to literally redo the entire dash and guage pod in my 70 Vette... they were notorious for being smashed to bits, because everyone insisted on trying to remove them without dropping the column...

Just sand/ grind/ scuff, clean quickly with acetone, cut and layer mesh, then continue building coats and reapplying more mesh and epoxy, as needed.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

You can get plastic rods on Amazon to weld with, but depending on how much you need to reinforce? Only you can decide.

To use plastic rods, first determine what the base plastic is, then heat a flat screw driver with a propane torch, and use it to melt the base and add filler rod. When done, you can sand it all. I would only use that method for parts that are not visible, because it's messy! For things you can see, finish with any bondo or light epoxy.

You can use on old soldering iron to weld, as well.



Amazon.com


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)




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## GTOJUNIOR (Aug 7, 2011)

This old article should be of interest.
As far as crack repairs, any epoxy safe on ABS plastic is recommended.









Restoring A 1966 Pontiac GTO's Dash - High Performance Pontiac


Read about this 1966 Pontiac GTO's dash bezel restoration - High Performance Pontiac




www.motortrend.com


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## Sick467 (Oct 29, 2019)

GTOJUNIOR said:


> This old article should be of interest.
> As far as crack repairs, any epoxy safe on ABS plastic is recommended...


Great link GTOJr! Thanks for finding that for me. I will have to consider the vacuum metalized chrome, that would reduce the risk of messing up a chrome paint job and give it the pop it deserves. I have done some research regarding the color used inside and above the gage holes and on the gage faces themselves. The color code appears to have never been recorded and/or shared by the General. I will take it to a paint shop and have them color match it. There is plenty of overspray on the back side that has not been faded and worn to get a good sampling from.

Army, thanks for the tips as always! I don't think this repair calls for any fiberglass repair tape due to it being so small and the back has a nice niche for added epoxy. I may try to lay in a small piece or two in the back...they would smaller than a dime at any rate.

Further research suggests that the tan-ish plastic piece that is under the woodgrain vinyl would have been the backing plate for the vinyl on the models to receive the woodgrain overlay. It appears to be removable, but I have not had the nerve to start that process just yet. Ames sells an aluminum backing plate, assumed to replace the plastic, which may be the best way to go. I bet it is much easier to apply the veneer to a backing plate prior to gluing it all to the housing (pre-fit prior, of course).


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

On ridgid parts, you don't need the backing tape, but personally, unless I was plastic welding, I wouldnt fix a crack without using tape. Of course, I live in a state where its 20 and snowing one day, and 90 and humid the next, so expansion, contraction, and cold old brittle parts, all have to be handled with special attention.


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## Sick467 (Oct 29, 2019)

Anybody have a recommendation for a vacuum metalizing company to re-chrome the plastic housing and a price point for such a service?


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## GTO Yeah (Dec 6, 2021)

Sick467 said:


> Anybody have a recommendation for a vacuum metalizing company to re-chrome the plastic housing and a price point for such a service?


I'm actually going through the same thing myself with my cluster housing. I highly recommend the Polyvance Plastifix Kit. It's super easy to work with and sands/shapes exceptionally well. I used it to rebuild a broken section of my plastic. You can see the little white spot in my "before" picture. I also used it on my grille inserts and you can hardly tell they were ever busted up.

I'd be interested to hear about chroming as well. After many hours of research, the best thing I've found to recreate chrome on plastic is the Molotow chrome pen. It beats everything else as far as finish goes (including their own spray can version). I did the bezel rings and it looks not half bad. They're a little beat up now because I handled the piece before the paint cured and I still haven't polished/finished them yet, but I'm hopeful I can get them looking close to original.

I second Army's recco to use the fiberglass tape on the backside of the plastic. You won't see it anyways and it provides extra strength and peace of mind.

As for masking, you probably won't have the same challenges as I did since you're replacing the veneer, but you'll get real handy with the razor blade. I used the little pink tool that came with my window tinting tool kit to push the tape into the little nooks and crannies and then trimmed with the razor. It's tedious, but it'll be worth it in the end. I just finished painting the black. I used SEM Color Coat Landau Black. I'm still trying to decide between doing the blue or the chrome next. I'm leaning toward doing the chrome since it'll be easier to mask off the chrome bits last than it will to mask off the blue in the circular housings.




























EDIT: I also use Eastwood Contour Auto Body Glazing Putty to smooth out any pinholes or tiny scratches in the plastic. It feathers really well when sanding and creates a nice smooth paintable surface.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Sick467 said:


> I am looking at repairing a minor crack in my '67 cluster housing, following up with repainting it, then applying the real-wood veneer instead of the OEM vinyl wood grain.
> 
> For those of you who have reworked your original housing, I have a few questions regarding the whole process...
> 
> ...


I'd be tempted to reinforce that area on the back side with a combination of tape and a good epoxy to try to stop it from flexing, then making the cosmetic repair on the front with body filler ("bondo").

I've not tried that myself, or needed to, so YMMV...

Bear


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