You still might be able to apply and ice cube finish the RTV as a smooth top coat of sort on top of the foam filler.
If it dont work, it peels off

Hideous Dashboard Restoration Attempt.
 

I will sand and begin to shape the foam today to see how that turned out.


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In my experience the foam core is not really structural and gluing to it may not hold - it will simply shear at the glue / foam line. The "structure" is the inner and outer skin. If you replace that with something that bridges the gaps and really bonds to the original skin(s), or re-skins completely you'll have restored the structural integrity.
I've made similar repairs on formed foam / skinned parts by filling the crack (as you have done) then re-skinned with CF or fiberglass cloth and epoxy and then filled / sanded / painted over the patch.

BACK FROM THE DEAD!

after about 45 minutes of sanding, it looks like a dashboard once again. I will apply a skimcoat of body filler over any low spots and over the phone to reinforce and seal it, send again, then it should be ready for vinyl or leather.

I sprayed a bit of guide coat black on it so I could see what areas I still had to address.

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Until next time...


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Word.

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Test fit looks pretty good!

Would love to hear your opinion on leather versus vinyl to cover the dash.


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Looks great Emptyo, you're doing a nice job. I think leather is going to be a bit harder to do and I think most are two pieces with a seam either across the front of the dash or on the flat of the crease where the hump meets the flat section. Also keep in mind, the dash flows into the door tops which flow into the quarters which flow into the parcel shelf. In my crazy head all those pieces would also need to be wrapped in order to keep everything consistent. Vinyl I think will be much easier and if you get the OEM black vinyl from our host, world upholstery or a few others you can skip all the other pieces as they will be very close in color and texture. A little heat on the vinyl to release the tension and it will pull very easily around the corners. you could wrap all in one piece and look nearly stock. I would go vinyl.

wow its hideous great work!! :)

Oh yeah, and you are going to need to work that dash a whole lot more before you try and cover it. Fill and sand just like body work. Vinyl will show every imperfection. The leather may be a little more forgiving but rest assured That dash needs to be perfection before you cover it.

Vinyl looks more correct

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Nice job.
I might put some reinforcing mesh or fabric across your foam repairs and cover in resin. It was suggested above, and I agree that the epoxy to foam bond is weak and covers a pretty small area. After coming so far, I would hate to see a crack appear due to heat cycling or vibration. And you really are doing a great job.
Good luck,
Dave

Has any of the brain trust had any experience using a vacuum bag/pump system to put vinyl on a 911 dash?
I've got a crack in the middle of mine and I'm thinking about taking a "whack" at my dash. (In a past life I spent countless hours doing veneer work in a bag and was known for being able to veneer a mosquito's butt if needed)
I'm thinking cut out the crack area and add fiberglass/mesh and a layer over top and bottom of dash and then cover/stretch in a bag over like weldwood contact adhesive (the old school solvent variety stuff)

Dear Vanilla Ice,

From a man who uses "Word", don't you think 'Proper' would work for this post?

----------

To the OP, didn't think you could pull it off, and I am happy to eat my words. Like my esteemed colleague and compatriot Mr. kenik suggests definitely go vinyl.

Signed, Mr Rogers

I prefer CD to vinyl

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Personally I wouldn't have put any foam in. I would have gone straight to body filler. The foam will also squash when pushed and leave an impression.

Ok, finally got a chance to skim it with some body filler.

I'll hit it with some 80 grit in a while and see where I stand as far as level goes. I have some spare vinyl here, so I can throw a bit on with some light glue and see how it lies.

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Hideous Dashboard Restoration Attempt.
 

First sanding, and it's starting to feel pretty smooth! I have one more crack I'd like to epoxy, and I need more hand sanding, but I'm pretty close to guide coat, glaze, and vinyl!

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Looking good. Did mine a few years ago. Foam and body filler and 4 way stretch vinyl.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/621680-finally-back-game-8.html

Did a quick test glue of some vinyl and I am encouraged by how flat and nice it is sitting. I still need to do a bit more sanding, but I think I can pull the trigger on this pretty soon.

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Way to save that dash. You're doing a great job emptyo.

Tony at Autobon Interiors did my dash 5 years ago, still looks great. When you push on the top vinyl layer their is slight give. I think their is a layer of high-density foam, like 3/16 thick between the hard top and the vinyl. I suspect this foam layer prevents imperfections being transmitted to the top layer. Nice work! Rob

Thanks @drcoastline! I'm just as surprised myself! But it's coming out pretty good!

Be careful building up the dash cover too thick as it may make reinstalling your windshield with gasket difficult - I went from a beaten-broken up vinyl cover to leather and getting the windshield back in was a bear - the difference in thickness can change things - looking good btw

Good God Man! Excellent work so far.

Almost there!

There were a couple of spots where the filler didn't sit in, so I blended it in with my finger and I'm now waiting for it to dry. The rest of the dash feels smooth as a babies butt!

I was thinking of going over it with some 200 grit, but I think I'm going to leave it slightly rough because I think the glue will adhere a bit better. I'm going to give it a light dusting of black as a guide coat. And then I should be ready to glue.

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I think I'm going to go with vinyl, despite really wanting the feel and smell of leather. The car is mostly garage kept, so I'm not too worried about the long-term, but the experts are telling me that vinyl is a better choice. Along those lines, what is the best adhesive to use for the dash?

I have the 3M high-strength 90, and I have barge all purpose cement. I am not a fan of the 3M product, as it never seems to stay. Any recommendations?




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I used two adhesives on my interior. Dap weldwood contact cement and 3m yellow super trim adhesive. 3m seems to have different versions of spray adhesive. Look for the can below.

I would use both. The 3m on the flat surfaces, but not full coverage so you can stretch the vinyl. Then I would glue the edges where you fold it around with the dap. Be sure to follow the set up time instructions. It gets old waiting for glue to set up but they work so much better if the correct timing is used.

I'd also practice covering something so you can experiment with what kinds of relief cuts you will need to make.

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Well, after a bit of spot repair, I did a vinyl glue test, and couldn't be happier with the results!

Just as a reminder:

BEFORE:

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Same spot, AFTER:

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I should be swinging by World Upholstery on Friday to get the proper vinyl, then it's game on!

I still need to fix one of the studs, so that will be the next project.


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Fantastic work, Michael!! I was a naysayer, but you really stepped up to the plate and worked this through. Most impressive.
Good luck,
Dave

Nice work! Definitely goes to show that even when something looks like it cannot be saved, it can. +1 to continued applause.

This is what you want.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1491759603.jpg

I learned a lot from this video. The guy is wrapping the dash in leather but same principals will apply to vinyl. Notice he brushes on the adhesive in small sections at a time. vs. spraying large areas.This avoids accidentally having a section touch where you do not want it to. I found this out a little to late. He also marks off where he wants a piece to lay and applies adhesive in that area only. He also uses a barrier cloth to keep pieces from sticking before he wants and he uses clips to bunch the material.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaSm3zoWrAo&t=998s

#micdrop

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Fo shizzle

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Oh... My... God...

That is so good. I take my hat off to you, that is awesome.

BAM! Also digging the Brumos print in this shot. So what vinyl? Is this classic black from World Upholstery?

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rescued! Good save! Can't wait to see it in the car.

It was the Porsche/BMW vintage vinyl from world upholstery. I filmed the whole process for the rennch YouTube channel so I'll post here when I edit it. It was pretty straightforward, but that left hand side (instrument left) is REALLY tricky, especially for a rank amateur first timer like me. I had to redo it at least 6 times. Lots of heat gun and barge cement!


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Great job!!!

Very impressive work!

Here are some pics in the car. It looks great!

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