Dashboard restoration

[nthomas1]

Here's the finished article, after five coats of clear gloss varnish.
Thanks to all for the help and encouragement.
Cheers, Norm

[Parisien]

Excellent bit of work Norm, now you've just got to bring the rest of the car up to the same standard!!!!


P

[stanley sweet]

That's excellent, a very nice piece of work. I hope you don't suddenly remember you've bought a LHD.

[nthomas1]

******** Amendment added in March 2021.  After five years the veneer on my dash has lifted (bubbled) a few millimetres in a couple of places.  In retrospect I don’t think the adhesive that is on the back of the iron-on veneer is entirely suitable for long term application and associated temperature variations.  If I were doing the job again I’d use plain veneer (without the self-adhesive backing) and  apply an appropriate glue and then clamp the dashboard while the glue is drying.   Many apologies to anybody who has followed my advice (which was based on information I took in good faith from somebody else's blog), and has encountered similar issues. **********

[RDG496]

I recently made a new dash fascia out of ply also as my original plastic one had been butchered and cracked to fit the radio.
It may offend the purists but I decided to try something different and covered with perforated vinyl, may yet add some chrome trim to the speedo/tach.
Getting the hole spacings correct was little tricky but Im happy enough with the outcome......not perfect but pleasant enough I think.

[fay66]

I recently made a new dash fascia out of ply also as my original plastic one had been butchered and cracked to fit the radio.
It may offend the purists but I decided to try something different and covered with perforated vinyl, may yet add some chrome trim to the speedo/tach.
Getting the hole spacings correct was little tricky but Im happy enough with the outcome......not perfect but pleasant enough I think.

Looks very smart, and no reflections.
Brian
8227

[andyps]

I recently made a new dash fascia out of ply also as my original plastic one had been butchered and cracked to fit the radio.
It may offend the purists but I decided to try something different and covered with perforated vinyl, may yet add some chrome trim to the speedo/tach.
Getting the hole spacings correct was little tricky but Im happy enough with the outcome......not perfect but pleasant enough I think.

That looks really well done, how did you ensure the holes were round when cutting?

[RDG496]

For the speedo/rev counter I used a dremel with a router attachment pining it through the mounting hole to the plywood to use like a compass.....they were the tricker ones but worked out fine. For the smaller gauges I bought a set of hole saws,I think 45mm or so for these. I also used those to cut the ends of the opening for the heater controls. And for the rheostat holes and end of warning light slot a flat headed drill bit 12mm form memory.
There was some marginal size differences maybe 2-3mm vs the original but not enough for it to look odd.