04-29-2016, 05:35 PM
Last edit by: IB Advertising
See related guides and technical advice from our community experts:
- Camaro and Firebird How to Repair Wrap Dash<br>Step by step instructions for do-it-yourself repairs.
Another *HOW TO* cracked dash pad repair w/out wrapping
10-15-2012, 07:28 PM
#1
Staging Lane
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Another *HOW TO* cracked dash pad repair w/out wrapping I've noticed there are a lot of cracked dash pad repairs on here but all of them used some type of fabric wrap and I didnt want to just wrap when it came factory plastic. So I did some research and decided a good game plan to tackle my horrible looking dash and keep it looking original to the car.
So here is a list of tools you will need:
Plastic welding glue (I Used Loctite plastic weld) $4 at walmart
SEM Color Coat (Graphite 15303) Color will vary to match. Mine is a 99 T/A with dark gray interior. $13 at mty local paint supply store
Duplicolor Truck Bed Liner (It shoots on very fine and gives the dash a factory look and feel) $10 at Meijer
Auto Body Plastic Filler ( Does not have to be flexible) I had this laying around so I did not have to buy any but probably around $20
A range of sandpaper from 80-300 grit.
*Optional but I recommend these to reinforce the structure from future cracks*
Fiberglass Woven Cloth
Some type of plastic bonding Material (Expensive) I used Lord Fusor 142 but sets up incredibly fast normally below 2 minutes. Another good material is made by 3M and I used that as well but either will work. That gave me a 10 minute set time. You will need a dual stage applicating gun to use these products. Gun and Adhesive run about 70 at your local parts store. I had these already and if you have any body-work friends I suggest you borrow their gun.
Removal:
Once you get all your material you can start by removing the dash pad. You do not have to remove anything other than the pillars.
Once removed take some paint stirrers and slide them between the dash and dash pad. I used about 10. In the areas close to a mounting tab use more stirrers to apply force over a wider area. This will help from shattering the dash more. There are 4 mounting tabs in the closer to the steering wheel side and 5 velcro attachments close to the windshield. Once popped loose twist out the security light and angle the pad up towards the passenger side and remove.
Repair:
Now that you have the dash in your work area, peice together all the small parts to make sure you got everything from the car. Now take your most coarse sand paper (80 grit) and sand rough groves about 1 inch from all the cracked areas.
Next comes a very important part, gluing the peices together. I started with large pieces that were held together but about to snap off first. Then I did small pieces to all the large and did only 2 pieces at a time till the glue cured making sure to hold all pieces together with light pressure. If held to tight you could shift parts out of alignment and possibly snap the peice more. Make sure to get all the parts together as perfect as possible to save yourself work later.
Once everything is glued together and looks pretty even, reinforcing the backside is the next step. Now if you got the high strength bonding glue, well use that with the fiberglass cloth. If you decided not to do this you can use your loctite glue with either fiberglass cloth or cereal box cardboard. I prefer the fiberglass matt because it add more material with more tooth so the plastic has more strength. Sand the cracked areas again with 80grit to give the glue more tooth. Cut strips about 6 inches long, 2 inchs wide and lay them over the cracked areas. Apply glue liberally and flip over and smooth out to where it bleeds through the fiberglass. Then add more to the top before it cures. Let it Cure for and hour or more.
*Note* I braced mine across to all mounting points to reinforce from future cracking.
Now flip over and sand the entire top with 80 grit. It needs to be rough to give the filler a way to bite. Make sure you sand all the glue off the top of the crack before apply filler. Apply light coats of filler just to hide imperfections in uneveness. Sand with 80 grit to look like a skim coat. The thinner the better and will look less wavy. Make sure it feels smooth and has no high spots and feather the ends. You will see imperfections once youre paint so use primer to check your even with no high spots. Once done with filler, work over the entire top while stepping up in grits. I went 80-180-300 totake take out the deep scratches.
Paint:
Clean the dash with a damp cloth or acetone. Now if you have any black primer or paint, use it to cover and soak into the filler. If not the truck liner should work.
Apply three wet coats of the truck liner and spray it evenly with an overlappingmethod. Let sit and cure.
If you have gray interior like mine has, you will need to dye it with the SEM Color Coat. Apply 3 wet coats in warm weather, around 70 degrees. Spacing coats apart in 15 minute intervals.
Install:
Let it dry for a few hours and put the stock foam back on. Angle it gently into the dash going into the driver side first and keep the passenger side high. Once slid in, twist in the security light then align and tap the tabs gently. Your done.
So here is a list of tools you will need:
Plastic welding glue (I Used Loctite plastic weld) $4 at walmart
SEM Color Coat (Graphite 15303) Color will vary to match. Mine is a 99 T/A with dark gray interior. $13 at mty local paint supply store
Duplicolor Truck Bed Liner (It shoots on very fine and gives the dash a factory look and feel) $10 at Meijer
Auto Body Plastic Filler ( Does not have to be flexible) I had this laying around so I did not have to buy any but probably around $20
A range of sandpaper from 80-300 grit.
