Was KITTs dash covered?

[corlando52]

Help! I can't tell whether KITTs dashboard (Season 1/2) was covered in vinyl, or just painted. And was it gloss or satin? The repros they sell are all fiberglass, and I don't know whether to paint it or cover it.
Thanks!!!!

Chris

[kitt1]

KITT's dash was NEVER covered in vinyl. The original was painted in a satin black paint. However...it's your car and you can do whatever you want. It's a free country. I for one would like to see pictures of what progress you've made so far.

Mark Puette
SOUTHERN KNIGHTS

[corlando52]

Thanks! I don't have the car, yet. I will receive delivery sometime next week. I just bought it and it's being flatbedded to me. I will post the car as it's originally delivered and then my progress. Thanks so much for your interest. This is a dream come true for me and I hope I'm up to the challenge.
First order of business is to paint the (included) dash, and then get the electronics. I'm thinking Jupitere in Canada. Chris says he's going to be doing overlays shortly, so will probably get them from him as well. At least I'll know everything fits. I believe the dash is from Mark. I'm a little nervous about cutting out the openings and how the boards get attached, but I guess I'll see soon enough. I appreciate any suggestions.

Chris

[maxwellmilian]

If you have trouble, I can post some mounting suggestions for your electronics. I actually molded my own dash and made my own electronics for it. I made my own 4th season overlays for it, too. (The guys at the shop went ga ga over it when I brought it to work, where I'm restoring the entire car.) Some of the mounting was a design nightmare, but so far, I've licked all of the problems I ran up against. Once you get your dash, don't do any cutting until you have ALL of your parts, and don't be afraid to ask for help. (The only stupid question is the one you don't ask! As far as "covering", use semi-gloss oil base paint, and use a spray rig to get a good even coat, then "mist" it from about 18 inches to give it a light texture to cut down on glare. looks great on mine. I'll post some pix in the future if you like. For a protective measure, find some thin plexiglass at Hobby Lobby, and practice your cutting and drilling abilities on it, and I'll keep track of you, or just e-mail me. (can you get my e-mail from this thing?)

[corlando52]

Second time...the first time I sent this it said "page not found" and deleted my entire message. Damn internet!
I really appreciate all the information. I will email you. I know I will have tons of questions.
The dash that is coming with the car is from Marks Custom Kits. It needs to be painted and cutout. I was thinking of using Epoxy paint, which I thought might be more resistant to scratches, etc. Do you have any experience with that paint? Do you still think I should use the oil-based paint?
What electronics are you using? Overlays?
Thanks!

Chris

[maxwellmilian]

Epoxy is fine, usually forgiving too. The reason I use oil base is that it is extremely durable, and goes on in a layer that is very thick (several Mils over regular paint) and is also forgiving and most of all cheap!
My overlays are complicated to explain without a few pix, but I'll try.
First, you need a really good laserjet printer. You also need matte finish photographic paper, and plenty of black ink. Dont forget the thin plexi from Hobby Lobby
if yo are getting a 1-2 season car, you will need to use a jpeg capable program (not paint) and first experiment with simple black borders to get the overlay sizes right (please remember, this is the tight budget method).
Once you have nailed down your sizes and parameters, drawn all of the graphics in , then you flood fill all the right places with ink.
Mine is a fourth season, so all I needed was the white-on-black lettering on a piece of matte photo paper, and cut out the words. I put a layer of thin plexi over the board, and where my LEDs are I masked with tape cut to cover the leds, then painted with semi [not satin] finish, black. Then I removed the tape, and viola, a cover ready for labels. Using double sided scotch tape, I put the cut out word on a piece of tape, trimmed of the excess tape, and applied where needed.
For you, you wont need the paint, but you will need to get your overlay sized right, and I mean right.
Do your masking for your readouts and LEDs, replace the paint with spray adhesive, and apply. Don't remove the tape, yet. Apply your photo paper as you would a decal, from one side to the other, with a decal squeegee. Work the paper well into the masking tape strips, you will need the definition for guides. Let the setup dry for a few minutes, and peel a few razor blades. Take a brand new SHARP razor, )not an Exacto, they don't work) and carefully cut around the edges of the masking tape. If you do this right, just the tape will come up with the photographic paper attached to it.
If you do the whole process right, you will be able to place the plexi-now-overlay over the circuitboard, and go WOW!

I have to go to bed now, I'll get back to you with a surefire safe method of mounting these to the boards, and the whole assembly to the dash.