Dash crackin

VINMAN · 03-30-2004, 05:42 AM

I thought I was one of the lucky ones, but it finally happened.
Was wiping down my dash , the rag got caught on something , I looked and saw it! A crack by the def. vent.

Took 18 yrs , but the 944 curse finally caught up to me.

Oh well I guess those gals. and gals. of Armor All stopped working?

SlowToady · 03-30-2004, 09:00 AM

Hey man, it's alright. Dash cracks add character. My dash cracked ONCE while the PO still had it, and it looks great! Heh..Well, at least now I have an excuse to put her in the garage, right?

Everyone in the House: Why does YOUR car get to go in the garage?

Me: Duh, it's a Porsche. And I'll cry if my dash cracks

toolboy62 · 03-30-2004, 09:25 AM

remember the discussion we were having a while back about recovering these things? Is anyone parting a late 944 with a busted up dash pad? The worse the better if you get my drift. I'm looking for something to try my recovering idea on, but I can't afford to be without my car long enough to pull the pad, recover it, and get it back in. CHEEEEEEEP is a plus

thanks,

nate

Gordon Rankin · 03-30-2004, 10:42 AM

I'll repeat something thats been said before..So many times..
Dont use Armorall. It dries out the vinyl and makes it crack.. Shining but cracked..

Zero10 · 03-30-2004, 12:27 PM

Really? I was going to armorall mine for the first time this weekend. Not going to now.

Hehe, the first crack.... jeez, mine has so many big cracks, they're really canyons!

When I fix the dash up, I will be getting a sun shield for the windshield. That should help it last longer.

UconnTim97 · UconnTim97's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Gordon Rankin
I'll repeat something thats been said before..So many times..
Dont use Armorall. It dries out the vinyl and makes it crack.. Shining but cracked..

I'll second that....and I use a sunshade when the car is parked

Ken P · 03-31-2004, 12:18 PM

Is there any product out there that you can use to fill the cracks?

CJFusco · CJFusco's Garage

people think my car is gorgeous until they see the interior: cracked dash, one missing speaker cover, a rip on top of the shifter...

Harpman2 · 07:47 PM

I've also heard armor-all is bad over time. I use Formula 2001 (used to be independent name brand I think, but Turtle Wax bought the product line now. I don't know how good it is, but I like it. As for a sun shield/window shield I took a bunch of thin cardboard, cut about 6 pieces of 8 by 10 inch, made it fit like a glove (top view anyway) right over top of the dash, the same shape as the carpet dash covers you can buy. I extended it out (toward the driver) about 3 inches extra. I taped all the pieces together so I'd have a perfect pattern. Then I traced that onto some dark blue "school project" cardboard (4 pieces of 1 1/4 feet by about 1 foot) taped them together so it would fold up into 1/4 the size when not in use. I put it in place whenever I'm parked. The blue has completely faded to white already which means I prevented all that sun load from hurting my dash. I wish I had done that 4 years ago instead of last year when I noticed my first decent size crack. I'll post a picture if anyone's interested, and if I can figure out the digital camera I have.

robthe54 · 04-05-2004, 08:58 AM

i covered my cracks with suede.

Ken P · 04-05-2004, 09:15 AM

Is there any product that can fill the cracks with the same color and texture??????

I hope I am not dreaming...

RPM'S S2 · 04-05-2004, 11:51 AM

Vinylex, Vinylex, Vinylex

Brando · Brando's Garage

Local hardware stores sell a product called "Plastidip" used for applying a plastic/rubberized coating to tools and other things. I'd reccommend getting some of that (if you want a black, white, blue, red or yellow dash) and painting it on.

I'll be going this route once i have a new windshield (mine's severely cracked). I'm going to switch from my brown/saddle-tan interior to black on the 924. You'll have to take the windshield out to paint the dash, i might as well do it while i got the windshield out...

Buddy · 04-06-2004, 05:24 AM

I've found that over time, when the car is sitting in the hot weather, the vinyl Porsche uses out-gasses and leaves a film on the inside of the windshield. Heat is probably the biggest enemy of the dash so if you can keep the sun off and the interior cool(er) you might avoid the dash cracks or at least minimalize them.

I use a product called NaulticalEase on my vinyl occasionally. It's made for the vinyl seats in boats and doesn't dry it out like the Amorall products do. Haven't had any cracking on the boat seats, still very supple, not dry. But that's boat vinyl so it may be different. If I ever recover the seats, I'll use marine grade vinyl since it lasts longer. YMMV.