Hi Bama,
I'm pretty sure the attached was my guide (shows 3-7/8"):
ac_vent.jpg
When I am out in the shop later, I will make sure, and post back. Regards, Doug
Hi Bama,
I'm pretty sure the attached was my guide (shows 3-7/8"):
ac_vent.jpg
When I am out in the shop later, I will make sure, and post back. Regards, Doug
Hi Bama,
Drat, well I didn't do too good in the shop. I couldn't get my eyes (or hands) on the back of the dash to measure. I did some eyeballing the front of the vent with a tape, and am thinking I used a 3-1/2" hole saw, but that's certainly not reliable for cutting your dash, and I can't remember for sure what size of hole saw I used.Not 3-7/8" though.To be sure of what size you need for your vents, can you measure the diameter ofthe part that penetrates the dash in the back of your vent, or could you hold various hole saw sizes up the the back of your AC vent, (or PVC tubing), and see what size you really need (you could take a vent to Lowes or HD)?Sorry, Doug
I did use the template I had in the previous email, since I see in my files that I had some extra reversed prints for doing the other side of the dash.
Last edited by Belair-o; 03-10-2020 at 12:26 PM.
Thanks for your input Belair-o...
I've spent the last few days locating, organizing all my small parts into 3 piles (semi gloss black parts like bumper brackets, etc, red body color parts for glove box door, ash tray, garnish mouldings, etc, and 'OTHER' not sure what color but parts like the panels that attach to the roof above the liftgate which carries the tack strips...
Sanding, cleaning, priming (trying my first SPI epoxy primer), etc. I hope to get enough 'red parts' ready so I can try my hand at 'base coat' clear coat' painting for the red parts maybe this weekend; I've near sprayed base clear so I have some learning/practice to do... Trifive Richard 'may' let me use his paint booth for those parts...
is it even *possible* to paint a '57 Instrument Cluster Housing with modern urethane paints, get a nice glossy finish... without RUNS?? I've been sanding out runs from the last paint job and have no idea what kind of job I'm going to perform this time..
Maybe just ignore them? since most of the runs will be on the lower portion if I paint it as it will sit in the car..
and I also need to repaint the cluster in my '60 Corvette which is very similar with all the tiny nooks and curves!~
No suggestions?
if I paint it dry, then rubbing it out is a problem in those nooks and crannies.. and if I paint if 'wet' the runs can be a big issue..
I'm hoping someone can help me out here...?
Hi Bama,
I am far from a painting pro. I am with you: painting such a complex surface, with nooks, and sharp corners, is tricky. For my 57, I had a pro paint some of the interior pieces, including the cluster. There were runs on the cluster, and problems with some of the garnish moldings. I did some sanding, and repainted. I painted to 'wet', making sure I kept the gun at the specified distance, and stopped spraying as quick as I reached smooth coverage. You already know all that. I wish I had a better answer, but it worked for me. Maybe someone else will have a better solution.
Regards, Doug
I appreciate the comments belair-o ...
I'm heading to my shop this morning (hopefully before it gets too hot) to reprime some parts including the cluster housing. I've never painted 'base / clear', but I'm going to try it tomorrow so I need to prime today and sand before that...
I've painted lacquer, enamel, hardened enamel, single stage urethane, and singe stage urethane with added clear in final steps, but NEVER have I sprayed base or just clear... so I'll probably screw it up again!~
i'm certainly no expert the base portion to me goes on a lot like lacquer the clear is usually where you normally get the runs Maybe a small detail gun might help in the tight areas if the windshield still out might be too hard I was going to repaint my dash when I did the rest of the car but my buddy suggested hitting the existing paint with the buffer & hand rubbing turned out not perfect but ok
Since I've never even laid 'eyes on' BASE applied by itself (before the clear), I don't even know what it's supposed to look like, although I do understand it will have no gloss at all and (hopefully) will be evenly applied w/o runs... which makes me think it likely goes on a bit DRY? How long to wait after the base is applied before the first clear coats??
In lieu of having any experience, I'll try my best to follow the specification/applications sheets..