Preparing to remount the woodgrain dash piece, I noticed that the ash tray looks unused, but it does have some surface rust inside and on the ouside of one side near the slider. It's not terrible, but still needs cleaned up. What's the best way to do that?

I have a glass bead cabinet, but what's the best way to protect the woodgrain covering while I clean up the metal if I glass beaded it? Would it need a coating afterwards that is burn resistant if anyone should drop a cigarette in the ash tray (when I'm not there to yell at them for smoking near my car)?

Buy a new ash tray from Rick's or some of the suppliers.

Rick's says that part is not reproduced, when they get one it's a used one and they don't know when it will be or what condition it will be in.
I saw one on ebay a week or so ago sell for over $100.... I figured they were a little harder to come by so I'de like to clean up the one I have. I just don't know what to top coat it with afterwards or if I even need to.

You can try doing it the hard way like I did.

Drill out the rivets attaching the face to the ashtray. Clean the ashtray in your media blaster, grind and sand any pits out, send out the ashtray to silver cad plate it, then re-attach with new compression rivets.

That's obviously overkill. You might try masking off the woodgrain face, then bead blasting and repainting with an appropriate paint (e.g. stainless steel color paint).

LOL thanks, I'm hoping I wont need the ashtray for anything more than to store a penny or two now and then so I didn't go to that extent, but that is a good way to do it. I covered the woodgrain with masking tape and after glass beading the metal it looked like new! I sprayed it with flameproof high heat aluminum paint. It's solvent resistant after it gets baked, but I'm not going to bake it- I figure these Missouri summer afternoons with the windows up will do the trick.
:beers:

Yearone has the 69 dash ashtray (part no. CD486)for $30.95.