Refurbishing instrument panel

[bluef250]

I would like to restore the instrument cluster housing finishes. I am thinking about using spray paint - chrome, silver, etc. to refinish the surfaces. Has anyone attempted this? What results have you had? Because of logistics - delivering and retrieving the panel - a plating service is not practical.

[NM5K]

I did mine not long after I got the truck. I used the "aluminum" color paint for the silver parts, and flat black for the black parts. I had to tape it off with masking tape. It came out looking like brand new nearly. Waaaayyyy better than it was...It's about 4 years later, and it still looks good. BTW, my "lens" was pretty badly scratched also..I took a lot of that out by buffing it with toothpaste as a fine abrasive to take the bad scratches out.
It's a lot better, but still not perfect. The lens is kind of cloudy due to many very fine scratches, and I'm too lazy to mess with it any more. I may break down and buy a new lens someday..."About $30 at LMC".. The cloudyness shows up at night, when you have the instrument lights on. Makes the lens "light up in itself", which I don't like. Kind of makes it cloudy looking at night...Normally, should look very clear with backlighting...MK

[binder56jd]

There is a product used for helicopter bubbles that will polish out those scratches. sorry i can't remenber the name it's only been 28 yrs ago i used it. try a local airport(the small type) or talk to a crop sprayer- that's who i worked for right out of highschool- he had a habit of hitting power lines and i did a lot of scratch removal

[DirtyJim]

http://www.noscratch.com/novus/index.shtml
This is one of the best products you can get for polishing clear plastics. Ive used it myself as have many others in my car club. We use it primarily for restoring the plastic headlight assemblies in the newer cars that tend to turn yellow over time. For really deep or bad scratches, just wet sand the plastic with 1000-2000 grit paper then follow up with the 3 step Novus polish for like new results. A dremel or drill with a cloth buffing wheel helps tremendously(LOW speed!!). There are other liquid polishes for clear plastic, but none I've tried compare to the Novus product.
I have also done the plastic headlights without the Novus product just by wetsanding with a series of fine papers then polishing with a cloth buffing wheel on a dremel or drill and a decent polishing medium. One other product I use is called MAAS plastic and metal polish...this stuff works wonders on metal as well as plastic and painted surfaces. You can find it in the grocery section at Walmart. For the metal trim on my F100 I used #0000 steel wool and a dab of the MAAS polish for incredible results.

[flyboy2610]

talk to a crop sprayer- that's who i worked for right out of highschool- he had a habit of hitting power lines

Wasn't happy with his life, I take it?

[binder56jd]

he had a few issues- jim thanks for the novus link looks like some good stuff JD

[Ford_Doctor]

I second the recommendation for the Novus system. I use it almost daily after removing instrument clusters at work. Customers sometimes think that I installed a new cluster, they always look great. The spray used on the last step leaves a finish similar to waxing that protects the surface.

[mont974x4]

Try Plexus also for the scratches. I got mine from the motorcycle shop I work for. I use it for windshields, safety goggles, helmet visors, and CD's. Spray it on, let it set for a minute, then buff with a dry lint free cloth. It also leaves a wax-like protectant behind.