1979 Dash Color

[Quicksilver2]

It appears that 79 red leather interiors had a dash deck that was manufactured red, but had been sprayed matte black, perhaps to keep down glare and improve visibility, is my guess. I say this because when cleaning the inside of the windshield, I accidentally flaked off a very small chip of black and it revealed red underneath.

The problem is how to match the black as close as possible so there's no red showing. It's just a very small spot, maybe 2-3 mm. But the car is all original and I want to be careful doing this. Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks!

 

[Bob Chadwick]

I would get a couple of cans from different manufacturers, spray test spots and compare for the best match.

 

[Cream79L82]

I know what you're talking about Quicksilver. I was cleaning my dash recently when I noticed a tannish spot on my dash that I thought was some sort of junk. My '79's interior is doeskin so it seemed like it might be dirt. I commenced cleaning it with armor all... and the dirt got bigger!!! I'm pretty sure they painted mine black too. I've yet to decide what to do with it. Good luck with your match.
-Jon

 

[page62]

Mine's the same -- and it has one very slight scratch and some nicks around the speaker grilles (from when I replaced the speakers). Other than that, it's beautiful -- but apparently quite fragile!

I don't dare put ANYTHING stronger than a damp chamois on that dash. And I never recommend Armor All or stuff like that. You'll regret using that stuff 10 years down the road (trust me!)

 

[Cream79L82]

Well, I wish I had had a no Armor All warning before I tried cleaning up my 'dirty' dash. I'll be alot more careful inside from now on.

-Jon

 

[Quicksilver2]

Dashboard Master's?!

I bet one of us could get a Master's degree if we could explain why Chevy decided to build the dashes to match the interior color, then, ......Oh my, how bout we paint em black?!!!

I'd love to talk with someone about this one. Seems like one of those weird anomolies that you read about, where they had to make a change on short notice on the line.

But, I still love her. Nothing will change that.

 

[page62]

The pre-78 dashes are one color. I'll bet this was GM's five-cent bean counter method to make the dashes look classier.

With regards to Armor All, I use it on nothing! It gets gooey in the summer and hard in the winter. I've found The Tannery is the best thing for leather and vinyl. It seems to soak in and moisten the material instead of sitting on top. There are probably others, but I've been happy with this product for 20+ years...

 

[L82Dan]

I have used The Tannery for many years on all my vehicles interiors with no problems of buildup or anything. A very good product from my experience. I do think the dash area is painted black to cut out sun glare problems. My 79 is garage kept, so it does not soak up the hot sun alot. Some of my paint has peeled off the speaker grille, but since it is black, you can't tell. I have never seen any specific paint available for that area of the interior. Be nice to know the paint code that GM used.