Restoring dash pad myself...

Posted By: fatsat

Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/24/15 10:43 PM

Mine has a few cracks in it. Found some instructions on the subject...

http://www.urethanesupply.com/Repair-Cracked-Dashboard/

Any opinions or advice on doing something like this?

Posted By: Grizzly

Re: Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/24/15 11:08 PM

What's the worst that can happen, right? Go for it.

If it don't work, oh well, send it out.

Thanks for the link, saved it.

Posted By: 68gtx

Re: Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/24/15 11:56 PM

I have used a very similar system. It is not as easy as they make it look. Think about how flat a body panel has to be. The dash pad will look good as long as your prep work is spot on.

Posted By: 6PakBee

Re: Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/25/15 02:48 AM

I would think fixing a hole would be MUCH simpler than fixing a crack. With the curling you get at the edges of a crack, I would like to see how this method would address that.

Posted By: gdonovan

Re: Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/25/15 03:01 AM

Back in the 80's I knew a guy who was on call at the dealer I worked at, he was amazing. He fixed a huge gash in the dash of my friends '73 Road Runner in less then 10 minutes flat.

Filled it, textured and paint matched it in 10 min or less. Was the most amazing bit of work I have ever seen and we could not find the repair. Mind you the pad was still IN THE CAR. I happened to stop by to pickup tools from my box and mentioned the dash to him.

Posted By: 68gtx

Re: Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/25/15 04:00 AM

When the edges are curled up you cut the edges back until you have solid material to work with it. Someone that does this on a regular basis are like artist. Some systems are better than others.Find an old pad and practice some before you do yours.

Posted By: Stanton

Re: Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/25/15 05:00 AM

I'm reading this and thinking ... you have a textured pad BUT the fillers are sanded smooth. Then you spray a texture over that. Theoretically the end result will be a finer texture over the repair and a coarser texture over the original.

Posted By: MOBodyman

Re: Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/25/15 07:18 AM

Quote:

I'm reading this and thinking ... you have a textured pad BUT the fillers are sanded smooth. Then you spray a texture over that. Theoretically the end result will be a finer texture over the repair and a coarser texture over the original.

That partly depends on how it's sprayed. Also, you can lightly sand the texture, which will remove the 'peaks' and the remaining material will appear coarser.

When I restored one of my Shelby Dakotas, the dash pad was cracked and I was unable to find a replacement. I had a guy come out and repair it. He did a nice job, but it was not perfect. I could tell a bit of difference in the texture and his color match was off a bit.

I had some Dupont vinyl paint mixed at the parts store and resprayed it myself. It made a major improvement.

The pic below is of the repaired dash pad. It had cracks in the corners of the 'tray' area below the tag and some big splits across the top.

Note the texture of this pad, and I will next post an original.
Dallas

Attached picture 8407198-IMG_7934.JPG

Posted By: MOBodyman

Re: Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/25/15 07:23 AM

Here is a pic of an original pad. You can see the difference in the texture of the vinyl. I believe a light sanding would have made the repaired dash look more original but it still wouldn't look like this one.

Also, the pads look entirely different colors in the pics but the Dupont vinyl paint used on the dash in the first pic was a dead on match. The little vent to the right wasn't painted. The first pic may have been taken with a flash.
Dallas

Attached picture 8407201-IMG_6164.JPG

Posted By: Stanton

Re: Restoring dash pad myself... - 01/26/15 03:44 AM

I think if both photos were taken under the same lighting conditions they'd appear to be a better match. The flash is eliminating any shadows so there appears to be very little texture. Nice job though. Too bad someone doesn't make a vinyl seat repair product that works as good !!