Instrument cluster trim

[Ffreeb]

Has anyone found a way to flatten these? If not does anyone know where to find a replacement?

[Los_Control]

Very carefully

 

Not sure how well it will come out or what it is made metal it is made from ..... I think there would be a good chance to make it decent, but not 100% perfect.

 

We are told that metal has a memory ... in my little experience, I find this true. If you start using thumbs or a small tool and start from the middle of the 4 gauges and work to the sides in both directions left and then right evenly .... I think a lot of it will smooth out fairly easy.

Then just keep going over the worst areas until you are satisfied.

 

Be creative. I do not know if the lower level is a different dimension or if it is suppose to be flat?

If you hung the bottom part off the edge of the wood .... then grab the wife rolling pin from the kitchen ... you might be able to just roll the main body flat.

 

Then by hand start working on the lower section and put it into shape?

You might need to try different things, you should be able to make it respectable for a driver car until you can find a replacement.

[Ffreeb]

It’s not metal, it’s some kind of plastic. I thought about trying to iron it with layers of cloth to protect it. I decided to ask here before I tried. It’s useless the way it is, so I’ve got nothing to lose. Thank you for your reply!

[Tom Skinner]

Ffreeb,

I would start with a hair blow dryer first much like you might to take wrinkles out of a headliner.

An Iron may melt your project, A Gentle easy Heat might suffice without damaging the plastic

Tom

[Ffreeb]

Thank you Tom, I didn’t think of that.

[Veemoney]

As Tom suggested with a hair dryer or heat gun to warm it up and if needed use 2 pieces of something flat to sandwich it between so as it cools it stays flat.

[Los_Control]

Well the kitchen rolling pin is out 

 

Hard to believe plastic can absorb that much heat damage without breaking into pieces. .... Sun is only thing I can think of to cause that .... possibly it was lying loose on the seat and not installed to hold it's shape.

 

I'm all for low heat to try to straighten it out ... something to think about is laying it on a cookie sheet flat and try different temps in the oven?

I imagine just trying it on warm will heat the whole piece equally and see if warm is enough to get some flexibility to it.

Then gradually raise the temp until you can get some movement.

 

I wonder what true professionals have done in the past and if anything worked on plastic?

Anything you try will be slow and tedious and sketchy at best .... I'm still impressed it is not shattered now .... Seems they really knew how to make plastic back in the day.

Maybe a form of Bakelite like our steering wheels?

 

[oldodge41]

Wild ass guess here. Maybe place on a cookie sheet, place another cookie sheet on top. Heat in oven and add weight  to top sheet as needed. Then, once flat, let it sit as it is until cool. I would start at very low temperature and increase temperature slowly until I saw movement. Then back it off a bit and wait awhile to see what happens. Oops Los_Control typed faster than me.

Edited February 11 by oldodge41
add info

[DJ194950]

an add to olddodge41's reply-

 

The idea seems OK bu I would put some parchment paper on each cookie sheet as it will not melt in the heat or add any more imperfections in the dash.

 

My dime as we soon may not have pennies or nickels!

 

DJ

[Ffreeb]

I can’t say how it got that way. I just got it in the mail, I bought it on eBay. I only had part of the broken glass, I didn’t have the plastic part, the metal bracket that goes behind it or the frame that holds it all to the gauge frame.

[Ffreeb]

[busycoupe]

I have used the cookie sheet in the oven technique to flatten plastic pieces from pinball machine playfields.  Just heat it gently and watch it so as not to over cook it.  The plastic will relax and flatten out all at once when it nears the melting point. I never tried to use any thing to sandwich it to flatten it, just heat it until it relaxes then let it cool.  

[Ffreeb]

I want to thank everyone who helped me with this! I used a combination of heat and pressure. I believe part of the problem is that there’s two different types of plastic. A gold colored layer and a clear layer. In the end I used a combination of heat and pressure. I warmed it up in the oven, then I squeezed it with a wood vice with wood jaws. It’s nowhere near like new, but it’s much better than it was.

[Ffreeb]

Back together.

[Ffreeb]

Hopefully, this will help someone in the future. It’s a lot easier if you remove the speedometer. The speedometer won’t come out until you remove the high beam turn signal indicator. The high beam bulb socket is a nut that you turn to remove the indicator.

[Ffreeb]

[soth122003]

Even though this has been fixed by the original poster, It might help some one else in the future. Instead of the cookie sheets, you might try 2 panes of glass in the oven. That way you can keep an eye on it as you go thru the process. As long as you keep the heat low, (150-200 degrees) the glass should be fine and you can also add weight to a specific area that might need it.

 

Joe Lee

[Ffreeb]

That’s a very good idea.