66 console painting

[Jim S.]

I posted a question yesterday on whether the groove around the shifter plate ,and on both edges of the center console should be painted or left chromed.

I recieved one responce that said it should be painted.

I searched the archives and found a comment by Michael Murry That said the groove should not be painted.

The score is tied at one all !!

Help!

Jim

[Scott Marzahl]

Re: 66 console painting

I think it should be painted, I have an NOS piece sitting here that has the brown primer all around the shifter plate.

Scott

[Scott Marzahl]

admendment

Jim,
I think I see the groove you are talking about, it is about 1/16" wide along the raised bead which runs around the shifter plate. On this NOS piece it is indeed chrome, the primer comes right up to it. At first glance I thought it was part of the raised bead but it is indeed a small groove.

[Justin N.]

67 console

Jim,

I restored mine by stripping it first with Jasco. It still had some bright blue left in the groove you're speaking about. My piece had never been repainted or removed before I did so, period! I was having problems matching the different hues of blue between dashpads, console, and speaker grill. Although a beater, my car is very original. Good Luck!
Justin #41362

[Jim S.]

Re: admendment

Scott,

So if I read you correctly You are now saying that the groove is unpainted ,
At least around the shifter plate ..What about up and down the two arms? They have that same groove as well?
Jim

[Jim S.]

Re: 67 console

Justin ,
Thanks for the responce .If I read you right ,you are saying that the groove was Painted....
That now leaves the score tied at two all.
This may be a case of either is correct ,or a difference between years.

Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we set out to "Restore" !!

Jim "The Bard" Schwering

[Scott Marzahl]

Re: admendment

Jim,
For the most part that groove along the legs is free of any primer, in a few spots there appears to be some overspray. My question would be, in a production environment, how would they mask off just this little groove?

[Justin N.]

masking process

Jim,

I can't speak for the process used on the consoles, but I bet they layed something over the top and ran in through the paint booths the same time as interiors for the car were done? The two legs of the console had the most amount of blue in the groove.

While working for the largest Manufacturer of vintage Mustang part in America, we made a fiberglass mold of the inset of our styled-steel wheel used from 65-67. It simply sat on top of wheel face, but exposed the areas to be painted silver argent. The wheels were sprayed this way, one at a time. I bet GM did something similar many years ago.
Justin #41362

[Michael H.]

Re: masking process

That's exactly how it was done Justin. That means there really is no definite line where the paint stopped, which would explain the random coverage of the slot or depressed area in question. In some areas, the paint may actually be on the chrome ridge section also. They weren't perfect.

[John H.]

Re: masking process

The narrow groove between the grained area to be painted and the base of the smooth, unpainted chrome "wall" around the part was designed into the part specifically to accommodate the masking process; the outside supplier who cast, chromed, and painted the console used a metal masking shield whose edge registered in the groove to achieve the separation line. As Michael noted, there was variation in how the shield sat on the part in the paint booth; I think it's splitting hairs to say yes/no about whether there should be paint in the groove or not - this was not a "concours" process. There were 36 different finished part numbers of consoles, and the supplier shipped 120 of them to St. Louis every day.

[Jim S.]

Now we are getting somewhere !

I guess logic would suggest that the groove was the perfect place to set in a mask or shield. That would also mean that at least half of the groove was left unpainted on a good day. It would also account for the variations in responces.

Thanks Guys,once again this Board has proven to be a font of knowledge.I'll bet I will need it at least one more time before I am done !
Jim

[Michael H.]

Re: admendment

Scott,

I forgot to mention. The tan color material on an NOS console was actually tan interior color, not primer. If I remember correctly, the only color that was ever available in service for 67 was saddle tan and I think the same was true for 64-66 also but I'm not 100% sure. I don't think primer was ever used on this part in production.

[Jim S.]

paint match

Justin ,
How did you solve your paint match problem?
Jim

[Scott Marzahl]

Re: admendment

Thanks Michael, I just assumed it was primer.

[Scott Butville]

Re: admendment

I worked in GM's largest die casting and chrome plating plant in the 60's. While I do not specifically remember the Corvette console, most crome parts followed the same paint process. They were dipped in chromic acid to promote paint adhesion and there was no primer used. The previous posts about the metal mask fitting into the groove were the normal process for these kinds of parts. They were not painted with the interior garnish moldings.