protecting dashboard against cracks.

[mike944]

Hi guys,

My original dash on my '84 only has a few cracks. It is in much better condition than many i have seen. I am looking for a way to keep it that way. Is there anything i can put on it to reduce any future cracking? Would leather softener work? (is the dash really leather?)

Any other ideas?

Mike

[Magnus_944]

I'll guess the previous owners of my car can answer this question, my dash don't have one single crack! Unfortunately I don't know how to keep it this way.

//Magnus

[cruzermusic]

dash cover .... don't use armorall , or any other products unless you have the time to reapply time after time again... its a maintance thing...once you apply the chemicals it take out the factory sealers ,,and if you forget........CRACK

[mike944]

The reason i want to prevent it from cracking, is that i don't want to use one of those ugly dash covers.

It's too late for no chemicals, the woman that owned it before me armoralld the sh_t out of EVERYTHING. It probably took 2 months before i got rid of the greasy residue covering the interior.

Fortunatley, i park the car inside, and it only goes out on nice days, so it stays inside, in the dark most of it's life. That should help the cracking problem.

The leather softener i am talking about is neatsfoot oil. It is normally used on baseball gloves, and similar items, to make them softer. I had good luck with it on my seats, but i don't know if the dashboard is really leather, or some imitation leather-like substance.

[Z-man]

Although I have not used it, I have heard that the product called Vinylux is an excellent product to preserve the dash.

What I use is a window sun screen, and a put a terry cloth towel on the dash in the center, where it is most prone to cracks.

I also keep the car in a garage at home.

-Zoltan.

[AFJuvat]

Go out and invest in a dash cover - either a cloth one or a har plastic one.

Porsche dashboards are notorious for cracking, if yours has a few or none at all, cover it immediately!!!!


AFJuvat

[Moneyguy1]

I have tried for over ten years to find a solution to this problem. I have replaced one dashboard...(VERY high quality cardboard)...wouldn't do that again...I finally gave in and purchased a plastic overlay. These come in various qualities, so do not purchase the cheapest. An acceptable installation requires dry installation and some trimming. However, if one has patience, the results can be quite a bit more acceptable than cracks or the carpet type of cover. (even with embroidered initials or logos, most still look strange)

One plastic overlay I installed for a friend worked out really well. He reported back to me after a local "auto show" that someone came up to him and asked how he had kept his dash from cracking....

Patience and attention to detail will do it every time...

Enjoy!!

Bob S.

[Bob's944]

Mike... I live in Florida and bought my car almost 4 years ago with 6 small cracks in the dash that looked better the way it was than with any dash overlay or cover would have looked. Today the cracks are still the same size, no new ones and I don't expect to have any. There is basically only 2 things I do to keep it this way and to confidently say they are not going to grow. One is to use any ALCOHOL FREE UV Protectant about once a month, more if your driving alot in the sun. The current bottle I have is Son of a Gun. The other thing is.. keep it out of the sun. That is alittle more difficult sometimes, but here's what I do.

Use a windshield sun shade whenever the car is parked, I'll even use it for a few minutes when I'm waitin for some reason. I have the collapsable kind, that collapses into a small double ring, kinda like the collapsable tents you may have seen advertised. There is fan types, according types, venetian blinds, roll ups... all kinds, just get one that is the right size and completely blocks out the sun from the windshield.

Tint the windows as dark as legally possible, and do the top of the windshield as far down as legally possible. That's one of the best ways to keep the sun out.

Park in the shade anytime you can. If you can't park in the shade, park so that when the sun moves, it moves the shade to your car. A couple of shade situations I avoid are pine trees because of their sap, and particularly popular berry trees might make your car look like a war zone. Park facing west in the morning and then facing east in the afternoons as another way to lessen the sun's effect, it all helps. I even purposely pull into the shade of semi's and bridges when waiting at traffic lights... the sun is your enemy.

If I didn't have a garage, I believe I'd be using a car cover for my garage. I considered getting one for where I used to work, but instead I came in early and snagged this one spot tight into the building and next to a semi that was shaded.

