f100 gauge panel face lift.

before

after


About 5 hours of work... turned out pretty good.

Stripped it with aircraft paint stripper.
used emery cloth to brighten the metal
used 3 different compounds from harsh to light polish

I still am getting the residue off... you can see it in the cracks. but I was proud of the way it came out.

Going to go over it tomorrow with some liquid polish. hopefully that will aid in getting the gunky polish off.

 

Looks 100% better!! That's not aluminum, is it?

 

I thought it was... but, when I got it off and stripped.. I think it might be stainless steel.

 

i never came across a stainless one. most were chrome plated or "bright metal" finish but looks damn good! i have one sitting on the shelf for my crewcab that i even rolled the speedo back to zero!

 

I need to roll mine back.

 

Looks awesome. Think it will it tarnish or rust?

 

looks good man are you going to shoot clear on it or leave it alone ??

 

looks great

 

well.. dont know what im going to do with it... I still need to polish it in a few more places.. about 2 more hours woth of work.. I thought about clearing it.. likely will, when Im happy with it.

 

Not stainless,just stamped steel. Clear coat before you realize that it is just metal!!!

 

That looks good! Thats what I'm doing to mine, except I'm striping the recessed ribs. If ya want some more practice, just send me that pretty one when your done and I'll send you my krusty one! haha!!

 

Yeah, your right it is just stamped steel.. strange though it doesnt have any rust ... ive got 2 of them and ive never seen one rusted... why ***umed it was stainless.

yeah, im gonna need to clear it.. but, Im digging the engine turned panels in the custom cabs.. and ones offered in the aftermarket. Ive seen the custom cab one outfitted with gauges and it looked pretty good.. the slot is big enough for 2 big and 2 small .. and you can put two 2"ers on either side.

 

well here it is late 2011.. the dash is still shiny.. no rust. don't know what its made off.. but, so far no issues.. the more I look at it and talk to old guys in the know.. it appears it could be a type of pot metal that is cast or stamped.. it does have a kind of roughness to the backside.. this formed some debate.. o well anyway it hasn't rusted.

and will likely take it to the local chrome plater to get a nice shiny coat of chrome.. now that the truck is painted it really stands out.

 

I didn't see the thread before and now the pics don't work. Could you repost the pics? I am intrigued. I can tell you the base metal from a pic of the backside.