Pulling my dash. I need ideas on refinishing.
04-12-2010, 04:09 PM
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Pulling my dash. I need ideas on refinishing. I have posted about my air bag coming up a little and discovered that it was coming up because of a large crack in the actual dash under it. I figured I was replacing the entire dash anyway, so no big deal. I have a few ideas before I take the plunge in buying a used dash (GM doesn't make or keep them anymore).
No matter what condition I buy the dash in, sooner or later this problem will creep up again. The dash is basically the under-piece/frame which is coated with a foam material which is then covered by the dash material we see. The dash material is actually pretty stiff and hardens over time with exposure to the elements eventually cracking.
As I plan on keeping this car indefinitely, there are basically 3 options that I can see at this point:
1. Get the best condition used dash that I can find and cross my fingers that a company like Classic Industries has begun duplicating them. At that point wait another however many years until it too cracks.
2. Have the dash wrapped in a leather/vinyl professionally. The legitimate worry I have is that people in hot weather who have done this have seen the vinyl eventually sag (far sooner than the dash would crack).
3. This is a new idea that I have, and is the primary question this thread is intended to address. Would peeling off the hardened exterior a piece at a time, taking it down to the foam only, and covering from there be an option?
Adhesion would be better as the foam is porous and more adhesive would work its way into the foam. The problem I would see is that the new covering is not going to be as rigid as the factory material.
Could a thin layer of fiberglass weave be put in place to add the rigidity?
This could maintain the adhesion properties and possibly add rigidity.
Bottom line, would this be a viable solution to fixing the dash in a more long term manner? Does anyone have any ideas on how do add the rigidity (such as a layer of fiberglass) underneath the new vinyl?
Would it be better to just leave the shell intact and have it wrapped as is and hope for the best?
No matter what condition I buy the dash in, sooner or later this problem will creep up again. The dash is basically the under-piece/frame which is coated with a foam material which is then covered by the dash material we see. The dash material is actually pretty stiff and hardens over time with exposure to the elements eventually cracking.
As I plan on keeping this car indefinitely, there are basically 3 options that I can see at this point:
1. Get the best condition used dash that I can find and cross my fingers that a company like Classic Industries has begun duplicating them. At that point wait another however many years until it too cracks.
2. Have the dash wrapped in a leather/vinyl professionally. The legitimate worry I have is that people in hot weather who have done this have seen the vinyl eventually sag (far sooner than the dash would crack).
3. This is a new idea that I have, and is the primary question this thread is intended to address. Would peeling off the hardened exterior a piece at a time, taking it down to the foam only, and covering from there be an option?
Adhesion would be better as the foam is porous and more adhesive would work its way into the foam. The problem I would see is that the new covering is not going to be as rigid as the factory material.
Could a thin layer of fiberglass weave be put in place to add the rigidity?
This could maintain the adhesion properties and possibly add rigidity.
Bottom line, would this be a viable solution to fixing the dash in a more long term manner? Does anyone have any ideas on how do add the rigidity (such as a layer of fiberglass) underneath the new vinyl?
Would it be better to just leave the shell intact and have it wrapped as is and hope for the best?
04-12-2010, 11:33 PM
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i like where youre going already. cool to know thats how its all slapped together.
im gonna skip the other stuff.
putting a thin layer (like 1-3 ply, as needed) would make it A TON more rigid (the resin would soak into that factory foam), but you cant wrap straight over glass, youd still have to do some bondo and sanding before you cover it in whatever material. what i really like about this is you can basically design your own dash while keeping the factory foundation, so everything still works.
However, if you do this (and rest assured ill follow suit if it goes well) youre still gonna run into the problem youd have wrapping the factory dash, right? whats happening is we have good material and good adhesive and a good base but it seems like theyre not the right tools for the job. One option would be glassing and then doing a textured plastic/vinyl spray, but idk how hard it would be to make the grain look right (pickiness considered).
im gonna skip the other stuff.
putting a thin layer (like 1-3 ply, as needed) would make it A TON more rigid (the resin would soak into that factory foam), but you cant wrap straight over glass, youd still have to do some bondo and sanding before you cover it in whatever material. what i really like about this is you can basically design your own dash while keeping the factory foundation, so everything still works.
However, if you do this (and rest assured ill follow suit if it goes well) youre still gonna run into the problem youd have wrapping the factory dash, right? whats happening is we have good material and good adhesive and a good base but it seems like theyre not the right tools for the job. One option would be glassing and then doing a textured plastic/vinyl spray, but idk how hard it would be to make the grain look right (pickiness considered).
