Hey everyone,
I'm currently restoring a 69 442 convertible. I'm working on the interior. I've sent out he seats. I went with PUI interior. After reading threads I might regret this. I am shopping around for door panels. My driver is in good condition, but my passenger is shot. I think water drained in from the drain gutter behind the rear seat. I am leaning towards legendary panels from what I've read on this sight.

Last year I removed the carpet, replaced the rear floor pan and POR 15 the floor.

I just put down dynamat and new carpet...looks good, but made an error on one of the carpet cuts near the console .

Right now I took off the review mirror and removed the glass to get resilvered. I also cleaned up the sunvisor brackets and mirror post. They cleaned up nice. Removed the pillar posts and cleaned them up with Meguires Back to Black. The stuff is good.

The next to projects are going to paint the lower dash, steering column and touch up the *****. The black paint on the instruments are chipped and need to be touched up. I am also outlining the vaccum plated chrome on the dash with a chrome pen.

My questions are...what type of paint would you use for the lower dash and steering column?

Has anyone painted the instruments? If so how did you cover the sections you did not want to paint?

Any help is appreciated. I am learning a lot on this site and appreciate any input on these projects.
Thanks

 

Dynamat extreme makes excellent carpet repair tape! Use some scraps cut from the edges to fix your boo-boos. It saved my butt before!

Beware of using both PUI and Legendary together without obtaining color sample swatches. You do not want to get them and find the color is too different.

The rain gutter is supposed to dump into the rear quarter. Hust make sure all the drain holes are clear and the quarter is not full of crud. Also make sure the door watershields are tucked into the slots at the bottom to keep water in the door. Again, make sure the door drains are clear.

Where is the interior resto thread?

 

Thanks rob! I will look into the dynamat tape.

I think part of the door panel problem was i did not place a water shield between the door and panel.

Good point about the color matching. I didn't think about that.

Again thanks for the info...I have gone through your restoration page about a hundted times. Great documentation.

 

Thanks rob! I will look into the dynamat tape.

I think part of the door panel problem was i did not place a water shield between the door and panel.

Good point about the color matching. I didn't think about that.

Again thanks for the info...I have gone through your restoration page about a hundted times. Great documentation.

 

The watershield on the doors is mostly a misnomer I think. It did seal the door openings and was attached with black sealant. But I think it's main purpose was to cut down on noise transmission between the door cavity and the inside of the car. Many high end builds use dynamat on the inside door under the door panel. On newer cars, the water shield is actually a film of plastic and the inside of the door panel is sprayed with an acoustic foam to quiet the cabin.

Those 2 rubber drain plugs that go on the bottom of the door panel should be checked periodically to make sure they don't plug up like Rob said. Lots of people don't even bother to put them in. I did because I know what they're for and to check them regularly. The very bottom and lower portions of the doors that you don't see are usually the areas where you find the most deterioration or rust because it's not kept clean. Wouldn't hurt to spray some rust inhibitor into the inside areas - especially where the seams are - on the lower door before you seal it up.

Centonze, sounds like you are having a wonderful time working on your car. Post some pics periodically for us.

 

Allan, the water shield is just that, as flimsy as it may be. Whenever someone has stains on the door panel bottoms, the shields are never tucked in the door bottom. Even my Caddy did this, as I found out years later that it had door damage and the shield was never tucked in.
Dynamat can replace it, but it must deflect water back into the door. The more wore out the window felts, the more important the shields are. I have seen some 'mechanics' just toss them when they are removed!
My neighbor complained that his Jeep fills with rater during a rain. I looked at it and sure enough - WS not tucked in the door!

Centonze - If you can scrub and wash out the inside doors and quarters, all that can be painted with POR15 to reduce rust chances. I did that and it seemed to work great. Check out my flickr link for all that. I dynamatted inside there later, keeping in mind water deflection.