*Optional but I recommend these to reinforce the structure from future cracks*
Fiberglass Woven Cloth
Some type of plastic bonding Material (Expensive) I used Lord Fusor 142 but sets up incredibly fast normally below 2 minutes. Another good material is made by 3M and I used that as well but either will work. That gave me a 10 minute set time. You will need a dual stage applicating gun to use these products. Gun and Adhesive run about 70 at your local parts store. I had these already and if you have any body-work friends I suggest you borrow their gun.
Removal:
Once you get all your material you can start by removing the dash pad. You do not have to remove anything other than the pillars.
Once removed take some paint stirrers and slide them between the dash and dash pad. I used about 10. In the areas close to a mounting tab use more stirrers to apply force over a wider area. This will help from shattering the dash more. There are 4 mounting tabs in the closer to the steering wheel side and 5 velcro attachments close to the windshield. Once popped loose twist out the security light and angle the pad up towards the passenger side and remove.
Repair:
Now that you have the dash in your work area, peice together all the small parts to make sure you got everything from the car. Now take your most coarse sand paper (80 grit) and sand rough groves about 1 inch from all the cracked areas.
Next comes a very important part, gluing the peices together. I started with large pieces that were held together but about to snap off first. Then I did small pieces to all the large and did only 2 pieces at a time till the glue cured making sure to hold all pieces together with light pressure. If held to tight you could shift parts out of alignment and possibly snap the peice more. Make sure to get all the parts together as perfect as possible to save yourself work later.
Once everything is glued together and looks pretty even, reinforcing the backside is the next step. Now if you got the high strength bonding glue, well use that with the fiberglass cloth. If you decided not to do this you can use your loctite glue with either fiberglass cloth or cereal box cardboard. I prefer the fiberglass matt because it add more material with more tooth so the plastic has more strength. Sand the cracked areas again with 80grit to give the glue more tooth. Cut strips about 6 inches long, 2 inchs wide and lay them over the cracked areas. Apply glue liberally and flip over and smooth out to where it bleeds through the fiberglass. Then add more to the top before it cures. Let it Cure for and hour or more.
*Note* I braced mine across to all mounting points to reinforce from future cracking.
Now flip over and sand the entire top with 80 grit. It needs to be rough to give the filler a way to bite. Make sure you sand all the glue off the top of the crack before apply filler. Apply light coats of filler just to hide imperfections in uneveness. Sand with 80 grit to look like a skim coat. The thinner the better and will look less wavy. Make sure it feels smooth and has no high spots and feather the ends. You will see imperfections once youre paint so use primer to check your even with no high spots. Once done with filler, work over the entire top while stepping up in grits. I went 80-180-300 totake take out the deep scratches.
Paint:
Clean the dash with a damp cloth or acetone. Now if you have any black primer or paint, use it to cover and soak into the filler. If not the truck liner should work.
Apply three wet coats of the truck liner and spray it evenly with an overlappingmethod. Let sit and cure.
If you have gray interior like mine has, you will need to dye it with the SEM Color Coat. Apply 3 wet coats in warm weather, around 70 degrees. Spacing coats apart in 15 minute intervals.
Install:
Let it dry for a few hours and put the stock foam back on. Angle it gently into the dash going into the driver side first and keep the passenger side high. Once slid in, twist in the security light then align and tap the tabs gently. Your done.
10-15-2012, 08:23 PM
#2
Launching!
iTrader: (20)
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Commerce, Ga
Posts: 274
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i just basically did the same thing with mine but in stead of the bed liner for the texture, I used SEM 39853 texture coating, matched the OEM texture of the dash perfect.
I need to get mine done asap! 
10-16-2012, 01:18 AM
#7
Staging Lane
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Ohio
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks everyone for the good responses. It wasn't to bad to do. I did it over the weekend only working on it for a few hours each day. I'd say 8 hours overall
About the glue... I didn't trust just the loctite so that's why I mentioned using the Lord Fusor 142. That stuff is incredibly strong. I've bonded 2 bumper halfs together, different plastic to plastic, and even some metal to plastic. That's why I recommend using it. But the loctite didn't seem bad... But it definitely needs some help on the back with some type of bracing
About the glue... I didn't trust just the loctite so that's why I mentioned using the Lord Fusor 142. That stuff is incredibly strong. I've bonded 2 bumper halfs together, different plastic to plastic, and even some metal to plastic. That's why I recommend using it. But the loctite didn't seem bad... But it definitely needs some help on the back with some type of bracing
Trending Topics
04-02-2015, 01:45 PM
#11
waking this thread up to add some pics, I found a decent dash pad at a junkyard. It didnt have any cracks, but I had to glue some pieces of the grill back together. I sprayed with bedliner just to prevent cracking in the future. OP how is your holding up?
