Dear V-8 Buick "DIY" types, My poor trusty wagon is definitely in a spot of hard luck. Personnel problems at Orinda Motors have left here neglected over there for over a month, while my attempts to restore the dashboard have hardly gone smoothly. After much pain and wrong turns over the "unobtainable" 1965 Buick dashboard "flat black," I managed to "brew up" a good match using Testors hobby paints: However, this particular bezel has chrome running around the edge in such a way that I was afraid to try to mask it with tape. Instead I used a water-based paint on masking agent. Of course when I wanted to remove the stuff - it refused to release. However no worries, something that is water-based should dissolve with warm water. So I put the bezel in warm water. To "help" the process I sprayed on some Simple Green. I thought this stuff was mainly a Surfactant (wetting agent) and was mostly harmless. Well, look what the "harmless" Simple Green did to my paint-job!! :rant: Now I had sprayed a coat of Testors specially formulated Dullcote lacquer clear coat to protect the surface. I would have expected that this would have been protection enough from a product like Simple Green. Wikipedia has a article on Simple Green (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Green) That indicates there are some nasty chemicals in Simple Green, but supposedly fish can survive exposure to the stuff - and not lacquer paint? I've also caught Simple Green removing paint that Buick originally applied. Here is the worst example: I haven't fully succeeded in "repairing" the damage to this part yet. So what do you guys use to clean your interior? I've tried a number of products and not been happy with them. The last one I can remember trying is 303 cleaner. Do you use Simple Green at their recommended dilution levels and get safe but satisfactory results? I confess, at the time I was cleaning the bezel over the sink and what was handy was undiluted Simple Green used for the dishes ou: Oh well, I've stripped the damaged paint off the bezel with tried and true brake fluid and I'm about to try again to paint it - this time attempting to mask those corners with very narrow width masking tape. Wish me luck!! Cheers, Edouard :beer
Simple Green works well with paint that has cured. Not so well with uncured paint. As far as the chrome edging, I normally just paint right over it. Once the paint is dry to the touch, but still "soft", you can take a sharp razor blade over the edging and remove the excess paint very easily.
That's good stuff! I used that on my consolette. Lays out nice too. If you want something with just a little more gloss, Rustoleum satin black is an almost exact match for GM low gloss black. I used Rustoleum on my interior A pillar covers
I remember cleaning dads 87 front end with Simple Green and it removed the black from the headlight bezels. Never used that stuff again!
Simple green will damage some plastic. We just had to change material on a bulkhead connector at work because the customers were using simple green to clean the unit and the connectors were mysteriously breaking over time. I did an experiment and found that after 6 hours of contact with simple green the connector would break at any stress point, in this case where the nut attached the connector to the bulkhead. Other cleaning products with citrus will do the same. The plastic it was attacking was polycarbonate and it only seemed to damage it at the stress points. Soaking the same connector in simple green without applying any stress to the part created no damage.
Thanks for the feedback. (Re: Simple Green attacking paint!?!?) Dear V-8 Buick gurus, It's been a hard week and I've barely been able to just cruise the new posts on V-8 Buick, I haven't had a chance to read your replies in depth. Thanks for your feedback though! :TU: I managed to mask off the bezel my old hobby way (with 1/16" width masking tape) and repainted it this afternoon. I'm going to wait a bit before applying Dullcote and hope that will solve my problems. However, there are some interesting ideas here and i hope to get back to them. Clearly, I need to treat Simple Green with more respect - I stand corrected!! Cheers, Edouard :beer
For fine masking on models I build, I use BMF ( Bare metalfoil) It’s a self adhesive Aluminium foil that is very, very thin. <o></o> For masking, I use the “Black Chrome” foil, it seem slightly thicker & thus stronger than their other foils. <o></o> Cut the foil into thin strips- wider than the area you wantto mask, apply the foil & burnish it down with a soft rag- or a cotton bud( Q-tips, I think to you Nth Americans) <o></o> Then run a fine hobby knife/scalpel along the edge to trim any surplus. <o></o> Paint away & peel the foil off when touch dry. You can also use the Chrome foil to recreate lettering, and short sections of chrome strips. Given how thin the stuff is, I'm not sure about long term durability. <o></o> If you google “applying Bare Metal Foil, you’ll find someone has described the process better than I can. <o></o> I’ve also used PVA- water soluble white glue as a masking agent. <o></o> Cheers, <o></o> Chris
