Re: Dash refinishing experiences

Posted by HH56 On 2013/7/11 11:31:59

Continuing dash experiences, part 2

The test pieces came out nicely -- until the final step. Toner went on well and smoothed things out as advertised. Was actually quite pleased & then came time for the clear coat. Not good. The spray button in the can of clear that GIT sent was not great -- disaster comes to mind. The stuff came out in big blops and drops. Pretty much ruined the final look. Will pick up something locally and see how that does. Thank goodness I hadn't tried it on the finished product.

On to the finished product. The dash pieces are all basecoated with GIT product. Used about all they sent to get a consistent color but pieces turned out OK. Since GIT supplies the Dupont color code to have it made locally, went to a shop to see what they could do in mixing more for the garnish moldings. Chromabase is high VOC so the guy said it can't be sold in quarts and larger here but he could make up a few spray cans. Had him make 3 cans so hopefully that will be enough to do the window moldings when the time comes. Also learned that the color I'm using is about 90% solvent with a dash of yellow, brown and white so extremely thin to almost transparent. That we had already figured out -- hence the difference the primers made. What I didn't know is according to the Dupont formulation info, red is one of the worst colors to use as the primer under that color. Gray is what they recommend. Too late to change now and will have to continue red with the window moldings to have things consistent. I'll do the Rustoleum red which is slightly darker so a slight mismatch won't show as easily with the separation.

Made the first stab at actually printing the dash. As David or Joe have said, it's not as easy as their video's make it look. While some parts were OK, I was less than pleased with the overall result so wiped it all off. That wiping off feature I really like. Have decided to regroup a bit. Because of the way I am going to want to work and hold the tool, buying or upgrading to only the big roller was a mistake. It is OK for the wide top but just too big and bulky for other places. Will get a smaller one on the way.