My '73 Comet GT Restoration Thread

Thanks!

 

Nicely done!

 

Thanks!

 

Superb! Looks amazing! Wait! Did you say blue with silver stripes?? Seems we are thinking alike. I am going with a blue and silver reflective stripes.. Really I am lol

 

Thanks! Yep, blue and silver, similar to the way I painted my car the first go around back in 1998. But, I am a good ways from paint...

 

Today I finished up putting the grille back to together, snapped on all the stainless steel trim and also installed the turn signal housings. I am so happy with the way it came out.



My next project is the dashboard. I am converting to a package tray dashboard and also changing my factory color scheme. I am going with Satin Black in the center and Medium Blue Metallic for the rest. I have gathered what I think is all the parts (package tray is off to the left). I will need to re-paint an NOS climate control panel, cluster, ash tray and of course the center of the dash. In the process I will repair an NOS center vent (missing 1 thumb adjuster). I also need to rebuild the two outer A/C vents, the felt is DOA. I am still debating on the painting the edge of the package tray blue or just leaving it black. We will see.


I started by dismantling a non-AC panel (far right) in order to paint it and replace the non-AC section with a nice AC version that I have.


I ground off the melted portions of the plastic studs and popped the sections out. I also masked off the shiny chrome strips on the NOS panel.



Not sure why the last picture is sideways, lol. It is upright on Photobucket.
Next is to strip the cluster. I want to prep and paint the plastic parts all at once.

 

Getting deep around here lol

 

Haha! Well, I've got the time, not sure how long it will last, so I'm busting it out.

 

What prep and paint are you using in the plastic? Mine is going to need rehab one of these days...

 

I use SEM Color Coat for hard plastic and follow their prep procedures. You can also use the same paint for metal. Here is a link to the tech sheet for the color coat paint: http://www.semproducts.com/public/content/techsheets/sem_tds_color_coat.pdf

 

Thanks Rusty!

 

Today I stripped the dashboard down.


After cleaning the dashboard, I sprayed on some self etching primer.


Then I sprayed two coats of primer surfacer.



Finally, time for some color. The black gets sprayed first, three coats.


I will let the black cure for a few days and mask it off this weekend. Then it will be time for the blue.

I also tore down the two a/c vents and cleaned up the old felt and adhesive. Gonna stop by the craft store and pick up some felt before the weekend.

 

Today I finished up restoring the A/C vents. I picked up some new felt and cut some 7/16" strips. I then glued them into the housings and retainers. I took a silver paint pen and dressed up the ball vents. Once they were dry, I assembled the vents. They work great, nice and tight in the sockets.




Next I worked on the dashboard. I masked off the black that I painted earlier in the week. Then I hit it with the medium blue metallic paint. Once the blue was dry, I removed the paper and sprayed the whole dash with two coats of satin clear. It came out awesome!




Next I moved on to the cluster. It is my original cluster, but it needs to change colors. I stripped it down and prepped it for paint. I shot the silver first.



I then masked off the silver ovals with 3mm tape. That was a little challenging, but I got it covered.


Now it was time to paint everything black. I hit the HVAC panel, ash tray and cluster all at the same time. Once the black was done, each got two coats of satin clear. They came out great!

 

Excellent work!!!!

 

Thanks, Dennis!