My dash recently cracked right down the middled and it seems to me that it would be a great oppurtnity to do something a little different. I figure that ill fill in the crack with some sem epoxy filler. But thats where i start to wonder. Can i just smooth the whole dash down spray some adhesion promotor on it prime then paint. Or would i have to glass the whole dash sand then fill then sand then prime and paint. Then if i glass the dash will i have to strip all of the foam off and start from the hard plastic. Any suggestions or pics would be great. Oya i see that some people are covering their cracked dashes with viynal and fabric but i dont really want to go that route.

I wouldnt try recovering it. I would fiberglass then paint, like you said. You shouldnt have to strip the foam and plastic off, just lay down about three coats and then sand and paint.

Many years ago I had fixed a cracked dash with some epoxy and nail polish Yes, nail polish. I put epoxy in the crack which was about 1/4" thick too, then to give it that "texture" the dash had I used an old wash cloth to press into it while it was still drying then once it dried dabbed some nail polish in that without a clear coat over it so it would be a matte finish. Looked good as new and the new owners never suspected a thing, they actually commented on how great the interior was. Of course I lucked out and the crack was even, nothing curled up, so it was nice and smooth once the epoxy was put in and no sanding was needed. I have no idea how long it lasted though.

I have to agree with the fiberglass and paint like was said. Definitely would last a lot longer.

I read an article about making a cupholder to replace the ashtray, and in the article, he sprayed his new panel with bedliner. I have been wondering what that would look like if the dash was sprayed with bedliner.

Ive seen a few dash parts done up over at the fsc forum with bed liner and they came out pretty good.

mine has a crack in it also, right in the middle. If I wasn't flat broke and desperately trying to get money for my engine/trans, I'd try it. Hell, I'll be a guinea pig, someone send me a can of bedliner and I'll try it on my dash :P

You're talking about a crack in the dash or the dash pad? The pad is made of a soft material, probably some kind of vinyl covered foam. Not a great foundation. Wrapping it in fiberglass mat would work ok if you used a few layers to build up strength.

Guys @ fiberglassforums.com can help you out with this. Don't use Bondo brand fiberglass supplies, get something legit.

A few layers of fiberglass, some sanding and filler (Rage makes good product) and you're ready for paint.

If you're having a lot of trouble getting it smooth, look up milkshakes on that site I listed above.

Mathius

Well ive decieded to fill in the crack and im going to somewhat smooth it out. I found some stuff made by bondo thats used to fill cracks in flexible bumpers. Im going to try painting it with some duplicolor vinal and carpet paint/dye if it dosent turn out very good ill just buy a dash pad cover for 129.99

heres some pics.

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/w...2/102_3064.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/w...2/102_3065.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/w...2/102_3066.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/w...2/102_3068.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/w...2/102_3071.jpg

Im just waiting now for the stuff to harden then sand alot and spray!!!

I bought the wrinkle finish just incase it dosent quite turn out right and the red matches pretty good so im going to give it a try.

I've used that wrinkle finish one SO many things, I LOVE that stuff :] if you use it, make sure you put it on thick, if you go too thin, it won't wrinkle or it will wrinkle unevenly. And if you want to speed things up in the wrinkle department, take a hair dryer to it. Either way though, expect it to stink for AT LEAST a couple days :P

That's not a very good repair. As I said in my other post, the dash pad is not a good foundation. It's a soft material. Fiberglass is a strong process. Bondo is a plastic filler that's supposed to be used in no more than an 1/8" layer and is not structural. The minute someone leans on your dashpad pressure will be applied to your layer of bondo, which will press down on the soft dash pad and there's a good possibility you're gonna get a crack all over again.

Some guy tried to do this to an armrest on a firebird in the fabrication forum and I gave him the same criticism. Bondo is not a structural repair.

Mathius

Ya thats what i figured but this is a flexible bumper repair epoxy, so it should expand and contract and take a little beating i hope. Anyway im only out 14 bucks and a little time. and im not going smooth anymore im doing the wrinkle finish but thanks for the input!!

K thanks i tested out the duplicolor red and its no where near what the cap is its more of a victory red i sprayed some of the wrinkle and hit it with the heat gun and i think its going to look great, well better than the crack

be careful with that heat gun, I'd hate to see you melt the vinyl :[
make sure we get some pics of the dash when its done :]

I already melted it in one spot, where it tried to "melt/weld" the crack back to gether.

Anyway i didnt read the pacakage on the epoxy and started to sand it before it cured, f'd that right up

Sanded / pealed that stuff off, Went up and got some different stuff, if that dosent work im going to weld the crack shut since i think ive got that fiquried out know. If not i might have to glass it o well or just get the cover/pad

Cover the cracks with something before you glass, If you don't the resin could melt the foam backing fast. I have done a couple glass and painted dashes and be prepared for ALOT of sanding. Use fleece as the base material and put maybe 3-4 decent coats of poly resin, When done with that I found that "Ice" glaze sands really well and is really flexible and paints evenly. The only problem I see you having is the reflection in the window from the sun but other than that it will look good.