Tips from Tony:
I spent three days rebuilding the transmission-buttons in my spare time. I lavished all sorts of care and effort on making them pretty. I took apart the whole assembly and installed a brand-new shifting mechanism. The buttons are clear-plastic again (they had corroded quite a bit) and the stainless-steel surrounds are buffed, after removing them and setting them aside. I went to the hobby-shop and bought a small bottle of Antique White train-set paint and some clear finishing-gloss. I took my glasses off (I'm very nearsighted, and can see MICROSCOPICALLY) and carefully picked the old, remaining paint-particles out of the "P", "R", "N", "D", "2", and "1" inset numerals.
Using 1200-grit sandpaper, I sanded the long, angular, rectangular acrylic buttons down so they were smooth and even. I poked holes in a cardboard box so I could stand the buttons vertically while the paint dried on the numerals. Every few hours, I'd smoosh a droplet of paint onto the numeral, not caring if there was plenty of overlap. I'd walk away for 20 minutes, and then I'd come back to find the paint had "sunk" into the numeral as it dried. I would dab a paper-towel into a cup of paint-thinner, allow the towel to become evenly moist, and then I'd wipe the top of the button. Any paint that was outside of the sunken numeral was wiped away easily.
I'd drop some more paint onto it and then repeat the process, over and over. This was the part that took several days, since I let the paint do a lot of drying. When I was satisfied that the numerals were completely opaque with paint, I applied several THIN coats of gloss, making sure to sand lightly between coats.
I re-assembled the buttons, stainless-steel surrounds and the shifting-mechanism, marveling at the large, flat "Panelescent" light-source panel next to the buttons. The whole 4-inch-by-six-inch panel glows. It's a rectangular section of metal that has been coated with Electroluminescent ceramic. It lays flat next to the clear-plastic shifting-buttons, and the buttons "pipe" the light to the numerals, causing them to glow at night. It's SO futuristic!
I tested the dash-lights as the sun was going down, and the push-buttons are awesome, glowing radioactive bluish-green. Seeing them, I felt like I had accomplished something wonderful. All of the dash-lights (except for the warning and turn-indicator lights) are powered by 200-volts AC, and you had better believe I kept the battery disconnected while fishing around inside the dash for dropped screws! I have heard of fellow Imperialists getting zapped good because they forgot that their dash will bite!
I lubed the heck out of the shifting-mechanism, testing the shifting-action over and over, because I had been unable to shift into or out of second-gear in the past with the old mechanism. Well, it turns out that problem is NOT the mechanism - It's the dash itself.
As far as I can tell, the pressure of 36 years of having the transmission-cable pull has warped the pot-metal dash, and the shift-mechanism now jams against the side of the dash in a bad position. I'm resigned to avoiding second gear until we can get the new dash-cover-pads reproduced, at which point an entirely different dash will go into the car. I will be having everything repainted in the proper red color while I'm at it.
Tips from Brooks:
I have a 1961 Imperial custom and a 1963 Crown convertible. At different times, I've removed the transmission push-buttons and put them back. The '61 was a couple of years ago, but the '63 was last night. On both cars, I discovered if I pulled hard enough, worked them back & forth, finagled, etc., I could work the chrome piece off the end of the lucite (is that what it is?) buttons, in order to better clean. I now have some observations and a question. And I'll loosely call them "buttons" for this discussion, though they're about 5" long each.
On the 1961: In the very end of the buttons, where your finger hits, each button had had a dollop of color added to the end, which appeared to penetrate about 1/8" or 1/4" (it's been awhile since I did this) into the length of the button, to give them different colors when lit. I believe (thought I haven't looked) that the letter itself was then painted white (R-N-D-2-1).
On the 1963, it is an entirely different story. The buttons are clear all the way to the end. It appears that the only coloring is in the paint. Some of the red remains in the letter "R", but that's the only paint I have left.
