Solution to cracks in dashboard?

[Arthropraxis]

Originally Posted by pdxfj

Another option is Classic 9. I used their dash recover kit and it looks great.

I did the prep work myself and enlisted the help of an auto upholstery shop to install the cover.

I used his kit, did all the work myself and it turned out well. Wasn't hard to do and has held up well parked in the sun and southeast heat.

[jeff968]

I have a brand new, in the box, dash which I will sell. Never seen a UV ray. It can be dyed to whatever color needed. Includes glove box door and airbag cover. Not cheap. PM me.

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by Arthropraxis

I used his kit, did all the work myself and it turned out well. Wasn't hard to do and has held up well parked in the sun and southeast heat.

+1 for Robert Budd and Classic 9. I have an early dash and I was the first dash he covered. He does stellar work.

[Bukowski]

hey

I heard Sugru is good for this.

I got a pack sitting around for a while now - one day I'll try it. Precious stuff, can't rush into it.

I heard you can press a piece of the Sugru onto the dash to get the natural pattern on it, let it cure, then when you put more Sugru in the crack, press the natural pattern-ized Sugru on it to help make it look more better. ;^)

[Swennydawg]

Keeping a 31 year old daily driver on the road is at the top of the list, the look of a dash mat is of little concern. Half cracks,will travel.

[c5pilot]

My car had the Coverlay when I bought it but even that cracked. I’m looking at DashTop now as it seems better made and my time is better spent elsewhere than pulling dash to recover. Does anyone have a DashTop ?


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[J1NX3D]

I'm still here I have a different car now. I bought a classic 9 kit for it but haven't fitted it yet. My car's a daily driver.

[irish44j]

Honestly, the overlays can look pretty good if you install them correctly. They key is to use a LOT of adhesive and then to hold everything down flat and the edges flush for a long time, until dry. If you apply it around all the edges well and put it on thick, the dash won't have that "hollow" feel that it does if you just use double-sided tape or put it on "loose." If you knock on mine with your fist, it feels solid.



Not as pretty as the Classic 9 or recovered stuff, but for like $50 it's a quick alternative that isn't all that hard and looks pretty stock (and matches the stock black dash well) unless you look closely...

There are a couple different ones out there. I like this one with a more original texture that looks like vinyl rather than the other one that looks like a "plastic pattern"

[pc100porsche]

Originally Posted by irish44j

honestly, the overlays can look pretty good if you install them correctly. They key is to use a lot of adhesive and then to hold everything down flat and the edges flush for a long time, until dry. If you apply it around all the edges well and put it on thick, the dash won't have that "hollow" feel that it does if you just use double-sided tape or put it on "loose." if you knock on mine with your fist, it feels solid.



not as pretty as the classic 9 or recovered stuff, but for like $50 it's a quick alternative that isn't all that hard and looks pretty stock (and matches the stock black dash well) unless you look closely...

There are a couple different ones out there. I like this one with a more original texture that looks like vinyl rather than the other one that looks like a "plastic pattern"

Which brand of dash overlay / cover is this ?

[PHillary]

I have the coverlay dash cap I just put in the car (no glue) it looks pretty decent (I can live with it not being perfect) If I got serious about it and did a good install (glue & trimming) of it, it would look nice really nice...Not bad for 90 bucks maybe even cheaper now?

[OK-944]

I've tried the "sugru fix," but without going the extra mile of transferring the texture as previously described. While that extra step may help...there is still an issue of the crack margins being slightly "puckered" upwards (at least on my dash), which makes the crack locations still noticeable, and which would indicate that I should have done some sanding first to assure a level surface.

Problem with such sanding/leveling is that it would wreck the dash texture beyond the crack margins - and getting this texture back would mean needing to build up the sugru layer enough that the end result would be visibly raised areas in the dash.

At this point I'm thinking I'll contact Classic 9 about one of their DIY overlay kits, which seem pretty reasonably priced and decent quality...so long as I'm careful and methodical.