dash restoration lettering

[Europa73]

Hi has anyone out there restored a dash?

looking for advise on what lettering to use.

I have seen some out there that are cut out words - do these look good under the final finish?

Thanks,

[Pfreen]

I recently did a Europa Special dash from scratch using the old water logged one as a pattern.  I used the stick-on lettering from RD Enterprises after 5 coats of varnish.  An additional 5 coats made the surface over the lettering smooth. It is tedious to get the lettering trimmed and positioned, but with patience, it can be done and looks good.

[Rosco5000]

My Dad and I have done his plus 2 dash.  As Pfreen said cutting and lining up the words is the tedious part.  We had the same sheet of labels from Rd.  We put quite a few coats of clear on and the names still partly show as a bulge but we are very happy with the final result

[Europa73]

Many thanks,

The dash looks great!

One question - after you apply the finish coats - I know there is a slight bulge - but can you see the edge of the cut outs E.g. they still look like cut out labels?

Cheers,

[Rosco5000]

The more coats of varnish you apply the less you see the edges. I will try to take a picture next time I am over there.  I might not be in the shop until the weekend though.
Ross

[Europa73]

much appreciated.

[Pfreen]

The more coats of varnish with sanding between coats will eventually eliminate the raised edges of the decal.

[Rosco5000]

 Here is what ours look like close up. You can see the sticker a tiny bit when really close but we had already spent a lot of time on the dash and moved on. Looks great but depending on the light and angle you can see the labels in our case.

[EuropaTC]

That's pretty smart.  The switches look great, what did you do on those ?

Brian

[Europa73]

Lettering looks great!

Cheers

[Rosco5000]

The whole dash was apart so we painted the switches a satin black to get rid of the faded gray.