 

Thanks guys, I will POR 15 those areas. The Northeast is known for rust. Allan, thanks for the descriptions. I now have an idea of what I am looking for. I'm positive I had no protection at all between the door and panel. I am looking now to purchase panels. I spoke to Legendary and they are offering 25 percent off even though the sale ended on the 16th. Wish I went with them for the interior. From what I read on Rob's post they really seem like a pleasure to deal with. I will ask for a sample to see if the panels will match up with the pui interior.

I will take pics, it's just been nasty out. I'm actually excited to post pics. I really love the car. I've had it since I was 18. My brother gave it to me to me as a gift and helped me restore it 18 years ago. I'm shocked how good the paint held up. I will try to load a few older pics. Never did it before on this site.

 

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/..._-Sharer-_-Top

Here are some pics.

 

Wow! That car looks amazing! You and your brother did a great job restoring it.The paint has really held up well. Was it an enamel or base coat clear coat? Based on what I can see, I'm guessing it is either Glade Green (code 57) or Sable (code 61).

Those must be older photos in the slide show, cause the weather there looks peachy! So, does the title of the album mean what I think it does? A hot chick with a hot car?

 

No, thats my wifes album,but she is pretty hot. lol. The car is jet black with clear coat. A friend of mine worked at a pro body shop. He said he hooked me up with some german paint. No idea what the name was, but it really held up.

 

Very likely Sikkens Paint? I had a car redone in that back in 89 and you're right - it's very durable. Sorry about thinking you were Dianne.

 

Very nice car! Love the triple black! I painted my dash and column with a name brand spray paint, probably krylon. I used a glossy black, if I had to do it again might use a semi-gloss, but it looks great. These areas were media blasted with the rest of the car. Where in NY are you from?
Rob

 

Whoa, Now that's a nice 69 drop top. I don't know about Legandary door panels but I made the mistake of getting some from Year One that had a cardboard top and they don't lay down properly on the top of the door. Right near where the lock is it sort of pushes up.

 

Jamesbo, if you take them out and 'steam fit' the curve you need into the cardboard it should hold shape ok. I don't think it makes a difference who you get them from, they all come from the Legendary factory. I'd address that with them, not Year One.
Or, could it be that you got 'other panels' from Year One? I think they stock PUI. I'd still find out who the supplier is and let them know about the problem, ask for a remedy. Can't hurt to ask

 

Thanks Allan, I may give that a shot, I just like reskining the origional metal tops better.

A sheet metal screw would sloved the problem, I just don't want to use one.

 

Hey Beob,
I think I'm going to go with your idea on the lower dash and steering column and go with the semi gloss. I followed your restoration of a 69 convert. Your really did it the right way. At the time I did mine I could not afford the frame off. I loved the way your car came out. Nice choice of blue and very well documented. I would be very proud of that restoration.
I live in Levittown, I saw you were from Long Island. Thought I might run into you at a car show. It would be hard to miss your car with the quality of work that was done to it.
Thanks for the advice...this site has made my project a lot more fun. It's so much better than googling everything and then screwing up the project.

 

I ordered the door panels from legendary and the ashwell covers. My ashwell (I think that's the name of it) was cut and had speakers drilled in . I want to close the hole and recover it. I was thinking of pulling out the speakers, hammering the metal down and maybe smoothing over the whole with some sort of epoxy or bondo then covering it with new covers.
If this sounds idiotic let me know. I'm a novice, but very determined and want to learn.

 

All you need to do is strip off the old covers, and flatten any bumps or sharp edges in the metal, no bondo needed.
A thin (1/8" or so) layer of polyester matting goes between the metal and the fabric cover, so small imperfections will not be noticable. A thicker layer goes on the armrest surface. This was not sold with the cover - sold separately at crafts and fabric stores. Use 3M 8090 adhesiv to glue the padding to the metal and the fabric to the metal on the back side.

