65 Corsa instrument aluminum overlay...what is exposed?

[Edz]

I'm about to re-spray mine and have been attempting to figure out how it came from the factory. Mainly the outer portion going all the way around close to the edge. I have seen pictures of it all painted, a thin exposed line, and the other lip exposed. I'm pretty confident on the gauge and knob rings being exposed, just not the outer section and how it came off the line...?

[4carbcorvair]

65 were all black, 66 had the edges bare.

[66vairguy]

Check a few Corvair books for pictures.

In 65 there was a bright trim line between the outer outer lip and the rest of the bezel/overlay. The ridge surrounds around the instruments was also bright trim.

In 66 there was NO bright trim line around the outside. Only the ridges around the instruments remained bright trim. Also sometime in 66 the glove box surround went from aluminum to steel (no bright trim line so aluminum was no longer required).

Most use VHT black wrinkle paint to replicate the original finish. It requires some practice to get right and most use a heat gun or oven to activate the wrinkle. The masking of the bright areas is a lot of work.

Some just decide it's easier to strip off all the paint or paint the ENTIRE bezel/overlay.

[davemotohead]

The 65 has the Aluminum strip around the out side of the dash bezel and glove box surround,on the tiny bump, it is very difficult to reproduce this strip but I have done it with a super sharp aluminum paint pencil and a very steady hand, Most I just forget the strip as its a pain to reproduce, the 66 and up did not have the thin line and do not have a bare edge, they are all black, if you put a bare edge around the bezel it will shine on the dash and windshield when you are driving and drive you nuts, Use Permatex spray on Paint stripper and cover both the bezels and let it sit for about 15 min, then blast it off with water and a air hose water sprayer, it will become sparkling clean, Next Tape off the gauge surround bumps with blue or green painters masking tape, put the tape on edge and slide it up to the bump and curve it around the perimeter, it is better to let a tiny bit up the bump stick out and get painted than to cover a tad of the bezel as it wont look right, I use a exacto knife to trim the tape to get a smooth edge, this is the time consuming part, mask it good, The picture I posted of the taped off bezel was before I paint striped it, I learned later that the Permatex paint stripper will not dull the aluminum and actually make's it brighter, so now I tape them off after I strip them, next spray with self etching primer and let dry, If you are brave you can remove the Corsa emblem from the glove box door, it has 2 slots under the O and A, you can take 2 small screw drivers and slowly work it out but go slow and easy working both tabs a tiny bit at a time as the emblem will break easy, Or you can tape around it if your not Brave,Next Use VHT black wrinkle paint as it is the Exact match for the GM wrinkle paint, Do it on a Hot day, spray 4 coats at different angles letting each coat dry for a few minuets, top to bottom, then bottom to top, left to right and then right to left, holding the can at the angle you are spraying from, I have found this method gives you a uniform wrinkle, then once the paint dries for a bit you can stick it in a warm oven or use a blow dryer to heat the paint and make it wrinkle, When done you will have a factory finish dash, The last pic is of a factory hinge with factory Wrinkle paint next to a part I just finished with the VHT, you can see its an exact match!, Good luck!

[Edz]

Thank you for the details, they are extremely helpful and appreciated.
I was leaning towards the thin line based on the pictures I found online and how it looked before I started to work with it. It was so badly damaged it was difficult to tell. Oh I was brave and was able to safely remove it from the plastic housing, the glue on there was nothing more than a stain now after 50yrs. I ended up. Using my glass scraper blade and my smallest pliers to pry up the tabs slowly.

Before stripping

I will need to go find the self etching primer, all I have right now is auto primer.
As for the extra hole... Whoever put in that hazard light knob thing did a hack job. All that was left of it was the knob, bezel and the backing. There was no wiring or electronics attached to it, it seems like it was just there for looks. The backing and knob were fused with a epoxy. I had to cut the backing off to get it out. I have plans for the hole since it is already there more about that when I get there.... Dreaded previous owner!

[devairguy]

For masking the thin line around the edge you can use pinstriping tape and mask it off, it comes in narrow widths like 1/16 and 1/8 inch, I had a partial roll so i dont know what size I used when I did mine years ago.

[MonzaDave]

In '65, Monza's had gray wrinkle dashes, Corsas had black wrinkle.

[Edz]

Btw did the ash tray / coin holder have the same finish? I just finished priming mine and now I need to figure out how to spray it. From the pictures I have seen it looks like it should match the rest of the metal around the dash area.

[Fast Eddie]

The dash frame is solid black, or satin black. Only the aluminum dash and glove box and surround are painted with wrinkle paint.

[azdave]

65 were all black, 66 had the edges bare.

Opposite actually.

Only the 1965 Corsa had the outer rectangular perimeter of the dash panel and the glove box panel in a bright trim bead. It was only a thin line, not the the whole outer edge.

In 1966 they painted over the outer rectangular trim bead entirely due to sunlight reflections in the windshield distracting the driver. I have both 65 and 66 Corsas with original dashes in place.

This is my untouched 65 Corsa dash. The red arrows show the trim line being discussed.


This one is not mine but it shows a 66 Corsa dash without the bright trim on the outer edge. The steering wheel is not stock of course.

[4carbcorvair]

My bad. I had it backwards.....

[ncwitte]

Just curious...has anyone tried soda blasting to strip the aluminum? If so, did it remove the anodizing? I picked up a soda blaster at Harbor Freight and was going to give it a shot (so to speak) but I'm concerned that I may have to mask the shiny areas before blasting. I do have an extra panel to experiment on, so maybe I will do that and report back in later.

Thanks.

[davemotohead]

DO NOT SODA BLAST THEM! Been there done that and it does not work, it dulls the aluminum and ,,,well basically does not work, I paint stripper trick works the best and is faster than trying to blast, trust me on this.

[Fast Eddie]

What Dave said.

[Edz]

Mine stripped very, easily with the aircraft remover. It was very quick and only took two 15min sessions for everything to be gone. I have the instrument surround primed already and now I'm just waiting until Saturday to spray on the VHT wrinkle, since that appears to be a bit more time consuming. (Plus the wife and rugrats will be gone all day) hmmm I wonder if I can sneak it into the oven.....

Probably best to stick with the hair drier.

[ncwitte]

Thanks for the replies and the voice of experience.