Does anyone know what type of plastic is used for the 69 dash bezels. I may have a way to repair the dreaded radio hole hack job done on most dashes. 3 out of my 4 bezels have been tortured in this manner. I'm limited to using either a polyester or polyurethane compound based on the technique I want to use. I'm hoping for something a little more than "ABS" in hopes of figuring out which material would get better anchorage or if I would need to use a priming compound.
Limelight there is a place in chicago that suposedly repairs 69 bird dash bezels they gave me a quote for mine a few months ago but i came across a mint orignal for $300.i cant remember the places name right now but here is there email address CHIMUSCLE@aol.com if i remember it was chicago muscle cars or something like that.they sell alot of original and resto parts on the internet.give them a try.they will want to see your dash to figure out if its repairable.good luck let me know what they say.
We use plastic beads at the plant. The beads get melted and injected into a mold. You could use an old dash or any black plastic car part as a source for the plastic. The way GM/DELPHI is now I would not risk smuggling one single bead out.
When I worked for a bumper plating service here is St.Louis (Many Years Ago) they experimented with plastic welding. It worked good on salvageable bumper cores. There is a web site that has information on identifing plastics. www.urethanesupplycompany Check the how to section. I hope that helps you out. Also let us know when you go into bussiness, I'm, sure we could send some work your way. My quick fix was to paint the radio face with duplicolor black trim paint. It actually blends the radio in, and unless you are looking for it, you can't notice the missing piece of the bezel.
Hell Jim, from the way GM/Delphi are going, you may want to smuggle out as much as you can while the getting is good. Sounds like things aren't going well for anyone there right now. Let's just hope they keep some jobs in this area. I'm the first generation in my family that doesn't work for the Big 3 but everyone's retirement, pension, etc... is all supplied by them.
Anyway, thanks for the comments that have been given. I'm not really looking for someone to fix the bezel for me. My goal is trying to see if I can replicate the missing radio area or possibly even drilled holes, etc. Due to the molding technique that I'm trying to use, I have to do it at room temp and the material has to flow. That leaves polyester or polyurethane. Polyurethane is starting look like the candidate as it shrinks less during the cure. Thanks for the link Jerry, every little bit helps. And as far as business goes, I'd hold off until I can actually make this work. On the positive side, I do have the first set of materials in hand and hopefully can start making the initial casting within the next few weeks.
It started as a whisper(NAFTA). Then it was a wooshing sound(GM plants built in countries without civil rights). Now it a full fledged hurricane howling/screaming. It's the sound of the jobs leaving Michigan. It's been a wonderful life getting a "cost of living" raise each and every year to keep up with inflation. Who would have ever thought that Americans would have to stand by and watch as our standard of health care and living would be lowered as big business people line their pockets and float away in their golden parachutes. All I can say is they better float away to some island somewhere because they will not be safe in America. Not to diminish the heartbreaking loss that the hurricanes bring, Michigan will become as broken as the southern states effected by the recent hurricanes. Insult is added to injury as the people who have silently hated the auto workers now throw stones at us. I'm safe because I have seen it coming for decades. I saw that GM could save billions by ripping off the people who have retired and the thousands that are just reaching retirement eligibility. My co-workers laughed when I told them what GM would do to us. They could not believe that the company would "rock their world" in such a way. I knew they would for the simple reason they could. Like the proverbial dog licking it's butt. I hope the execs have a bad taste in their mouth.
