Hideous Dashboard Restoration Attempt.

[Rawknees'Turbo]

Originally Posted by Chuchuf

. . . I also ass some of that splooge mixture on the back side by the cracks.

Terry

Terry, now that is a trick that I bet some folks would pay good money to see video of!

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by Chuchuf

Yes I used West 205 on mine to fill in the cracks and holes, and applied just enough to get it up to the surface height again. I would think that the sawdust would be OK to thicken but I used milled fiber (flox) and cabosil to thicken mine as I had the materials on hand.
After letting that harden for about 2 days, sanded so that it had the right shape with the dash and then bondo to fill in the small voids left.
Oh and anyplace the dash was cracked through to the back I also ass some of that splooge mixture on the back side by the cracks.

I think this dash can be repaired.

Terry

The SIX/10 is pre-thickened so no additives are needed. On a dash I would steer away from both the milled fibers and the cabosil as they are both designed to add strength to the epoxy. Pure epoxy is plenty strong for this application and far stronger than the material it is bonding. The dash will fail loooong before the epoxy. In this application the only purpose of a filler is to ad body to the epoxy to fill faster. In addition both the fibers and cabosil will cure very hard and will be difficult to sand due to the hardness. This could become an issue as the dash will be much softer and will sand much easier. The harder epoxy will stand proud and create a noticeable ridge. I suggested oak only because it is a low oil wood and can be had free. The only expenditure is a few minutes on a sander to create the dust. A better application might be balsa dust much softer also low oils. As I said just about anything can be used to create the body to keep the epoxy from slumping. As crazy as it sounds things such as paper out of your shredder or dryer lint. Both would suspend the epoxy until cured and would be easily sanded.

[Phoenix-MN]

I first removed all cracked pieces and beveled the edges. Then I used flexible bumper repair to cove the bad areas. After that I had an upholstery shop cover with vinyl. It turned out very nice.

[rennch]

I picked up the Six/10, but I've been at a conference all week! Stay tuned...


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[Bill Douglas]

Good skills!!!

[rennch]

Ok, time for an update. Was at a conference all week. I've just dremeled out any major cracks in an effort to let the epoxy sit flush with the dash. The first priority is to get structural integrity before I work on building up the phone again and sanding into the final shape before the leather or vinyl is applied. Again, I have no idea if this will work but I'm going to give it a shot.










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[rennch]

I'm going to be doing an instagram live video of the epoxy if you want to check it out: http://instagram.com/_rennch_


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[rennch]

Well, it ain't pretty, but it feels pretty effective. I had a real challenge with the corner piece that had broken off trying to keep it lined up, but I held it in place while I put on thin layers of Epoxy and hit it with the heat gun, so would cure the epoxy quite quickly.

Instead of feeling "floppy" in my hands, it feels really solid now. I will give it a day to cure, then will start working on the expanding foam.


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[drcoastline]

Looks good empty, I think you did a great job. Now that it is all glued back together and sound switch over to body filler. As explained above the epoxy is going to be harder than the surrounding dash. You will run the risk of sanding the dashboard before the epoxy. The body filler is designed to be sanded and will sand before the dash. Use the filler to get your shape. Of course scuff your epoxy so the filler will stick and take it slightly below the dash surface so you can build up the filler to the finished surface.

Looking good.

[Discseven]

Wow! Have not read through posts M... Just looked at pics. That's a fine project to dive into. Looking forward to see where you take this. There is dash media that will work for that. Been a long time since I used so forgot brand.

[rennch]

After the initial sanding, I am pretty pleased with the outcome. It's starting to look like a dashboard again!

Today I'm going to use the expanding foam to fix the large gaps. Then I will use some body filler to smooth out any uneven spots and give it another sanding.












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[3rd_gear_Ted]

Have you considered RTV,
you can get a real smooth finish by using an ice cube.
I have fixed cracked dashes this way many times.

[rennch]

Originally Posted by 3rd_gear_Ted

Have you considered RTV,

you can get a real smooth finish by using an ice cube.

I have fixed cracked dashes this way many times.

What is rtv? And what's the ice cube method?


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[rennch]

More epoxy buildup, and foam applied.






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[kenikh]

I bought a Lakewell. Best on the market doesn't mean as good as factory. I'm still considering repairing my stock '69 dash. Not pleased enough to make using it a slam dunk.


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[rennch]

Originally Posted by kenikh

I bought a Lakewell. Best on the market doesn't mean as good as factory. I'm still considering repairing my stock '69 dash. Not pleased enough to make using it a slam dunk.


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So you are telling me I'm not completely insane? :-)


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[kenikh]

Far from it. Cnielsen and I were just discussing this topic the other day. He dumped his Lakewell for the route you're going.


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[3rd_gear_Ted]

Originally Posted by emptyo

What is rtv? And what's the ice cube method?


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Silicone bathtub caulking is RTV

You fill the void with RTV as smooth as you can with your finger, then take an ice cube wider than the void in the dash filled with RTV and drag the ice cube over the whole thing.
It creates an amazing finish with a little practice.

[kenikh]

RTV = Room Temperature Vulcanizing rubber.

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[rennch]

Originally Posted by 3rd_gear_Ted

Silicone bathtub caulking is RTV



You fill the void with RTV as smooth as you can with your finger, then take an ice cube wider than the void in the dash filled with RTV and drag the ice cube over the whole thing.

It creates an amazing finish with a little practice.

Now you tell me.


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