Did I mention to keep the car out of the sun?

[Roger Hall]

Bobs 944 has all the right suggestions. I had to use a plastic overlay on mine the dash was so bad. It even warped over time and the vent slots dont line up now. I plan to repalce mine eventually. One thing about window tint though it doesn't have to be dark. The better qualitity tints that have metal in them (mine has stainless steel in it) will block UV rays and have the same heat rejection as the darker tints. But the sunshade and the window tint will do a wonderfull job saving your dash and the rest of the interior. Also these cars are built like a furnance the interior gets extremly hot, crack the windows or the sunroof whenever possible.

[Z-man]

Bob:
And I thought I was the only person who obsesses over their dash and the sun....

I do find that the sunshades may not cover the dash completely, that's why I put my little red terry cloth thingy in the middle, where the dash is most prone to crack.

"Crack kills."

-Zoltan.

[dberkstr]

The PO of my 83 944 replaced the dash. It was done by a dealer. The part alone was $1,000.

By all means, do whatever you can to keep the sun off of it. If mine cracks I am going to use a cover. I have to spend my cash on other things, like a starter and an alternator.

[2coupes]

I have no cracks in either dash and when I purchased both cars the owners told me they used LEXOL leather preservative on them, and I have done the same.It seems that leather cracks when it dries as a result of alcohol glass cleaner/and or UV rays. The Lexol puts back the suppleness and moisture without the greasiness that allows the leather to contract and expand without cracking,probably similiar to your own skin in winter,anyway I'd put it on liberally and let some soak in for a few hours and then wipe, you'll like what you get especially if you cleaned with Lexol leather cleaner, and for most people if there are wear spots or discoloration, mix some shoe dye in with the Lexol before applying.

[TomH]

I use 303 myself, but anything you use will only prolong the inevitable. Look for a protectant that does not have silicon, and provides UV protection. Its not the heat the cracks the dash, its the UV rays. That means even in the winter you should use a dash cover, or windshield cover that blocks the rays when its sitting in the sun.

[Rob-O]

Being in the materials testing industry for automobiles, I can tell you that the dash is not leather. It's a PVC cover over foam padding.

Bob has quite a few good suggestions. However, if the dash is cracking, it's kind of like rust, you just can't stop it. As a matter of fact, even if it's not cracking yet, it will someday. How long that someday is depends on where you live, how often you drive your car in the sun and many other factors.

The PVC dash in your vehicle is made with UV stabilizers as part of the PVC formulation. These stabilizers absorb the UV rays of the sun by chemical means. They may also (most likely do) have components called "HALS", which stands for Hindered Amine Light Stabilizers. I'm not going to get technical, but imagine Pac Man and a whole bunch of the dots that Pac Man likes to eat. The dot is what is created when light hits your dashboard, causing a physical change to the molecules the make up your dash. So...a change is taking place. These dots are called free radicals (some of you may remember this term from chemistry). They have no place to go, no connections to make, and left alone, they degrade the plastic that your dash is made of. Well, throw some HALS (Pac Man) into your plastic, and now you have something to eat those little dots (free radicals) up. The problem is that after a while, even Pac Man will get full. Once that happens, the free radicals have run of the place (your dash) and the degradation process is unimpeded and quickly deteriorates your dash.

You can put some things on the dash to help slow the process, but mostly all you're doing is adding a layer of something that the light has to pass through. I haven't really done any tests on aftermarket protectants, but knowing the cost of "HALS" and general UV stabilizers and Antioxident packages, I doubt that there is much in your $3.99 bottle of Armor All. Some, maybe, but not much.

