2 cracks in dash

[Kev659]

Anyone have some ideas on how to repair the cracks in the dash?

[wachuko]

This is what I did, but I will not know if it works as a long-term solution since I could not find anyone that had done the same... I did a color change as well.

I cleaned the dash well with Marine Clean (sold by the company that sells POR15).

Then used Plastic Welder (by VersaChem, can be found at your local Autozone, Advance Auto Parts, etc...) to fill the cracks. I cut a little bit on the sides of the crack to get rid of the high areas and also scraped some of the internal foam inside the crack to provide more area for the filler to go in. Then did two passes. One that was bellow the dash line/surface and a second one closer to the surface (came out a little bit higher anyway). Then, once it dried, sanded it down to make it even. Be sure to use a sanding wheel with a dremel. I found out the hard way that you will sand down the texture of the dash if you don't use a small sanding instrument (I started with one of those flexible sanding blocks).

I then cleaned everything again with Marine Clean after sanding. Sprayed SEM Adhesion Promoter, light coat, waited 5 minutes and applied a heavy coat. Waited 15 minutes and started painting with SEM Landau Black Interior Paint Color Coat (15013). A lot of light coats until it was all nicely covered in black.

[SpiderJim]

Yes, I'm at this very moment repairing and rebuilding my dash, center and upper consoles. If the dash is not totally collapsed you can use fiberglass auto body filler with the medium or long strand fiberglass additive. First cut out the damaged area then cut in a reversed V groove along the problem area. Kind of like a dovetail joint. You can then fill this with the resin filler making sure that you spread it as thin along the dash outer panel as possible then feather it in. You want to extend way beyond the damaged area so that the resin cloth/filler provides support and new strength to the dash. Rough sand to a decent finish and use auto putty to blend. Re-texture dash with European gravel guard NAPA Autozone etc and vinyl paint or cover with leather and or vinyl.

Another method if the finish is to be covered is to cut the groove as above and opening up the damaged area. Shoot in urethane low expansion foam from your local hardware store. The type that is used around windows and doors NOT THE GAP FILLER SUPER EXPANSION ONE!!! This will fill the cut out you made with minimal expansion then let it harden overnight then cut and shape or sand to flush finish. Cover dash with vinyl and or leather with a thin pad underneath for a perfect finish. Urethane foam will stick permanently to almost anything so watch your fingers and other stuff in the area. I have used this foam on my aircraft in an emergency to keep the wing tip on and also on formula race cars to stitch bits back together like force wings if proper service was not available. Along with Duct tape you could build a new and stronger Spider?

Above methods depend on digging out scuffing surface up and also having a decent under surface structure and always test products for negative reaction in an inconspicuous area or with the stuff you pull out of the joint. If not sure use an epoxy resin foam beads and 2 - 4 oz fine weave cloth. I'm sure many will say no way but I have used this method for thirty years in both private and the aerospace/military industries for similar fixes. In fact this fix went into space but that's another story.

You can also finish using SEM vinyl repair adhesive with the appropriate repair vinyl then re-texture the original with a texture stamp tool. Check out You Tube vinyl repair for finishing ideas.


And you think you have problems!


V-Groove cut out and remove old garbage. You will often find an air bubble in the foam that caused the dash to crack. This one was a huge bubble and being a Nevada car the heat expands and the covering gets brittle then this. I will simply use the FB stranded filler on this one as the under backing is strong and thick.

[narfire]

Jim, I'm going to copy that post and have a go with one of my spare dashes.
I understand about glue and flying machines, I get my 2-part wood epoxy (G-1 or G-2) from the parts shop at the airport.
Thanks
Chris

[wachuko]

...You can also finish using SEM vinyl repair adhesive with the appropriate repair vinyl then re-texture the original with a texture stamp tool. Check out You Tube vinyl repair for finishing ideas..

Cool, I sanded a bit too much and lost the texture in the area I was repairing the crack. Will check how to add that texture back. Thank you.

