Touching up the Console Lid

[24OZ]

Hi all,

My console lid use to have a silver line going around the lid, but with age this has nearly completly come off...

Has anyone tried touching this up with one of those silver paint pens or should I just mask the area and use a fine brush and a small pot of hobby model silver paint?

Thanks..

[Bambikiller240]

Hi George:

The only advice I can off er is to test on a small area that is not visable as either the paint or pens may have solvents in them that could disolve the vinyl. I'd be very careful.

You are talking about the cushioned vinyl lid, right? Not the plastic console itself.....?

My console lid didn't have a silver line so you must have a different type of lid than I do.

[24OZ]

Hi Carl!

Happy Easter!

A picture tells a thousand words.... see the pic below (I grapped it from ebay), this is very similar to mine.. The silver edging has started to also come off on this one, mine is even worse...

Also, the "Datsun 240Z" stamped on the glove compartment has also lost the coloring on it, I think this may havbe been originally white??

Thanks for your advise, Carl, definitely wise words. I'll give it a go on the back first where it wont be visible.

Cheers

[CNIXZGO]

Well i tried to redo the chrome paint like substance around my AT plate in my 1978. I used some Testors model paint which was supposedly "chrome" color. Unfortunately, it looked like an off white when it dried but it looks OK. At least it's better than chipped off chrome like substance!!!!!

[aRCH-Z]

yeah i used some of that 'chrome' colored paint to paint my glove box emblem.. turned out really well actually! Looks ace and shiny now

But I'm not sure how it'd go anywhere that it might get rubbed against or anything like that though. Might not last nearly as long..

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by 24OZ

Hi Carl!

Happy Easter!

A picture tells a thousand words.... see the pic below (I grapped it from ebay), this is very similar to mine.. The silver edging has started to also come off on this one, mine is even worse...

[

Also, the "Datsun 240Z" stamped on the glove compartment has also lost the coloring on it, I think this may havbe been originally white??

Hi George:

I see, I was thinking of the cushioned dealer add-on for your armrest. Let us know which you use, as I need to do that to the lettering on my glove box door. BTW, the lettering on the glove box is white, but the logo is silver.

[EScanlon]

I've tried the following methods:

Bare Metal Foil. Looks= EXCELLENT! However, not very durable. Especially when you are trimming it to fit just on the raised edge.

Model Master Silver Paint. Looks = Good to Excellent! Be careful of smudging and / or having to remove stray paint drops. Those paint drops will literally allow the metallic particles to ETCH themselves into the plastic like if you had sandblasted them in. i.e. you can never REALLY remove silver paint from black plastic and not leave some form of silvery stain, without having to sand or strip.

And here's the kicker:

Lately there have been various shades of nail polish (Yes, NAIL POLISH), which fit this job EXCELLENTLY.

Sally Hansen's line of Metallic Polish are some of the best paints for touching up silvered trim / accents. They only cost a couple bucks and you can get them in SHADES of Chrome.

I tried them on a couple pieces of edging that I'd done with Bare Metal Foil that chipped and needed redoing. Can't tell you how they ended, because they are still ok.

2¢

[Daniel]

George,on raised areas like that the trick is to use a cigarette filter.Spray some chrome paint into the lid of the can(a small amount).Touch the filter to the paint.When you touch the raised area the paint adheres there only!.The strength of the filter stops it from going anywhere else.It took a pack of smokes to paint my brake lines under the hood.It also works great on the datsun emblem on the glove box door.I found touch lift and move works better than touch and drag but,whatever works best for you.

[bryantatem]

Yes, nail polish works REALLY good. Nice fine brush and a good selection of colors too. Really nice for trim and interior stuff.

[24OZ]

Thanks for the input everyone.

Daniel, Thats a great idea with the cigarette paper, I like it alot. I wonder if it would work as well with the nail polish though???

Enrique, have you had any experience of the nail polish damaging the plastic?

Thanks..

[sjcurtis]

Hi George, I am a bit late here, lots of great ideas so far. For the areas of Silver paint I recommend a small tin of wheel silver from your local car painters this mix is a bright mix that lends itself well to the smaller jobs with "nail brushes" let the paint shop know your intention and they can adjust the mix a little for brush painting, if you get it off the shelf you may have to do two coats. you will get the affect you are after. for the door trim silver strips I recommend the silver painters tape it is used when sealing areas to be stripped of paint. When correctly applied to the panel it comes up like factory new.

[EScanlon]

I went the nail polish route out of desperation. Desperation out of having the Bare Metal Foil continuously peel off and wrinkle etc. I had tried the silver paint from Model Master but I could see the brush marks.

I couldn't see any of the brush marks when I got done with the Nail Polish. Since it hasn't chipped or come off, I can't tell you if it marred the plastic or not.

It does clean up with Acetone, and Acetone can damage the plastic, so I would advise caution.

But again, since it hasn't FAILED, I haven't checked to see what damage has occurred using it, and is hidden beneath.

I mentioned the name of the brand, hoping that you might be able to find that in a local drug store or whatever store in Australia may have Sally Hansen Nail Polish. In my international travels, I've been amazed at how "quickly" female products cross borders as opposed to "male" products. (Nail Polish, Pantyhose, Perfume as opposed to Motor Oil Additives, Tools, or in this case Spray or Bottle Paints.)

FWIW