On the inside of a restoration, the dashboard is the star of the show, and the carpet and upholstery are supporting actors. But the “extras” -the trim pieces, knobs and covers play a critical role. You can have the most perfect dash in the world, but without knobs on the radio, the effect is ruined.

When you begin your restoration according to best practices, you carefully disassemble everything, photograph and catalog it, and store the parts in clearly labeled bags or bins. This is critical for interior trim because of the small screws and intricate shapes of the parts. It’s easy to lose that stuff if you toss it into a box!

The trim parts and fasteners you must restore will generally fall into three categories: dirty, broken, and missing. Obviously, dirty is the easiest to fix. Just make sure you use the right cleansers to take off the accumulated gunk. Fine steel wool is your tool of choice for removing rust, tar, and other stuff adhering to the parts. Where possible, try water first, then stronger cleansers and solvents, and always try your products on the backside or other hidden areas before you commit to the visible portions.

If the parts are cracked or broken, you have some decisions to make. Sometimes a dab of krazy glue will do the job, especially on plastic, ceramic, or bakelite parts. But sometimes you’ll find that age, UV light, and heat have cooked the life out of these parts until they’re permanently discolored, and sometimes they’ll crumble right in your hands. At that point, it’s best to consider those parts as falling into the third category: Missing.

Your procedure for missing interior trim is the same for every other missing part on your classic: start a search process. As always, eBay, Hemmings, sometimes even Craigslist, are useful, and there are also a growing number of businesses such as Year One (www.yearone.com) are producing a wide range of quality reproduction interior trim pieces.

While you’ve got all the parts out, it’s also time to look at painted trim inside your car. Often times you’ll have these parts painted along with the rest of the car, but sometimes they’re painted in a contrasting color or even painted to resemble woodgrain on some domestic cars from the 1920s to 1940s. Think of it as the period equivalent of woodgrained plastic! Luckily, there are who can come in and paint your trim parts and dashboard if your car originally came with painted woodgrain.

If you are sending your whole car out to be painted, the painter will often do these pieces at no extra charge, since they’ll have ample valances, doors, and other parts to paint at the same time. But if your parts are to be painted in a contrasting color (usually black), you can also use them as test-beds to learn the craft at home with an airbrush or small HVLP setup, or even with a rattle can.

Hint...

Woodgrain paint takes a bit more finesse and skill. If you choose to do this work yourself there are kits available from www.woodgraining.com that use rollers and “graining plates” to simulate the grain pattern. As with all of these paint techniques, the trick to getting the prized high gloss finish is patience -and the application of about seven coats of clear coat, with a light sanding in between coats! The right kind of clear coat is also available at www.woodgraining.com.

When you’ve finished all your cleaning and painting, reassembly is another area for care -bear in mind that if you’re reassembling with original parts, they are not likely to be as sturdy as they were when they were new, even if they’re in good condition. Snug down delicate threads, rather than securing them with torque, and then be gentle when you use them.

Sometimes a piece that doesn’t look its best, but you haven’t found a replacement for it yet, is a good place to hang your driving gloves, or some other piece of period-correct memorabilia can cover a blemish. That won’t fool every judge, especially at a proper concours, but it’ll get you by while you find the last few things.

Once you have found your parts and completed your restoration, bear in mind that you will want to protect your investment. Most restorations have a garage in which to live, but even when you’re out and about, consider an EZ-up sunshade or even a custom-cut dash capper and a windshield shade to keep the UV off of your restored parts - especially if those parts are originals!