I took the console out of my 69 to try and clean up the pits on the lower anodized metal section. I have yet to see one of these consoles that wasnt full of pits. If you have a 68 or 69, you know the problem. :af: I sanded the area down with 200 and 400 grit to remove the pitting. Due to the nature of chrome, I found it hard to get paint to properly adhere. There was chrome, copper, and nickel showing and the paint kept fisheyeing on me due to the different metals. Even with a good primer, I could not get the coating quality I wanted. I called my sign maker and asked if he could help. There is a 3M sign laminate that very closely matches the "argent" silver color on the consoles. This is the same material they make truck lettering from. I had used it on one one of my trucks, it happened to be in the driveway and I saw how close it was to match the color. It is a silver color with a very slight metallic look to it. Total charge for installation was $29.00. The material is rugged, and adheres much better than paints. I had originally planned on having the whole thing re-plated, this just saved me a couple hundred dollars, and is a simple way to restore these consoles, since there are NO aftermarket parts available
Yep, big reason I sold off my nice console body and near perfect shifter a couple years ago. This would have made a difference in my decision to not do the floor shifter/buckets swap.
Believe it or not, mine has no pits in it hardly at all. I'd still like to know a part description for this laminate though because I still may do it. Also, I love that tach. What year tach is that? Looks beautifil.
Mine has no pits either, in a convertible even :eek2: I do like what you did with the tach :TU: I always wanted to do that and hold it in place with velcro so it could be removed. Console looks great! :beers2:
:idea2: What a great fix. I stripped mine, filled all holes with J B Weld, used white spray primer, followed by aluminum spray paint, and a paint I purchased from Tower Paint Co that matches the dash 'silver' , ( I have the paint code if anyone is interested), followed by clear Lacquer. These are all Lacquers. Turned out great. Had to let dry for a week there were so many layers of paint. However, I like the way yours looks, and it will probably more durable.
BUICK196803 what is the Tower paint number and where did you purchase it? I am doing one and was using argent silver maybe this will match better, thanks Bill.
I could not find what I thought was a good match. I sent my radio bezel for them to match the paint. Tower Paint. Phone 800-779-6520. What they sent back was this info on the can. DDLHASSE G. 2 1966 GS 400 RADIO SILVER. (IT SHOULD HAVE SAID 1968, BUT THEY MATCHED IT TO A PART) Give them a call. They also matched the paint for the ignition bezel. What's on that can is DDL-HASSE G.1 BEZEL BROWN. I used Krylon White Primer, Chrome Aluminum, Tower Paint Radio Silver, and finished it with Krylon Clear, on the console. Good Luck. Gary
