Greetings. I’m restoring an early 50s Packard Gauge Cluster. The bezel chrome is completely shot. Without sending them somewhere to have re-chromed, what paint options are there that would look good and not ****py? Thanks in advance.
If all other things fail;;Get them smooth an lay some chrome tape on,there is some that has flex now too. Or,make some out of alum on a lathe n polish
Call Jeff at Moose Motors in Penngrove, Nor Cal. (707) 792-9985 He's a Packard guy, might have decent replacements at a reasonable price.
What isn't? I suppose I shouldn't have been so flippant. Probably the best bet in terms of durability would be powdercoat. Blast the rust off, and powder will fill minor imperfections better than paint and won't easily chip off while trying to install it. DON'T try 'chrome' powdercoat, it doesn't look like chrome and mars easily, making it worse than paint from that standpoint. A gloss silver will be about as close as you can get. But you might check the price of a re-chrome. Prices can be all over the map depending on where you are and how greedy the shop is. Those aren't large bits, you may be surprised. Or hunt down some better pieces.
Look into Vacuum deposited plating. It's used on some of the new car plastic trim. Powder coat it, sand to the finish needed, and then send it out for vacuum plating.
Lay them in cleaning vinegar to lift the old chrome off or sand it off. Then paint a contrasting colour to the dashboard. Maybe the same colour as the steering wheel. Rattle can, total cost 5 bucks
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