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I just had a chance to salvage none of the more rare ‘70 only bright metal ash trays, and thought someone else could benefit from what I did. My goal wasn’t complete perfection, but to save an old piece and give it new life. The whole project took me about an hour after removing it from an Evaporust bath.
The biggest issue I’ve seen with these or others is the broken plastic sliders, and since they are riveted on, no one tends to repair them. As they say, TWFM, YMMV (this worked for me, your mileage may vary).
My starting point
Soaked overnight in Evaporust and then thoroughly scrubbed with a brass brush to remove the scaled rust. I then hit the flat areas with a Mr Clean Magic Eraser which left a smooth surface. The interior was really rough, so it took an extra day soaking to get to “reasonable”.
Next I turned my attention to the broken plastic sliders. I picked up some JB Weld Plastic Bonder and I pulled out the Reynolds Wrap Non-Stick foil. I used a block of it to hold the warped plastic in place and a smooth, folded piece to give shape to the epoxy.
I formed a shape around the broken area with the non-stick foil and mixed the epoxy, I dabbed in into place using a wooden stick.
After about 30 minutes it was set pretty well, but it was still flexible. I trimmed off the edge excess using scissors, then carefully peeled off the non-stick foil from the bottom side.
At this point I repaired the other side, using the exact same technique.
The interior was pretty scaly, but I didn’t want to lose the “natural” appearance of the original plating. Paint would make it too “solid”, so I wanted something more transparent, yet silver. I had a can of Krylon Looking Glass, the spray that makes mirrors when sprayed on the back side of glass. A light coat on the interior of the ash tray gave me the little gleam I wanted without looking “painted”.
And so I ended up with this:
I’m very happy with the JB Weld Plastic Bonder - I guess we’ll see how it does over time. For now, it is holding well and surprisingly matches the light plastic color of the original sliders. I have a little sanding and shaping to finish, but it is very sandable. Just be careful as the plastic is very brittle.
Nice job. Always great to see how creative some guys get to fix stuff. Looking at the finished product, I can't help but think those sliders could be very easily made with a 3D printer. Some of the better plastics available would likely yield a more durable product than the brittle originals. If one cracks, print another one!
Makes me think there are other areas of the car the plastic bond would be beneficial, for example, to repair the anti-rattle strips found in the front and rear windshield reveal molding.
May 21st, 2021, 09:27 AM
