So GM started popping out DASH PADS again?
I can’t believe someone has popped out a high quality real carbon fiber. Replacement. I would think for about the same price it has to be doable. Not only would it look cool, but real carbon fiber it’d be structurally strong enough to withstand the thermal and heat loads.
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Joined: Feb 2024
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From: Haslet, TX
My only issue was the front corners near the dash of all places didn’t want to lay down. It finally did. I just had to add a lot more weight to those corners there. It can be done by yourself. When I bought the car it came with a brand new one of these. I did it in the spring and it 3 days for it to dry at mid 70s temps in my garage.
https://www.classicindustries.com/pr...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://www.classicindustries.com/pr...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
For 700 bucks, I am glad I just added insulation, tabs and velco to a Dash Skin to make it take place of the original. Since I trashed the original dash, I couldn't really glue the skin to it
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Grand Rapids, Michigan
I bought a dash skin on Amazon a couple years ago for $140 ( may not have been the Dash Skin brand though ) and did some repair work with some ABS plastic to bridge some of where my original dash shattered. I bought a tube of FlexSeal for my caulk gun, glued the crap out of the bottom and stuck it on top of the broken dash with about 120 lbs. of books evenly distributed to make sure the edges stuck. I didn't drive the car until a couple of months ago, but so far, so good. Color was really close to stock and unless you really look, you can't tell that I did the repair. A lot less labor and a lot less expense than a GM dash pad that will eventually fail again anyway.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Just an FYI to folks who may want to restore to original by going with one of those new GM dash pads; I don't think they will necessarily "fail" unless the car is used in such a way as to expose the dash to a lot of sunlight/heat on a continual basis (such as daily driving, regularly parking in full sun, etc.) The original pad on my '98 is still 100% crack-free after all these years, but that car is a garage queen so this is to be expected. However, the pad on my '02 Z28 never cracked either, and that car was my daily driver and sat outside for 12 years - all I did was keep it treated with 303 Aerospace (2 or 3 treatments per year) and tried to park it in the shade as much as possible (though not always). I think getting 15-20 years (at least) out of a factory-fresh dash pad would be entirely doable, even on a daily driver, with some simple maintenance (such as a sun shield for parking in the sun, and keeping the dash top treated with a proper protectant for times when the windshield can't be covered).
Just an FYI to folks who may want to restore to original by going with one of those new GM dash pads; I don't think they will necessarily "fail" unless the car is used in such a way as to expose the dash to a lot of sunlight/heat on a continual basis (such as daily driving, regularly parking in full sun, etc.) The original pad on my '98 is still 100% crack-free after all these years, but that car is a garage queen so this is to be expected. However, the pad on my '02 Z28 never cracked either, and that car was my daily driver and sat outside for 12 years - all I did was keep it treated with 303 Aerospace (2 or 3 treatments per year) and tried to park it in the shade as much as possible (though not always). I think getting 15-20 years (at least) out of a factory-fresh dash pad would be entirely doable, even on a daily driver, with some simple maintenance (such as a sun shield for parking in the sun, and keeping the dash top treated with a proper protectant for times when the windshield can't be covered).
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From: Haslet, TX
I have seen some pretty good ones, but it is just luck of the draw. Mine had 2 small cracks. You almost couldn’t see them, but It bugged me. When I removed mine good grief it broke all to pieces. SEM has perfect matches for paint for our cars.
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Joined: Feb 2024
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From: Haslet, TX
Just an FYI to folks who may want to restore to original by going with one of those new GM dash pads; I don't think they will necessarily "fail" unless the car is used in such a way as to expose the dash to a lot of sunlight/heat on a continual basis (such as daily driving, regularly parking in full sun, etc.) The original pad on my '98 is still 100% crack-free after all these years, but that car is a garage queen so this is to be expected. However, the pad on my '02 Z28 never cracked either, and that car was my daily driver and sat outside for 12 years - all I did was keep it treated with 303 Aerospace (2 or 3 treatments per year) and tried to park it in the shade as much as possible (though not always). I think getting 15-20 years (at least) out of a factory-fresh dash pad would be entirely doable, even on a daily driver, with some simple maintenance (such as a sun shield for parking in the sun, and keeping the dash top treated with a proper protectant for times when the windshield can't be covered).
