Adding a factory clock to a non-clock radio bezel?

[Rembrant]

I've done it twice. Once with an Xacto knife and once with the mill. In reality I like the Xacto knife approach better. Less chance of messing up. On the mill if you turn the handle the wrong way you have a divit.

Gary,

When you say Xacto knife, you mean you cut the holes all the way through with the knife? That plastic is 1/8" thick and I tried it last night with a brand new blade and it wasn't very easy to cut lol. I used a busted up bezel I have as a sample spare, so I can get this right before I ruin a good one.

[Gary Lewis]

I've done it twice. Once with an Xacto knife and once with the mill. In reality I like the Xacto knife approach better. Less chance of messing up. On the mill if you turn the handle the wrong way you have a divit.

Gary,

When you say Xacto knife, you mean you cut the holes all the way through with the knife? That plastic is 1/8" thick and I tried it last night with a brand new blade and it wasn't very easy to cut lol. I used a busted up bezel I have as a sample spare, so I can get this right before I ruin a good one.

Yes, but it is tough! Were I to do it again w/o using the mill I'd drill holes in the plastic and use a hacksaw blade to cut out the rough opening. Then use a file to take it down to a nice, clean line.

That's the approach I used recently on the opening for the switches in the medium duty bezel. I like it because it is controllable. And slow. Much less chance of making a mistake.

[Rembrant]

Yes, but it is tough! Were I to do it again w/o using the mill I'd drill holes in the plastic and use a hacksaw blade to cut out the rough opening. Then use a file to take it down to a nice, clean line.

That's the approach I used recently on the opening for the switches in the medium duty bezel. I like it because it is controllable. And slow. Much less chance of making a mistake.

Ya, I was trying to think of another way to do it also. I have a nice diamond cutting wheel for my Dremel, but it will melt a cutting through. Maybe If I run it slow, and leave some burrs that I can file smooth afterwards.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, but it is tough! Were I to do it again w/o using the mill I'd drill holes in the plastic and use a hacksaw blade to cut out the rough opening. Then use a file to take it down to a nice, clean line.

That's the approach I used recently on the opening for the switches in the medium duty bezel. I like it because it is controllable. And slow. Much less chance of making a mistake.

Ya, I was trying to think of another way to do it also. I have a nice diamond cutting wheel for my Dremel, but it will melt a cutting through. Maybe If I run it slow, and leave some burrs that I can file smooth afterwards.

LOL! When I used the sabre saw on the behind-the-seat storage unit the plastic melted and then rejoined behind the blade. It took several passes in order to get a clear cut. So I understand the melting bit.

My Dremel won't go low enough to not melt the plastic with any cutting tools I have. So on delicate things I go to a hacksaw blade, with a plastic handle on it, and do it by hand. Slowly.

[Rusty_S85]

Yes, but it is tough! Were I to do it again w/o using the mill I'd drill holes in the plastic and use a hacksaw blade to cut out the rough opening. Then use a file to take it down to a nice, clean line.

That's the approach I used recently on the opening for the switches in the medium duty bezel. I like it because it is controllable. And slow. Much less chance of making a mistake.

I did it two different ways. On mine I did the drilled hole technique and used a razor to cut the small gaps then use the razor to shave the opening smooth. One at work I used a hacksaw blade on it and it worked better but it did leave a little discoloration where as the razor left a decent color.

[kramttocs]

LOL! When I used the sabre saw on the behind-the-seat storage unit the plastic melted and then rejoined behind the blade. It took several passes in order to get a clear cut. So I understand the melting bit.

My Dremel won't go low enough to not melt the plastic with any cutting tools I have. So on delicate things I go to a hacksaw blade, with a plastic handle on it, and do it by hand. Slowly.

I had good luck cutting my bezel (to enlarge for double din) using a scroll saw. Had to go slow to avoid the melting but made for a clean cut and I could make it quite a ways before it started getting hot. Would require some foam or something to get the clock area flat so you aren't cutting a bevel.

 

[Rembrant]

So I finally tackled this job tonight. I ended up doing it with a metal blade in my Jigsaw. I first cut around each opening with a utility knife so that gave me a little better visual line to follow without cutting too deep. I then smoothed out all the edges with a flat file, and I must say it turned out pretty well. I was a little scared to cut into it, but once I drilled a starter hole, I was committed...lol. I just washed it up, but I'll be painting it tomorrow night if all goes well.

Here is the one I removed from the truck. I used it as a test piece for my paints. I did it in a Krylon Satin Black. It didn't sit as nicely as I wanted on the smooth surface, but it worked great on the weave pattern, so when I paint the good one I'm going to do it a little differently.

 

[Gary Lewis]

So I finally tackled this job tonight. I ended up doing it with a metal blade in my Jigsaw. I first cut around each opening with a utility knife so that gave me a little better visual line to follow without cutting too deep. I then smoothed out all the edges with a flat file, and I must say it turned out pretty well. I was a little scared to cut into it, but once I drilled a starter hole, I was committed...lol. I just washed it up, but I'll be painting it tomorrow night if all goes well.

Here is the one I removed from the truck. I used it as a test piece for my paints. I did it in a Krylon Satin Black. It didn't sit as nicely as I wanted on the smooth surface, but it worked great on the weave pattern, so when I paint the good one I'm going to do it a little differently.

Well done, Cory!

I fully understand the feeling of not really wanting to make that first cut. But once you drill that hole.....

So what are you doing differently on the paint?

[Rembrant]

Well done, Cory!

I fully understand the feeling of not really wanting to make that first cut. But once you drill that hole.....

So what are you doing differently on the paint?

The Jigsaw actually worked pretty good with a fine toothed metal blade...but still, you have to be super careful as it walks through that plastic with ease. Having pre-cut the edges with an Xacto knife made the lines a little easier to follow. I suppose I should have checked to make sure the clock even worked before I went through all the trouble...lol, but anyway. I took the clock apart and the contacts are shiny clean, so hopefully it is OK. Being an early 1980 it is the old style clock with a 4 pin plug like a trailer connector.

As for the paint...I'm not 100% happy with how the paint went on the flat surface, so I might mask that off on the bezel just in case. That is what I did with the instrument bezel...I masked off some of the flat smooth surfaces, and just focused on the weave pattern and edges.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Well done, Cory!

I fully understand the feeling of not really wanting to make that first cut. But once you drill that hole.....

So what are you doing differently on the paint?

The Jigsaw actually worked pretty good with a fine toothed metal blade...but still, you have to be super careful as it walks through that plastic with ease. Having pre-cut the edges with an Xacto knife made the lines a little easier to follow. I suppose I should have checked to make sure the clock even worked before I went through all the trouble...lol, but anyway. I took the clock apart and the contacts are shiny clean, so hopefully it is OK. Being an early 1980 it is the old style clock with a 4 pin plug like a trailer connector.

As for the paint...I'm not 100% happy with how the paint went on the flat surface, so I might mask that off on the bezel just in case. That is what I did with the instrument bezel...I masked off some of the flat smooth surfaces, and just focused on the weave pattern and edges.

Did the metal blade not cause enough heating of the plastic for it to fuse again behind the blade? That's the problem I've been having.

On the paint, is it too shiny or what on the flat surfaces? I'm pretty happy with the two bezels I have on Big Blue, but they aren't a perfect match so I might paint them - some day.