Thanks. I'll get some better pics with daylight tomorrow. As for the match, not really sure to be honest! Everything was so gooey and nasty nothing really looked nice enough for me to know what it should be like. I doubt it's exactly the same as original but not so much that it will look out of place.
That makes sense. In Dave's restoration thread he had stated that he had found a very close match, but I am sure that there will be close variations. I guess if it matched the factory material you would be back to square one. Looks nice.
the arrows were different OEM vs refinished on my 348. I'm not even sure the Concours judges are catching this.. at the end of the day... I'll take the non-sticky vents with incorrect arrows any day. Robbie does a fantastic job!
Thanks guys. I put it all back together tonight. (except rear window trim which I'm leaving off to polish the paint). Again, dark pictures but I will definitely get some outside photos tomorrow! I think the vents could be slightly less black but overall looks very nice. I spent several hours cleaning and conditioning all of the leather (lots of it in this little car!) before re-assembling everything. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your parts look excellent and thank you for sharing what materials you used. The OEM finish was the soft touch material and everybody's recipe for their sauce including the "secret" ones are using some kind of paint/spray which is not "soft feel" therefore not identical to OEM. I bet there isn't a surviving piece of OEM interior bits to even examine and determine what OEM looked like to make a statement that it matches. If they are ckeaned, non stickied, durable and uniform throughout the interior I think it is a perfect restoration whether you DIY or paid someone for their secret recipe.
Bob, I agree with you. And if there are slight variations in color or texture, who is going to know the difference if everything in the interior is refinished with the same material. Tim(Socal) posted a material(Alsa) which was expensive but replicates the OEM feel and stated it has held up well.
OEM and not sticky. Just about all sticky parts in my car were replaced with new OEM parts according the records several years before I bought it. I refinished some on a preemptive basis but gages, instrument pods and vents remain OEM and not sticky yet. Image Unavailable, Please Login
John, what paint did you use when you refinished the steering column trim? From the picture you took, it looked like it came out very nice.
No. Not tacky at all. Just dirty. That radio came with the car and was not working so the dealer gave me a new JVC for me as part of the deal. I have the Ferrari radio in a box. I used Krylon Industrial semi-flat black. I use it a lot in my speaker building work. Very durable, maintains its appearance, doesn't sheen up from body oils like some flat blacks to, and has lower gloss than satin flats and other manufacture's semi-flats. Generally not available at typical retail stores. I buy it form Toolup.com in 6 packs. Krylon 1613 Semi flat black spray paint 12oz You have to make sure it's the right stuff. The retail Krylon semi-flat black is enamel. That sucks. This is lacquer.
I haven't thoroughly investigated, but my air vents are still in good condition, surprisingly. I will try to get some photos up. I don't think theyve ever been de-stickied since nothing else on the car is. I try not to touch my air vents. I was also concerned about color match, since i wasnt planning on doing the vents, but everything else.
Thanks again guys. Well, I guess better photos will come another day. Overcast and snowing today but did the best I could! The Gliptone leather cleaner/conditioner worked great. Richened up the color but settled down overnight to a nice satin sheen. Very happy with that. Smells great too. I also installed the updated power steering reservoir. Next up is polishing the paint. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The interior looks great Jim. I have never heard of Gliptone products before. Have you used their products a lot? How do they compare to others?
Thanks Jimmy. I have never used their products before. A few have mentioned them on this forum. I wanted something that didn't end up glossy or greasy and this worked nicely.
I was looking around the net for stripping paint from plastics and I was surprised at how may products there are that work. Even some interesting youtube videos. I haven't tried any of these but here are some of the ones I found. If anyone has used any of them chime in with results. Lift AWay spray graffiti/paint remover (specifically designed to remover paint from various materials including plastic.) https://www.dumondchemicals.com/pro-liftaway-graffiti-remover.html Simple Green (been reported here before) Super Clean (supposed to be better than Simple Green) Lift Off (Mostenbaucher's) Motsenbocker's Lift Off Spray Paint Graffiti Remover, 22-Ounce - Sealer Remover - Amazon.com Thick Bleach Gel (removes chrome from plastic parts.) The Youtube demo was amazing. The chrome just disappears, in a couple of minutes. Most of this stuff come out of the plastic model building hobby.