That's partially why I bought the aftermarket one. It was cheaper, but also maybe, just maybe, the plastic is better. Maybe not. The box does say "made in China" on it (not surprising given the brand name).
It just got down to 12 degrees here overnight. Man that's not a good temp to try to test fit anything. I'd be concerned the new one would be brittle from the cold and shatter on me, that would be my luck.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
Again, I'm not really sure that longevity would be a problem as long as some basic maintenance care is performed, such as protectant and a sun shield. Unmitigated sun exposure is going to be the number one reason for cracking, not just age. If it was age alone, the one on my '98 would have cracked years ago - but it's still perfect at age 26 with limited sun exposure.
You've mentioned M40 to me in the past. Sounds like good stuff. Have you ever tried 303 Aerospace though? This product has been around for at least 40 years, it's just called 303 Protectant now but the formula seems to be the same. Wondering if anyone has tried both (M40 vs. 303) and what their comparative impressions are.
On the other side of things, sometimes these aftermarket interior plastics are actually worse than the originals (this is something I've discovered with my dinosaur cars; some of the original 50+ year old interior plastic was better quality than the current reproduction parts). All depends on who's making them I guess.
I'm also considering wrapping the new piece (once I test fit it). I thought about wrapping the original but once it busted I'm thinking yeah it probably won't go well for me if it is already breaking apart, and I've never wrapped a piece in my life, so I can only imagine the resulting disaster trying something new for the first time with a disintegrating piece as the foundation.
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From: Haslet, TX
I agree, it's unlikely that they would have put any R&D into updating the materials for a car of this age. It would technically only need to last for as long as the GM service parts warranty (which is typically 12 months). But these days, GM will often use outsourced suppliers for service parts on older cars - so what you're getting from them might be the same as what you would get from a cheaper (made in china) source. A good example of this would be the headlight modules for the 1998-02 Camaros; starting around 2010-ish, GM exhausted their supply of assembly-line replacements (which were marked as 'made in USA') and they started selling the same Depo pieces that can be found anywhere else on the internet (only difference being that the GM version had a "GM" logo on the lens). These are off-shore pieces that are stamped as 'Depo' on the rear housing, but GM continued selling them for the same price as the better quality, older GM originals.
Again, I'm not really sure that longevity would be a problem as long as some basic maintenance care is performed, such as protectant and a sun shield. Unmitigated sun exposure is going to be the number one reason for cracking, not just age. If it was age alone, the one on my '98 would have cracked years ago - but it's still perfect at age 26 with limited sun exposure.
On the other side of things, sometimes these aftermarket interior plastics are actually worse than the originals (this is something I've discovered with my dinosaur cars; some of the original 50+ year old interior plastic was better quality than the current reproduction parts). All depends on who's making them I guess.
You've mentioned M40 to me in the past. Sounds like good stuff. Have you ever tried 303 Aerospace though? This product has been around for at least 40 years, it's just called 303 Protectant now but the formula seems to be the same. Wondering if anyone has tried both (M40 vs. 303) and what their comparative impressions are.
Again, I'm not really sure that longevity would be a problem as long as some basic maintenance care is performed, such as protectant and a sun shield. Unmitigated sun exposure is going to be the number one reason for cracking, not just age. If it was age alone, the one on my '98 would have cracked years ago - but it's still perfect at age 26 with limited sun exposure.
On the other side of things, sometimes these aftermarket interior plastics are actually worse than the originals (this is something I've discovered with my dinosaur cars; some of the original 50+ year old interior plastic was better quality than the current reproduction parts). All depends on who's making them I guess.
You've mentioned M40 to me in the past. Sounds like good stuff. Have you ever tried 303 Aerospace though? This product has been around for at least 40 years, it's just called 303 Protectant now but the formula seems to be the same. Wondering if anyone has tried both (M40 vs. 303) and what their comparative impressions are.
i bought a dash skin off amazon a few years ago. worked great. $120 or so. i made a youtube video on it. easy install. They used to sell an alcantara one. kicking myself for not buying the alcantara one when it was available.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
So you find M40 more consistent than 303? And by "consistent", do you mean the finish that it leaves on the surface? Or something to do with duration/longevity between applications? I just want to make sure I understand what aspect you're referring to here...