While you are cleaning up the dash here is how I cleaned up old indicator lights.
A piece of rag in a cordless drill to polish the centers. Be careful not to let the chuck hit the chrome.
P.S. same disclaimer as OP.
Problem I've had with the slather method is that some knobs have a textured finish to them. SLathering pain just fills in the texture and makes for a very hard clean. Best method I have found is using the ultra fine paint pens and cutting the tip down to just a hair. This way I can fill in the letters without the paint going everywhere and can control the depth of the paint.
Also some knobs are very faded and pitted. I buff all those at low speed with a plastic polish to get the surface back as close to the original color. Then I clean the knob and paint the letters.
i followed the directions exactly and they came out great!!! i used a sharpie paint marker from michaels, let it dry all night and cleaned it up the edges with water today. simple green was great!
Has anyone found anything to make the dash knobs "shiny black" like a new one? After we cleaned the pull knobs from our FJ40, the knobs are now a satin finish at best as the knobs are a little porous after 40 years.
Some friends mentioned soaking them in silicone or some type of Armor-All or painting them with a black paint such as Krylon's Fusion.
Hey Trollhole, how did you refurbish these knobs with the indented surface. I have the same ones in my 72 FJ40. I see how the simple green and rag method would work on a smooth face. But ours are not smooth, they are indented.