51: Painting the Dashboard Among Other Things

So where have we been? What's been happening?

Well, while the 261 engine is out for the rebuild, TD has been very busy. 

He rebuilt the starter and painted it. 

Rebuilt the generator and painted it. 

Touched up paint around the upper cowl vent. 

Painted the engine compartment. 

Cleaned and painted the engine mounts. I just have to say...that was a horrendous mess. (Think 65 years of grime) 

Rewired absolutely everything. 

Replaced the hoses on the interior and engine compartment. 

Replaced gaskets for the upper cowl vent and reworked the handle so it opens and closes smoothly. Actually, he's done so much it would take up the entire page to list it all out. 

Currently, we decided that since the dash was staring at us and naked and empty, it was a good time to (Gasp) attack it with paint.  

Because we have no plans at present to completely paint the entire interior, TD began the huge job of covering everything - which was no small job. These precise moments are why I'm glad he is a Virgo and fastidious with the huge job of taping everything off.  

This was tedious.

Ghost Truck 

After sanding and priming the dash, he farmed out the paint job to a really great guy who came to the house and did the deed. This guy was a real pro. 

So crisp and pretty. Next comes the reassembly. 

For anyone wanting to attack small paint jobs on the dash like radio grills or glove box doors, go find "automotive masking tape" and use that. Regular masking tape should not be used because paint will actually deteriorate the edges leaving you jagged paint lines when you are done. 1/4" automotive tape can be found at your local parts store (or online if you want to wait for delivery) and is a godsend when taping off thin lines. 

See? Shiny and Sharp. 

Some people actually opt to paint the entire glove box door a solid color but we like the pizzazz of the natural polished stainless steel lines. 

The inside brackets for the windshield were also painted and when all is back together the entire dash area should look pretty dang sharp.