Just as a note, the American auto industry has mandated that PVC's be taken out of the car entirely by 2004. I think they just recently moved that date up to 2006 or so. They found that the technology to replace PVC just wasn't ready yet. Why the reason for taking it out you ask? Well, a few reasons. The first is that the process of making PVC is environmentally unfriendly. Doing more damage to the ozone layer of the planet. The second kinda goes hand in hand with the first. You know that new car smell everyone loves? Turns out that it may be cancerous (I think Mercedes conducted this testing and published the article). That smell is from a product in most PVC formulations that would be classified as "plasticizers". They're evaporating from your dashboard all the time, yesterday, right now, even while you sleep! Wonder why your windshield needs cleaning to get that haze off of it? That haze is plasticizer that evaporated form your dash and ended up on your windshield. Believe it or not, there's a test out there to determine if a plastic gives off too much plasticizer by measuring the amoount of haze that is depositied on a piece of glass.

So, in order of most important things you can do. You can cover it. You can keep it out of the sun. Or you can spray some stuff on it every once in a while. It's either these things or buy a new dashboard every fifteen years or so. Eventually though, they will all deteriorate...all of them, I promise.

[Sergio]

I read somewhere that a drop of clear nail polish will keep a dash crack from getting bigger.

[CamB]

I have a more philosophical question.

If you put a (less attractive) dash cover on to "protect the dash", your dash looks perfect underneath, but you can't see and enjoy it. Most importantly, what you do see is a dash cover.

If you let your dash crack over time (no cover), it gets so bad you need to put a cover over it, so you can't see the dash. More relevant, what you see is a dash cover.

So you end up in the same position? A dash cover (or a cracked dash).

So why cover the dash? Should you get your enjoyment for a few years (option 2) or sell the enjoyment to the next owner (option 1) through a higher resale.

(BTW, I use a UV protectant, non-silicon spray frequently (takes 5 seconds), and don't park the car in the sun if possible (I'm not anal, but it isn't hot here either), and I NEVER put anything on the dash (especially not sharp things)).

Cam

[DennisR_944]

The Prolong people make a dash protectant that I use. They guarantee to replace your dash if it ever cracks when you apply it to a car that's less than a year (or two...can't remember) old, and maintain it every month.. It must do the trick for them to offer that guarantee. My dash has no cracks.

[Z-man]

Originally posted by Rob-O
...I'm not going to get technical, but imagine Pac Man and a whole bunch of the dots that Pac Man likes to eat. The dot is what is created when light hits your dashboard, causing a physical change to the molecules the make up your dash. Well, throw some HALS (Pac Man) into your plastic, and now you have something to eat those little dots (free radicals) up. The problem is that after a while, even Pac Man will get full...

Rob-O:
Thanks for the wonderful explanation: I never knew that kind of reaction was taking place right infront of my eyes!

I absolutely LOVE your Pac-Man analogy. I have often used Pac-Man to describe diabetes to people.

So...I know where the trip odometer reset is on my dash: now where's that joystick so I can negotiate my Pac-Man through the maze?

Rob-O, you definately have talent for describing complex things to people who aren't experts in the field. And that you can use Pac-Man in your example, that's just gravy!!!!

Thanks!
-Zoltan.

[Rob-O]

Thanks, Zoltan. I appreciate the compliment. I really enjoy passing some of this information along. Most guys (myself included) are so into the things that we can see and explain. Motors, pistons, shocks, the latest brake pad from Pagid.

The area where we spend most of our time (at least I hope all Porsche owners do) is in the cockpit. There are so many cool little things to learn about in there.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall this weekend at some party where some guy jaws on and on about the latest purchase for his Honda that isn't contributing a thing to help make the car a better piece of machinery. Then hear one of our board members chime in about the finer points of degradation in the PVC outer layer of his dashboard. Probably be a few weird looks in that room, ya think?

As far as having a knack for explaining things. They must have been explained to me in similar (if not easier to understand) terms. I have been told (by my mother, even) that I have a thick head.

All in all though, this is the place for me to get information like this to all my fellow Porsche brethren. I've learned quite a bit from some of the postings here, I feel only right in giving back whatever I can.

Long Live Pelican!!

Rob-O

PS. I didn't have anything to relate the ghosts of Pac Man to. Sorry!!