Restoring an old 1946 - 1948 Chrysler Glove Box Door

[Tom Skinner]

I bought the Metal Shell of this 46 - 48 Chrysler Glove Box Door on ebay last year.

The Bake - Lite/Plastic covering was off of it or had cracked off.

I applied The Spray rubber (Tool Handle Rubber Dip Brand) about 5 coats. Sanded and sealed it with 800 paper

Painted it with spray Paint. Feathered the Alabaster Veins into it. Going to seal it with clear Lacquer 5 -10 Coats. Looks real close to original I cant seam to save the pics in the right direction

Edited April 24, 2023 by Tom Skinner
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[Doug&Deb]

That’s awesome work! Those Bakelite pieces are pretty much unobtainable anymore. You could have a good side hustle in the Mopar community.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Excellent work!

Those glove box doors are hard to come by in any color.

I feel lucky mine has never cracked in over 40 years of ownership.

[Tom Skinner]

My originals on several Royals never cracked either, however, at car shows most of the Travelers and Chrysler's I saw with this style have cracked, this one I did as an extra.

It cost about $25 - 50 to do. So I am thinking of maybe listing them on ebay. In 50 years of owning 1948 Chrysler's I have yet to see anyone offer the Glove Box Doors in anything but cracked or crappy condition. I doubt highly at this late date many would be interested in one so I would only make them if ordered by a responsible Chrysler Owner. They were offered as bare metal last year on ebay I only bought one for $25. I have yet to see them again. I would require a peson to send me theirs to restore individually.

With Lacquer Paint, Oil Paint, Etc. I have to wait several weeks before applying Lacquer clear coat as the feathering is oil paint which needs long drying periods. 

It is a long process. In my humble opinion well worth the wait, and process. 

[Mezz]

Very nice!  Nice job matching the pattern too!  I did see one guy on ebay a few years ago, I think he was filling the cracks with bondo and then painting.

[Tom Skinner]

Mezz your 1941 Chrysler's had this Alabaster or Mother of Pearl Look as well, or had red in it as well.

One Style in 1941 had a red color in it. My buddy and I refer to it affectionately as a puke blood design.

The Chrysler Corporation had the most beautiful Dashboards - EVER, Don Narus has books for sale about them on ebay.

He must be in his nineties now if he is still around. The burled Walnut Wood Grain with the Alabaster or Red Alabaster Dashes were magnificent.

Car Companies to this day still copy them. My wife's 2006 Toyota Avalon LMT has the Fake Wood a Light Walnut Look with Light Ashe Trim inside.

I think Toyota also copied some paint colors in the last 10 - 15 years from Chrysler in the 1920's - 1940's as well.

The Egyptian Red, The Noel Green, The Gun Metal Grey. See for yourself if I am not right in saying this. Of course Copyright Laws protect them.

But an observant eye can still discern the truth. 

[Tom Skinner]

The Puke Red Design on the Chrysler 1941

[Tom Skinner]

Toyota even copied the starter button on the left of the Dash. I believe Chrysler started that in 1939

[Tom Skinner]

My Dash again I can't straighten the Dammed Pic Out

[Los_Control]

[Tom Skinner]

Muchas Gracias Senor Los Control

[Tom Skinner]

Creo que lo llamamos diseno de sangre para vomitar.

I believe we called it the puke blood design.

Either way what beautiful designs.

[Mezz]

Oh, very nice!  Looks really great with the woodgrain dash!  I don't think I've ever seen a complete set of plastic with that swirl.  Dad and I have couple of 48's but they have the solid color plastic.  And the puke red reference, ha!  Most of the 41's had that mottled look, I always thought it was pretty cool, can't imagine how they made that!

[Dan Hiebert]

'46-'48 Chryslers' glove box doors have a Bakelite coating or cover?  I was completely unaware of that, learn something new about these old cars on a regular basis.

[Bingster]

Do I see Mary on the dash?

[Tom Skinner]

Yes 

[Tom Skinner]

Dan,

I start restoring by completely removing the Bake Light. Then I use the spray version of the Tool Dip Rubber (for tool Handles) by spraying about 5 coats onto the metal shell (Glove Box Lid). Then I sand it down smooth to 800 grit and Prime and Paint it a Base Coat. Then I mix Oil Paint and using a feather add the veining. Then after several weeks to dry (Thats the picture you see at the top of this Thread next to the feather) I finally will apply 5 -10 coats of clear Lacquer. The reason I use Oil Paint is if I am not happy with the Veining I can wipe it off and start over. With an Acrylic Paint or enamel Paint it would dry right away and I would only have one shot at it. It took 7 tries to get me happy with it. Trying to patch the Bake Light would just make a mess. Once Bake Lite shrinks and cracks it is shot. So I just remove it. It resembles plastic but it sort of a for runner of plastic. It almost has a rubbery feeling to it along with the plastic feeling once it has aged for a long period. Time has its way with everything.

[Dan Hiebert]

Roger that, I just didn't know Chryslers had that much Bakelite on the dash.  Our D24 has absolutely none.  Must have been "the thing" for high end trim during that time.  I really like how you went about the restoration, I'm thinking that process could prove useful on future projects.

[harmony]

On 4/26/2023 at 4:01 PM, Tom Skinner said:

Dan,

I start restoring by completely removing the Bake Light. Then I use the spray version of the Tool Dip Rubber (for tool Handles) by spraying about 5 coats onto the metal shell (Glove Box Lid). Then I sand it down smooth to 800 grit and Prime and Paint it a Base Coat. Then I mix Oil Paint and using a feather add the veining. Then after several weeks to dry (Thats the picture you see at the top of this Thread next to the feather) I finally will apply 5 -10 coats of clear Lacquer. The reason I use Oil Paint is if I am not happy with the Veining I can wipe it off and start over. With an Acrylic Paint or enamel Paint it would dry right away and I would only have one shot at it. It took 7 tries to get me happy with it. Trying to patch the Bake Light would just make a mess. Once Bake Lite shrinks and cracks it is shot. So I just remove it. It resembles plastic but it sort of a for runner of plastic. It almost has a rubbery feeling to it along with the plastic feeling once it has aged for a long period. Time has its way with everything.

So what is the purpose of using the "tool dip rubber" spray stuff?

[harmony]

I was "reconditioning" a '46 Royal a few years ago and the glove box door was in poor shape with many cracks.  I sanded it down flat.  Filled the cracks with West Systems epoxy with 406 silica.  Then sanded the face smooth and flat again.  Then applied a layer of fibreglass cloth.  The finest weave available. It feels like silk.  Then after that set up, I put on another thin layer of epoxy, followed by another layer of that cloth, followed by a couple more layers of epoxy, using the 410 microlite added to the last coat. I also coated the back side with west systems epoxy to seal it.  So far so good, being exposed to several years of all 4 seasons outdoors, under a roof, with the car exposed to everything other than rain and snow. 

[SteveR]

On 4/26/2023 at 12:32 AM, Los_Control said:

I remember those travel statues. You don't see them any more. My wife use to live in Tenerife and she said you see a lot of them. I wonder if that statue could actually grant you a safe journey?

Oh well, that is a Beautiful dash!!!

Edited May 2, 2023 by SteveR

[Tom Skinner]

Harmony,

Once the Box Door is stripped of the Bake Light down to the Metal one must build the thickness back up (where the Bake Light) was.

Thus using the Rubber Spray. That is the only reason for it. There is always more than one way to skin a cat. You seem to have found one

doing your Glove Box Door as you described. Either way, a Glove Box Door restored is a good thing especially if its cracked or unsightly.

They don't have any lying around anymore, so one must come up with a method to fix the old ones.