GenI dash repainting questions, and cig lighter removal

[obaa996]

Just curious if the folks who repainted their GenI dashes also repainted the instrument bezels... I'm planning on an all-black dash, and it'd be a bit less work to avoid stripping and repainting the bezels (doesn't look like sanding them would be very easy), but I wasn't sure if it is possible to mask them off well enough to avoid having an ugly masking line....

Also, dumb question of the day: How do you remove the cig lighter from the bezel? The wires are disconnected, but I don't see any good way to remove the actual lighter itself; it looks like the assembly is crimped into place...

 

[Yves]

Repaint everything !
Trust me on that one.
The black actually removes better than the gray stuff.

You cannot remove the cigarette lighter.

 

[ROCKET62]

Masking around bezels is a pain, but was necessary as I wanted them to match car color. As Yves said just repaint everything black.

Cig lighter heat shield on back of bezel simply unscrews.

Good luck.

[image]http://vca2.viperclub.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=2289&password=&sort=1&thecat=998[/image]

 

[joe117]

I replaced my old gray dash with a new black one and sold the old one on ebay. Probably cheaper than painting.

 

[Mopar Steve]

Stck your thumb into the lighter hole, and twist the back off with the other hand.

 

[obaa996]

Rocket62: Ooh, that is sharp! Do you have any issues with glare, having used a gloss paint? Besides the additional work to strip, (from past experience), I'm a bit concerned about getting runs trying to spray something deep like the bezels, but the end results look very tempting...

I never considered selling the original dash; mine was already slightly scratched up from the previous owner, and then my son really did a number on it when he managed to work the keys out of the ignition and try to find them a new home (btw, my folks are laughing at this, and saying its payback time for me...) Didn't think anyone would want it. Besides, now I can touch up the w/s cowl and have it match.

The lighter just unscrews?!? Boy, I'm glad I didn't give in to more basic instincts last night, and just pry the sucker off...

 

[ROCKET62]

OBAA, thanks for the compliment. The paint scheme was not my idea as I saw it on Rob M's '93 in St. Louis. Glare is not an issue - I think I get more glare from the defroster vent and the surrounding area. I did use flat black paint and topcoated with three coats of flat clearcoat (used plain old Krylon). Ordered the Viper Red paint from Paintscratch. Stripping the old fuzzy paint was a real pain in the ***. Take your time stipping and painting and it should turn out nice.

An easier compromise to painting the instrument bezels Red and the pain of masking around them might be to paint just the Radio/Heat/AC bezel to match your exterior. I saw this scheme on a yellow-brothers Viper here somewhere and it looked sharp.

Good Luck.

 

[AndyR]

Here is mine, no glare problems.

 

[dansauto]

I did mine all one color. Orginally I had the bezels masked but the lines were not perfectly round so I took it bak off and redid it all one color. Look up my photos in the photo gallery. I used PPG base Global base/clear the same paint I painted my car with so it matches perfectly. You should also do the trim pcs on the doors abound the inner handles as the line up to the dash.

 

[obaa996]

Schweet!
Somehow, I don't think I'm going to get that kind of finish out of a spraycan (despite all my years of tagging experience =;^)
I'm probably going to finish stripping all the pieces tonight; the black definitely comes off much easier. I notice that the plastic underneath is very smooth; is there any need to scuff it up prior to painting, say with #320 or so? Gonna post some pics when I done!

 

[Yves]

Here you go : 'Listrekote' spraycan...
8$ a can. You'll need primer, flat black and flat clear coat. I'm very happy with the result.

 

[Vip-RT10]

Mine is flat black dash with a carbonfiber dash kit on it. Paint everything including bezels, this way the color matches.