gen 1 dash... fixed it

[jdeft1]

I never liked the dash in my '94. Like all the others, mine was sticky, dirty and scratched easily with a misplaced fingernail!! The dash trim was getting pretty ugly but I wanted to keep the car as original as possible so I just tried not to look at it and never touched it on purpose! (some of you know exactly what I mean).... That textured grey paint is terrible!... Well, I finally decided to repaint it in black (as it should have been from the factory, IMO)

Here's the pics:

It's not hard to see that some work is needed.

The dash came out easily enough...

Some #1 steel wool, oven cleaner and elbow grease took the old paint off.

Half way point. The smaller pieces are almost done and the dash is ready for primer. The extra radio bezel on the left is the original. The black one was from X2 and needed plenty of repairs...It came to me cracked and missing clips.

Ready to install!

Looks to me like it wanted to be black all along!

I spent about a week of spare time doing this little project. The oven cleaner did a good job of weakening the old grey but left the plastic alone. I used a flat black spray paint designed for plastic and I'm happy to report it came out quite nice. The perfect interior more than outweighs the loss of the "factory" coloring! Why did I wait so long??

 

[LifeIsGood]

A vast improvement...great job .

 

[BlackSnake99]

Looks good. Look forward to seeing it in person this summer!

 

[Crompton]

looks great.what did you use for the paint?

 

[eucharistos]

fine results

like all painting, the hard work is in the prep

 

[jdeft1]

Looks good. Look forward to seeing it in person this summer!

Our paths will cross one of these days...

 

[Brake Dust]

Much Better . I Guess That Is The 2011 Viper ?

 

[97snk]

That looks better than my 97 dash. I need to take some time out to paint mine as well.

 

[BPAG]

All I can say is... Wow!!! It does look like it pass for original equipment. Good Job!

 

[whitebluevipe]

looks great, nice job.

 

[Vital Velocity]

100% better

 

[Fatboy 18]

Very nice job, Was the paint out of a rattle can, or did you mix it up and use an Air brush compressor application?

 

[Texas1]

Very nice job, Was the paint out of a rattle can, or did you mix it up and use an Air brush compressor application?

I agree please elaborate...looks great!!! I need to do this this summer with mine.

 

[jdeft1]

I used plain old spray paint (rattle can.. I like that! ) I knew I wanted to do it so I bought a replacement radio bezel from X2 to use as a test piece/spare... Besides, the radio bezel was the ugliest part of my dash and I wanted a spare.

I did a few searches here on the forum to discover the oven cleaner as paint loosener notion. It really worked well! Do not use gasket remover!!!

My story: On my first try with the extra bezel I decided oven cleaner was too slow so I tried the gasket remover... Bad idea! The gasket remover went to work on the plastic and went after it with a vengeance! If I didn't clean it off within a few minutes of application it would have ruined the piece!! Even so it required plenty of sanding by hand to remove the damaged surface!! 'nuf said!

I really don't know much about paint or body work so I normally would leave it to the professionals but this job seemed so easy! .. and it was..

Here you go:

Spray a heavy application of oven cleaner on it and wait. A few hours should do it. I used #1 steel wool to rub off the old grey paint, using circular motions. After the paint was all off I went over it again with finer and finer steel wool. A few tough spots got some light sand paper treatment... (nooks and crannies).. I also used a dremmel with a fine wheel to get into the grooves around the gages etc. When the thing looked done, smooth and free of paint traces... I rinsed it with water and wiped it down with a clean rag damp with rubbing alcohol.


On my first try I used good ol' Walmart rattle can flat black, made for plastic. I decided it was a bit too shiny so did a light rub with steel wool and changed to another flat black available at Home Depot (closer to home)... I'd have to go out to get the can to tell you what it is but you get the idea... fast and cheap did the job.

I'm really happy with the way it turned out and think it should have come from the factory this way! Really, that horrible grey needed to go!! If your dash is in need of a makeover.. Don't hesitate! It's easy to do with a bit of patience.

 

[ROCKET62]

Looks way better - it's amazing that Dodge put that fuzzy gray paint on in the first place. On my Gen 1, I also painted the bezel surrounds Red to match my exterior. Did you use a flat or satin clear over the black paint?

 

[big-n-italian]

that looks ALOT better!

 

[Ken Lally]

Wow, unreal - you make it look so easy.

 

[jdeft1]

Thanks guys for the kind words...


Rocket62, I used flat. I tested the look of satin and gloss and decided flat looked best I guess. I was expecting a satin finish would be best but the wife and I both agree that flat was the way to go. To each his own

It really is pretty easy to do this little project and so worth it!! ..IMO.

 

[ViperJohn]

Looks great Jim. I may have some door panels to send over.

 

[ricktessmer]

I used Dupli-Color Textured Metallic Silver paint Part # MX-101 and it matches almost exactly to the orginal look and texture. I had to order it on line but it looks great.

 

[jdeft1]

I used Dupli-Color Textured Metallic Silver paint Part # MX-101 and it matches almost exactly to the orginal look and texture. I had to order it on line but it looks great.

Good info ricktessmer.
I thought quite a bit about trying to match the original color but decided in the end that it really looks better in black. I tested a couple greys and looked at a few others in making that determination including a local owner with a "new" replacement dash (His was damaged by a thief who ruined the glovebox door). To each his own. I'm sure yours looks nice and more closely resembles the factory finish.

 

[EFI-1]

Amazing improvement! Nice work on freshening up that dash brutha.

 

[BlknBlu]

The sad part is, is that no one will ever notice thinking it is factory. A credit to you for taking the time to make it right.

Good Work

 

[GTSDave]

Great Job! Very Nice!

 

[Roy]

This looks very nice, I am wanting to do so too, but I want it to look grey again...

 

[GotAViper]

Looks awesome. I just paid someone $500 to redo my dash the same exact color (flat black). Looks 100X better. However, the dash was so flimsy and weak it cracked while they were redoing it and I have several cracks in the dash now.. Unlucky.

 

[jdeft1]

Looks awesome. I just paid someone $500 to redo my dash the same exact color (flat black). Looks 100X better. However, the dash was so flimsy and weak it cracked while they were redoing it and I have several cracks in the dash now.. Unlucky.

The dash is flimsy but I suspect they were rough with it! Sorry to hear it!! As a side note, I though I'd mention that I reinforced the radio bezel underneath where the ashtray springclips secure by using some plastic epoxy over the plastic welds.... These metal clips break of easily I think.

Thanks again for the kind words...

 

[SlateEd]

Really Nice! And thanks for the insight on prep and painting... If I get around to my door handle bezels I'll be using oven cleaner!