[SpiderJim]

Okay I have done a compatibility test with the latest fiberglass body filler and the foam backing in the dash. Unless earlier and or other models used a different type of foam everything works great. Took me less than thirty minutes to rough repair the dash that should have been scrapped. My car is an 81 for reference. I will post an how to guide a little later as I'm taking pics at each step. I wish I was not covering in leather so I could show you it finished with a rubberized fine texture. One thing of note with a lot of the repairs I have seen. You must cut out the crack all the way down to the dash under backing stiffener or you are just band aiding. If you only repair the surface crack chances are it will come back. Surface repair is only as strong has the vinyl covering which is probably dry and brittle and why you got the crack in the first place. My method fills the entire void and spreads the surface and sub-surface loads over a wider area. Again nothing is full proof but this fix is less than $25.

[wachuko]

Okay I have done a compatibility test with the latest fiberglass body filler and the foam backing in the dash. Unless earlier and or other models used a different type of foam everything works great. Took me less than thirty minutes to rough repair the dash that should have been scrapped. My car is an 81 for reference. I will post an how to guide a little later as I'm taking pics at each step. I wish I was not covering in leather so I could show you it finished with a rubberized fine texture. One thing of note with a lot of the repairs I have seen. You must cut out the crack all the way down to the dash under backing stiffener or you are just band aiding. If you only repair the surface crack chances are it will come back. Surface repair is only as strong has the vinyl covering which is probably dry and brittle and why you got the crack in the first place. My method fills the entire void and spreads the surface and sub-surface loads over a wider area. Again nothing is full proof but this fix is less than $25.

Looking forward to the additional details Jim. Thank you!

[azygoustoyou]

Any updates with the pic's and items used Jim?

[SpiderJim]

Any updates with the pic's and items used Jim?

Sure Brady here are few that also include mod's to my console by adding a couple of cup holders that also have ash trey inserts for those who need them. I will not be texturing this has I'm having it upholstered. Extensive pictures at this link which is my Fiat and product site. Other stuff under home segments top left of the page when you arrive. You can also download any of the images for reference. Let me know what you think.


http://gallery.me.com/jamesaellis1#1001 ... olor=black

[azygoustoyou]

Cool site Jim. I was wondering what you were using to fill the cracks? It looks like bondo. I guess you don't really care about the exterior if your going to just cover it. I would like to fix a crack and paint it like Jaime did. I just want to make sure I'm using the right stuff. I saw somewhere on here that someone used some special stuff to fix the crack. I can't find it.

[wachuko]

I still need to work on mine. Need to learn of what product to use to give it the texture back. Plus I sand it too much and now is below the surface so now I need to go back and fill it again...

A few photos (plus more of how these things go together as per Jim's request) :

[SpiderJim]

Jaime... Thanks so much for the pics. Wow! totally different design than mine. May take a bit of work to adapt this. Regards the texturing. You can purchase vinyl repair and texture kits. Suggest you search for a supplier and also Youtube. Myself... I would have just shot the whole thing in a fine European gravel guard or similar product. Even spray paints can be used for texturing if it is held way back so that the paint is atomized before hitting the dash. I have had great success with this technique using lacquer spray cans but it does require practice. Then top coat with vinyl paint.

[SpiderJim]

Cool site Jim. I was wondering what you were using to fill the cracks? It looks like bondo. I guess you don't really care about the exterior if your going to just cover it. I would like to fix a crack and paint it like Jaime did. I just want to make sure I'm using the right stuff. I saw somewhere on here that someone used some special stuff to fix the crack. I can't find it.

I think your referring to the fix with rubber/ plastic bumper glue that was expensive. I personally would not waste my time using that on this type of dash finish. We have poly foam cores with a thin layer of formed plastic/ vinyl veneer shell. The shell is so thin that unless you extended some kind of outer shell/layer beyond the repair it would simply have no way to support itself over the long term. I just cannot see it working in anything less than a mild climate. I know it would last 20 minutes in vegas. He must have feathered (spread) it way beyond the crack to have it adhere. You could also try using SEM vinyl repair glue. check you tube out for techniques. I purchased some but did not use after cutting into the dash. If I was not covering mine I would have used a flexible body filler over the glass filler then contact cemented a thin vinyl veneer way beyond the repair then used the SEM glue to feather then spray the whole dash with a texture previously described. Or maybe a normal vinyl paint depending on how the repair came out. See here for a sequence of how I repair mine and other console mod's --- > http://gallery.me.com/jamesaellis1#100192

[FiatJim]

Unfortunately this link : " http://gallery.me.com/jamesaellis1#100192" is dead.