Musclecar Ashtray Restoration

Whether you're a cigarette smoker or not, chances are you wouldn't smoke in your classic musclecar. The idea of lighting up and placing a cigarette anywhere near those new seats or carpet is more than an alarming thought. However, that old ashtray probably got plenty of use back in the '60s and '70s when looking cool at street races meant having a cigarette hanging out of your mouth. Years of nicotine stains, ashes and the dreaded wad of gum can leave an ashtray looking like, well, an ashtray. Here's how to get a factory fresh look from the oft overlooked part of your dash.

Before
Our old ashtray was dirty, rusty, scratched and just plain worn out. The paint on the outside was rough, the ball bearings did little for smooth opening and closing and the base was starting to corrode and get powdery. It was time to give this thing a good cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. To start, we removed the upper slider bracket and the four ball bearings then we headed for the sand blaster to wipe away the years of nicotine abuse.

Interior Paint
With the two pieces of the ashtray apart, sandblasted and clean, we applied an even coat of silver cad paint. Be sure to get into the edges by moving the parts around to get a good angle of spray. We wanted to be sure it was even too, so that it would more closely look like a zinc or cad plating. We don't intend to ever put another cigarette in the ashtray when it's done, but if you do be prepared to burn the new paint. It's tough but not fire resistant.

Exterior Prep
After the silver cad paint had been allowed to dry sufficiently to handle, we masked off the inner area in preparation to paint the exterior. The original dash is a semi gloss black and we wanted it to look like a factory job. We used paper and masking tape to keep the black paint from getting inside.

Exterior Primer
To promote a good even coat, prevent rust and achieve proper adhesion of the topcoat, we used a quality primer (sandable) and applied two even coats spaced about 10-15 minutes apart. This will give the topcoat black a super flat finish with a minimum of orange peel. The primer actually fills small imperfections on the surface making it more uniform.