Dash restoration: I need another option!

Just Dashes quoted me $1,000 to restore my dash. Anyone else have a suggestion? That's a little too rich for my blood!

If you do a plastic dash cap right, they look really nice.

There was already one on there that I removed. I didn't like it because it didn't fit all the way up to the windshield.

I am wondering how bad it would be to remove the old vinyl, fill in any foam (it's pretty much all there) and lay some new vinyl or leather on it. My husband is pretty detailed when he does projects, maybe somebody has some pointers? Or another dash place that does good work.

All I know is that I don't feel like throwing a grand at the dash right now, but it has already been removed, so something has to be done!

I have until June to get it together.

I remember when dashes did not have all that stuff on them to dry out and split. All you had to do was put a little Simeniz on it. JB

We are looking at the dash now, contemplating leather. I am thinking of taking the cracked areas off, sand around there, and maybe using some kind of fiberglass to fill in those spots, then a leather overlay. Wondering what kind of adhesive would hold up for many years. Also the thickness of the leather, and what to do with the speaker area.

Muscle Car show used flexible plastic repair to fix the dash on the Blue Collar Buick.

http://www.spike.com/full-episode/blue-collar-buick/40874

Thanks for the link BigRed, I've been waiting for that episode. I guess I missed it when it aired.

HD u can fiberglass ur dash and wrap it or paint it. Here's a link to a lowrider forum that I go to, this topic has pretty much a step by step on how the glass the dash.

http://www.layitlow.com/forums/index.php?s=7f8591953d763c816ffa779b6ff94f3a&showtopic=478842

Chris! I remember those pictures... wow. Thats crazy. Why did he have all those again?

JiMi_DRiX wrote:Chris! I remember those pictures... wow. Thats crazy. Why did he have all those again?

they were/are mine. he had a BIG basemant he did not use,and i needed a place to put them.hehe

Nice brother, lol.

Hey Andrej (abajc3)...how about you post a pic of your reconditioned dash in leather for HDHugger to see? I thought it turned out pretty nice.

here it is, let me know if you are interested in any particular details so i can snap some additional photos during the weekend. i cant find any before photos at the moment, but it was a mess. i filled the cracks with some kind of silicone first, so it stays flexible, then i gave it to the guy who did the leather. he reinforced it with fiberglass first (the edges where it goes under the pillar trim were almost gone), then padded it with a 2mm sponge and put leather over it. it feels awesome to touch and it looks good too. he said that he had hard time dressing it up, so you might reconsider doing it yourself. much like your husband i like the job to be done right too, so there are some things that still bother me:
- if you look towards the sun, you can see the slight ridge where the cracks used to be
- because there is a stich on the upper right corner of the instrument panel, the dash bezel doesnt go in all the way and you cant screw it in on that corner. it frustrates me as hell and i spent numerous hours trying to get it in but all i did was break the bezel more than it already was.

i eliminated the speaker hole, because the speaker wasnt connected even before that, so i let it go. if you decide to pad it, try to be a little conservative around surfaces that bolt to something/have something bolted on them. it will save you some cursing and frustration:)

i almost forgot, the price was 180 euros, which is around 250$. less than a dash pad+shipping+customs would cost me, and i prefer leather than plastic pad that might not even fit. i removed and installed it myself, i also separated upper and lower parts and filled the cracks.

http://www.dashboardrestorations.com/