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Make your old dash bezel look like brand new! And it's cheap and easy. Well, easy as in simple, not necessarily easy in terms of time.
Like most useful instructions, I recommend that you remove and completely disassemble the dash bezel. Make some mental notes of where everything goes. Inspect for cracks, especially around the screw holes and where the windshield washer switch mounts.
I've used some plastic epoxy to repair cracks, and I see that Eastwood has a plastic repair kit for $35.00. For the broken windshield wiper switch mounts, I used some plastic epoxy. I took a small bolt, like a speaker mounting bolt, cut the head off, and cut to a reasonable length. I then inserted the bolt into the position of the broken off boss, and mounted the switch in place, using a nut on the newly positioned stud. Then use the plastic epoxy and mold the epoxy around the base of the bolt. Voila, a firm stud that should last a long time.
Once all cracks are repaired to your satisfaction (and the glue/epoxy is thoroughly dried), then you can start the clean up process of the main dash bezel itself. Here's what I did, and I've been very pleased with the results. Start with a good old fashioned soap and water cleaning. Yup, simply get out the car wash bucket and some soap, and scrub away. Rinse completely, and let it dry.
Next, get some lacquer thinner from Autozone, Lowe's, etc for about $5.00/quart. Take a clean rag, dip it in some lacquer thinner, and clean the entire front of the dash bezel. That will get out any additional dirt, chemicals, etc. out. Be sure to be in a well ventilated area, as the fumes can be strong.
Once that dries, apply a good adhesion promoting primer such as Duplicolor Plastic Primer Adhesion Promoter for $3.97 from Advance Auto. Apply according to the directions (of course). I applied 2 coats. Once that dries, get some good 3M masking tape, and tape off a major section of a single color. (See picture). Use some newspaper for covering large sections. Apply your choice of colors. I've had good luck with the Krylon brand from your favorite parts store; about $5.00. Per the directions on the can, of course. I chose to apply 3 light coats to avoid thick spots and runs.
Once that dries completely, remove the tape and paper, repeat for any additional colors on your bezel.
Once that dries, again remove all the tape and paper. Now the tedious task begins; coloring the silver outlines around the gauges, lettering, etc. I chose a silver paint pen from Michael's for this. A steady hand really helps. Seems like it cost around $5.00. If you're not real steady, you might want to find someone who is willing to help out.
Now you can focus on cleaning up the rest of the items. Be very gentle with the gauge faces. They are fragile, and the paint/letters/numbers will wipe right off if you're not careful. I used a Johnson & Johnson's baby shampoo and an old T-shirt (soft material) to gently wash the gauge faces. I was fortunate enough that my gauges all work OK, so I didn't have to repair them. Naturally, now would be the time to send them off if they need it.
Next the lenses. As expected, mine were all scratched on the front from the years of abusive cleaning. I purchased the liquid scratch remover and followed the directions on the bottle. It worked pretty well, although not as well as I'd hoped.
I chose to put a small voltmeter in place of the original clock (didn't have a clock anyway). It's a subtle and clean way to add a gauge. Be sure to run some wires down from the gauge, so you're not trying to reach up to get to it after the bezel has been re-installed.
Reassemble and install it back into your dash. See pictures at: www.prostreetcar.com/dash bezel.html.
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