Shoe Polish? Or a bad paint job...

[HardCorps79]

Having just picked up my M1009 from GL a little over a week ago, I finally got around to cleaning it up a bit. (This, after a good session in the mud, which will require another post). The dash cover was caked in dirt and dust when I picked it up, and figured it would just need a bit of windex or 409, maybe some armor-all for a shine, right? So as soon as I spray a bit of 409 on it and the dirt and goo mostly start to come up. But underneath, it's got a really sticky film with a fogged over look. It starts caking up thick cordovan goo on the shop towels. The cover is pretty cracked up and I figured I'd replace it at some point, but this was a surprise. Incidentally, the dash is grey-green under the dark red.

I probably detailed a thousand cars when I worked at a dealership long ago and never saw anything like this. For the really bad ones brought in from auction we'd start with 409 for goo, Windex for mild dust and dirt, and then Armor-all to finish it off. Towelling it off good between steps.

I don't know too much about these, so what gives? I'm thinking either this is original and the paint is just fried from sitting in the sun, or it's not factory and was just painted over to match, or some motivated Private decided to use shoe polish to put a real nice shine on the HQ vehicle, ate the paint and gummed it up pretty good. (This was an HQ vic). I'm really at a loss. (Of course, I could be an idiot and commited some mortal sin by trying to clean up a perfectyl dirty vehicle...It's happened before).

Any thoughts?

(Incidentally, I'm now in the market for a new dash cover in a bit more of a hurry than I was before.)

 

[mistaken1]

A lot of the M1009s at Jefferson City had grey dashes. It almost sounds like someone applied cordovan shoe polish to make the dash match the door panels. Paint perhaps. I gather you won the one with the brown dash.

 

[HardCorps79]

A lot of the M1009s at Jefferson City had grey dashes. It almost sounds like someone applied cordovan shoe polish to make the dash match the door panels. Paint perhaps. I gather you won the one with the brown dash.

Yeah, that's me. I'm thinking I'll hit up the junkyards and try and find one. Can always try a dash cover for the time being. truckinteriors.com sells repros, but they're pretty high at almost $300.

The door panels are pretty rough, too. They're very obviously grey underneath a hack paint job. Not looking to make this as show vehicle (not yet, anyway). Mostly bought it for a daily driver around base and for a few cross-country trips. And a few weekend trips through the fields and woods, of course.

 

[dependable]

If your dash pad is in pretty good shape, but cracked, you can get a dash pad cover that you can glue on for about $100. I replaced one dash pad complete, for about 300, it was fine, but outgassed chemical smells for over a year. I did the dash pad cover on another cucv and it worked out fine, but the original dash was not too warped. one that I got that was too sun warped to be re -covered. Lucked out on a nice one in a civi truck a friend of mine was scrapping. The original dash pad for most cucvs was a dark brown. They cracked badly and many were replaced by the military with gray ones. Of the five I got last year, two were original brown and badly decayed, three were replaced with gray.. Two had complete new dash pads, and one had a dash pad cover. I think the gray will be less likley to crack due to sun & heat, which is why the Govt switched to gray.

 

[m38inmaine]

They come grey from the factory and you have to paint to match. I bought several from GM in the past and all were grey.

 

[N1265]

Fill the cracks with liquid nails and then paint with KRYLON flat or satin black....

good as it gets !

 

[HardCorps79]

Fill the cracks with liquid nails and then paint with KRYLON flat or satin black....

good as it gets !

Think I'll actually try this until I have a spare $250+ for a repro.

 

[Militoy]

....The dash cover was caked in dirt and dust when I picked it up, and figured it would just need a bit of windex or 409, maybe some armor-all for a shine, right? So as soon as I spray a bit of 409 on it and the dirt and goo mostly start to come up. But underneath, it's got a really sticky film with a fogged over look. It starts caking up thick cordovan goo on the shop towels....

I've restored a number of vehicles over the years - and have seen the same kind of reaction of plastic to ammonia-based cleaners several times. One incident in particular stands out in my memory. I was cleaning up a nearly-mint low-milage Toyota Landcruiser FJ40 to sell, and decided to clean the dust off the dash using 409. The surface of the gray plastic dash pad almost instantly turned to mud before my eyes. I was forced to replace the dash pad - at over $200. I don't use 409 on plastic anymore. I have has issues with Armorall fogging window interiors as it outgasses - so I clean using watered-down Simple Green, and then soak the plastic with a non-greasy plastic restorer (like Tannery, or similar).

 

[zb39]

Just paint it..it won't be as bad as you might think..

 

[Uglyranger]

Do NOT use Armor All anywhere on the vehicle until you are finished painting.

 

[Westech]

Do NOT use Armor All anywhere on the vehicle until you are finished painting.

You would be surprised how far and where that mist goes.... let me tell you I have been surprised a few times.

 

[N1265]

Dash, glove box door and door panels all painted in 2005 with KRYLON satin black.

They are not as shiney today as they were when I first painted them, But they are not chalking, flaking and still look good. I clean them with Windex when I do the windows with no problems.

 

[N1265]

Dash, glove box door and door panels all painted in 2005 with KRYLON satin black.

They are not as shiney today as they were when I first painted them, But they are not chalking, flaking and still look good. I clean them with Windex when I do the windows with no problems.

 

[HardCorps79]

Dash, glove box door and door panels all painted in 2005 with KRYLON satin black.

They are not as shiney today as they were when I first painted them, But they are not chalking, flaking and still look good. I clean them with Windex when I do the windows with no problems.

Looks great! How long has it been since you painted it? did you primer the plastic parts, or just paint straight on?

 

[N1265]

Painted it in Oct. 2005 ( the pictures are from then ) No primer on the plastic parts or padded glove box door, Just wiped them down and sprayed it. I did give them 3 Med / heavy coats of paint and waited about 2 hrs in between coats, even though it dries a lot faster than that......