Hoy all, I've been deep in winter projects. I finally had time to pick up a project I started over a year ago. I bought a '69 4spd console in rough shape. The plastic was broken, and the chrome was pitted. But all I was interested in was the metal top, door and end cap.
Faced with the question of how to get the old vinyl off, I first asked the members here how they dealt with the topic. I got a variety of answers that all required a lot of elbow grease. I came up with using a heat gun, and it made the job of removing the vinyl easier off one piece. That's as far as I got 'till now.
I had a paint removal project about six months ago, and it required a chemical stripper. With time at a premium, I thought I'd give it a try on the remaining console pieces. I should have used this stuff in the beginning.



This paint remover made quick work of the vinyl decal.





It almost came off in one gooey slimy sheet, down to bare metal.



With some light sanding to get some rust off, they will be good to get the new burl wood vinyl. I'm hoping no problems occur with the fit of the new decal.



I also found another console in good shape that was missing the top pieces. Funny how things work out to get a second console.

Mine fit great...once I got the corner folds tight I used a SMALL hidden dab of clear nail polish at the fold/joint to seal them. Not to much or it might disolve the vinyl.

That's good to know. I did a test fit with the backing still on the vinyl. Seems to be cut right, but I'm sure once the backing is off things will be different.

Back to the grindstone. I prepped the surface of the most difficult piece, the end cover. Why not learn from the smallest and complex piece. Once the decal is removed from the backing, I thought it would be easy to work with... oh contrar.



It is easy to apply to the smooth surfaces, but once you get to the curves and compound angles, that's where the fun begins. I knew there was going to be trimming involved. How I wish this burl wood was a gel sheet to get better coverage of the contours of the end cap.



Doing the best I could with an Exacto knife, I trimmed the corners the best I could.





It wasn't until I got done with applying and trimming the decal that I had this thought. Use my heat gun to make the decal more playable. That helped immensely wiht getting the decal to lay flat on the curves, and also where the decal overlaps.



So, lesson learned with my first try. I will warm the decal once I get it placed. Then massage it and warm again to get it where it needs to be.

The heat gun is the way I applied mine. Results were pretty good but not quite like the original finish. Certainly good enough for a driver. I had to re-do mine because the guy I bought it from on E-Bay put a top from a different console on and forgot to mention that one was faded much more than the other. Pictures were taken with the light just right to hide the difference. Then he refused to take it back, said he would have but he already spent the money.

Once the decal is on, would you recommend spraying it with some sort of poly coating???? By the looks of my console now, it looks like the previous owner recovered it using the decal, but over time it was discolored and now has water spots on it. I'd like to prevent that from happening again once I get it recovered. I will be buying a heat gun before I start this project, so thanks for that tip.

very nice shots of the decal installation process. I had the same problems with that seam on the end cap. a heat gun would have helped all right. I was wondering about applying some kind of poly top coat as well. but was worried about it reacting with the vinyl. has anytbody tried that?

I wish I had thought of the heat gun to make the decal more pliable. Since I didn't, it cost me a couple of mistakes. But that's why they call it a learning curve.
The reason I have this project underway, is to have a driver console and save my original from the elements. It's still in very good condition, and I want to keep it that way.
The replacement decal is darker, has more texture and is thicker than original. But who's not to say the factory equipment didn't start off like that. Mister sunshine can fade things out, even when the best of care is taken. If anything, I say it come very close.
I may get another decal set just to re-do the end cap. Now I have a better understanding of what it takes to restore this part of the console.

Tom , Mines on the way to you house, Fed EX over night...LOL