If you do not press on the fabric, you will not know there is a hole behind it. You could even tack weld in some sheetmetal to cover the holes if you wanted.
I let my upholstery guy recover mine and they looks great. Speakers stayed though...

 

Again...thanks rob. You think it would be dumb for me to try and cover them on my own?

 

No experience covering

 

No, not dum at all. In fact I think you would be smart to learn how and have hands on experience with the resto of your car. You dry fit first then do it for real. There are great products nowadays like spray 3M glues that help with covering stuff really well. Also if you have to heat/stretch the material use a hair dryer - not a heat gun. The hair dryer usually has 2 settings for heat and air speed.

^^^^That's how you get it. If you don't try, you never get it. BTW I wouldn't just try this on my car without some practice. Go to the wreckers and pull a couple of door panels to practice on first.

 

I would not say you'd be dumb, but if you feel there is a good chance to botch up some costly covers, then let a trim shop do it.
I paid 75 to have both side sections (4 pieces) stripped and recovered (included adhesive and padding, too). Due to the curves and such, I did not trust myself and i wanted it right.

If I had to do it over, I might try it myself, just to see if I could do it. I never knew about the padding until he gave them back. Only the edges of the fabric was glued to the back of the metal. If you mess up and have to remove them, you would only damage the fabric on the back which is hidden.

If you have patience and the supplies, go for it!

 

Thanks Rob, a six pack later and i'm feeling confident. I will send pics when I start and finish. Well...depends how they look when finished. (Lol)

 

Make sure you use 3m 8090 adhesive for a good stick. This is important in hot climates.
Use a light layer to put the padding on first. Wait a while to make sure it is all dry before doing the fabric. Then just glue the edges to the outside of the metal.
If you mess up, pull them up as soon as you can before it sets.

 

Thanks very much! Actually Im very surprised we havent run into each other yet since we live in the same town! In all my years on LI and going to local shows I have never seen another 69 442 vert, now I find out theres one just a mile or two from my house, FTO!
I recovered my seats and rear side panels with no exp. The armrest panels were a little tricky, the only things you need are a knife, scissor, adhessive, patience and determination and you can do it. I had a very hard time getting the spray adhesive to hold, kept peeling. I had a tube of gorilla glue on the shelf and decided to try it on a small spot and it worked. I wound up using the gorilla on all four panels, worked well and still holding. My only advice would be very careful and try to avoid getting the adhesive on the front of the covers. I accidentally did this in a spot or two and its very sticky and hard to get off, luckily it got covered when I put the seats in.
Rob

 

Beob, your from Levittown...that's crazy! Small world. My brother Bobby owns R&P auto on Conklin in Farmingdale. Lived there all my life. I haven't brought the car down to the Bellmore train station show in a while. I got married and had two kids and life got in the way.
I think the armrests are going to be tricky, but like Rob said, if it's bad I can take it off and just have my upholstery guy do it.

 

Yeah, small world is right! Im just off wantagh ave south of the pike. What else have you done to the car. Is the engine rebuilt, 4spd or auto? If you ever need a hand wih anything, dont hesitate to ask or if you want to take a look at mine youre welcome to stop by.
Rob

 

When I got married I moved to the south side. I actually teach right at Gardiners Ave. Your literally right around the block. I'm right by East Broadway.

The car is stock, automatic. Right now I'm in the middle of a complete interior restoration. Last year was repairing the floor pan and new carpet. This winter I ripped everything out. Door panels, seats etc... The seats are being recovered. I ordered front and rear door panels from Legendary and also ashwell coverings. I just wish it was warmer, so that I could paint the dash and steering column.

I hopefully i'll run into you when the weather is nicer and we have the cars out.

 

Actually Im right near E Bway too and I also work for Levittown schools. Theres a posibility I may have met you once quite a few years ago in a gas station, The guy was checking out my car, said he had a similar one and worked at Gardiners and asked if I had an extra dash cigarette lighter. You?

 

Yes..how funny. I got the lighter.