Well, life got busy (again) since my last post so had to shelve the Buick for a bit. Been back at it for a few months nows and trying keep the ball moving forward.
Getting back to the interior, it was time to tackle the dash. The plastic had a bunch of issues that needed repairs. Broken tabs, glove box door hinge mounts broken (notorious in these cars. Bad/ weak design) and a giant hole on the drivers side where the previous owner duplicated the courtesy light on the passengers side.
Fixed most of the tabs and cracks with JB Weld Plastic Bonder and reinforcing mesh including the repair of the big hole.
After the repairs were made, I hit with a couple of coats of 2K and blocked it flat. Surprisingly, the plastic wasn't too out of whack and wavy.
After that, I needed a small amount of Argent Silver to match the original paint. Found the perfect match with Rustoleum Matte Nickel. Nearly identical to the original. Spraying from the can just didn't do it though. The tip doesn't really allow the metallic to lay out and it streaks and mottles like crazy so I cut the can open, let the propellants boil off, added a little retarder and sprayed it from my gun. Perfect.
Next up was the big plan that I've been looking forward to. The first gen Riviera's has a leather option but it was just the leather seat covers. The rest of the interior was left in vinyl (door panels, dash, package tray, knee pad) or painted plastic and metal (console, various filler panels). I wanted to one-up the original and wrap/ upholster the rest with leather and doll the ol' girl up a bit. Nothing outside of original...just in leather.
Starting with the lower dash...
For the chrome trim between panels, I polished the chrome, taped them off and refinished the black centers with SEM matte trim black (love that stuff).