Angus,
The "cold cast" option was one I looked at early on. My main objective was to get as shiny a surface as possible and the aluminum samples I'd seen at the art supply store looked more like pewter, even when polished.
Having said that though, let me know how it works out for your dash cluster. Maybe the store didn't have a high enough ratio of aluminum powder in their samples. I'd still be leery about putting it up against a buffing wheel though since the main ingredient is resin.
The "cold cast" option was one I looked at early on. My main objective was to get as shiny a surface as possible and the aluminum samples I'd seen at the art supply store looked more like pewter, even when polished.
Having said that though, let me know how it works out for your dash cluster. Maybe the store didn't have a high enough ratio of aluminum powder in their samples. I'd still be leery about putting it up against a buffing wheel though since the main ingredient is resin.