Dash Curl - Anyone have a fix?

[uBoat Commander]

EVERY older 928 I see has the dreaded "dash curl" near the front defrost outlets - foam underneath is hard and is peeling back.

Got an estimate to "restore" for $2500. Certainly somebody has come up with ideas for this? Heat? Steam? Solvent?

[stepson]

I was thinking that a dash recover from Robb Budd was only about $690

Porsche 928 Interior Restoration

[Danglerb]

I hate it, hated it when I owned a 240z, bought a car with a pristine pod and dash and last year had my first cracks start.

Many have tackled this problem, almost nothing works that is easy due to the continued shrink on the vinyl or leather. Repaired cracks, crack a little more.

I think Robb Budd is the best way to go, Alcantara on the top to cut glare, and leather on the front face.

[Crumpler]

I have multiple cracks in leather dash, and I have been kicking the can down the road because I've always had more important things to worry about on the car.
I have not seen any covers that I'm real impressed by.
I have seen the Paul Champagne website, has anybody had any experience with his products?
The posted prices are from 2010, but new dash quoted at $700.00.

[Danglerb]

Paul is an artist in leather, but busy sometimes. Rob does excellent "factory" appearance work, and just my opinion is a bit more into restoration for a dash, which is needed prior to covering with leather etc. Who you choose is personal preference for the style of work they do, both are very competent.

[lfausty]

no one single answer for diy key is flexible ,heat resistant ,deteriorating proof time/patience of doing the task. ex less than one inch areas is a different fix than 2in bigger, or curled.

anything from prep of lt sanding superglue, to cutting curl down level making a groove into foam, layering feathering padded dash filler/urethane supply co.

then grain paint matching texture/color.

chipping out crumbly foam use of ex greatstuff gap/crack filler
everything and anything and everyway of doing areas hard to get to against windshield, to easy areas has to cope with ever continuing shrink/fade.

to stop whats already done from getting worse... sunshade or conditioner(that actually works) lexol ...

[Danglerb]

PO of my US 83 bought a set of aircraft cockpit sun screens made to fit the 928. Thin flexible sheets that would attach with velcro dots, and the whole mess folded up and fit into fairly small envelope. Dumbest thing I did was fail to use them.

[laneyamps]

Never used them, or dealt with them, but, there is a company called Welcome To Just Dashes that restores factory dashboards

[Fixer]

Strip it to bare metal and stretch a hide over it.

[Danglerb]

Originally Posted by laneyamps

Never used them, or dealt with them, but, there is a company called Welcome To Just Dashes that restores factory dashboards

Reviews seem to be love or hate, with little adjustment from customer support. It sounds like sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn't, but you are stuck with it either way.

I was looking at my dash the other day, thinking about how vinyl suits the 928, fits the Porsche austerity of the earlier cars. I bought a 5 year old 81 in 1986 fresh off lease, and the leather was just starting to pull up around the vents near the windshield, so for Calif at least I don't think leather is a practical option. Bare vinyl doesn't seem to work that well around the vents either, so some kind of fitting like leather covered dashes use might help.

Strip to the bare metal sounds good too.

I sure like the plastic dash in my 99 Lincoln Continental, has a micro finish that "feels" soft, but isn't, and so far zero issues with it.

[AirtekHVAC]

I had a 98 continental! Loved it! Tranny went out at 130k....bummer, traded it....but sure do miss it...most comfortable car I ever had, and very sporty....had the tune able suspension, all the toys....

[AirtekHVAC]

Any idea how much just dashes charges for a 928?

[curtisr]

Originally Posted by The Fixer

Strip it to bare metal and stretch a hide over it.

Or just strip it down to the layer of leather underneath it and then glue a new piece over it.

[uBoat Commander]

Originally Posted by The Fixer

Strip it to bare metal and stretch a hide over it.

Damn - that is a thinking outside the box idea. Like that idea a hell of alot better than $1000 restore on a dash.

Is there a solvent for the underlying foam? Solvent as in disolves or softens>

[laneyamps]

Originally Posted by AirtekHVAC

Any idea how much just dashes charges for a 928?

Not sure, but, I was did an internet search last night, and looks like prices are anywhere from $700 - $900???

I also like Dangler's idea....just strip the dash to bare metal, and I'll re-cover it myself!

Right now I have the plastic dash cap on mine (PO had it installed), and I'm keeping a dash mat on it, just to keep it from getting worse. (black interior)...

[Danglerb]

I would like to see one in person, both recent and a few years old. The pictures on the Welcome To Just Dashes web site look amazing.




Link to an old thread of mine with picts, and apparently I did look at a pod and found it like new.

Anybody strip the dash to the metal and redo it?

[Eplebnista]

The leather on my dash was fine and my only issue was the plastic underneath the leather curling up around the defroster vents. Given the good condition of my dash and pod otherwise, I decided to attack the defroster vent area.

I will try to take some pictures and post them but for now I will attempt to explain what I did. I popped the plastic vent covers off the defroster vents, turned them upside down and used them to make a template of a larger vent cover that could be screwed down to tame the renegade plastic. I got some 3/16 aluminum plate and rough cut that to the approximate shape of the template with a jig saw. I then stuck my template to the aluminum with double sided tape and used a laminate trimmer bit in a router to shape the aluminum to match the template.

Once I had the aluminum shaped, I drilled and countersank holes for #8 flathead screws near the aft edge of the new vent covers. Because there are three vents on each side, the steel dash structure has two "bridges" separating the three vents. I made my new vent cover wider over these bridges and drilled holes on either side of these bridges so I could slide a small plate under the steel "bridge" in the dash, run the screws into it and use that to hold down the forward side of my new vent plate.

I made up the equivalent of toggle bolts that I could stick in the dash vents and used them and large washers to snug the new vents down on the leather and renegade plastic and force it all flat. Once I was sure the new vent covers were exactly where I wanted them, I then used some #8 hex head self drilling screws and a powered ratchet to shoot holes through the dash using the countersunk holes of the new cover as a guide. Once the holes were cut, I used flat head #8 screws to actually fashion the new vent covers down.

I then used my handy template as guide for cutting a piece of 3/4 pine to serve as a mold and eventually managed to vacuum form covers for the aluminum plates out of .060 kydex plastic. Once trimmed to fit, these covers snap right on to the aluminum plates to provide a factory look.

I am pleased with the result and most people don't even notice my modification to the dash. However, if I had to do it all over again, I think I would just send the dash to Paul Champagne or Rob Budd.

As stated above, I will take some pics and post them. If anyone wants to embark on this themselves, I would be happy to share my template and advice on how to avoid the many blind alleys and errors I encountered along the way. Vacu-forming the covers was an arduous learning experience and I am a lucky man indeed to have a woman who allows her kitchen oven to be used to heat up sheets of plastic.

[Danglerb]

I've thought about the vents a lot, and have some concern about using metal due to heat conduction vs plastic of some kind.

This is one of those areas where until we see something we like, hard to guess what it is each of us will like.

[Eplebnista]

Here are the photos I promised:







I am very satisfied with how this worked out. As I said, if anyone wants to try this on their own car, please contact me because I learned a lot doing this.

[Danglerb]

When the dash started to go on my 81, with like 60k miles from new in 1987, the leather began to lift below the middle seam on the passenger side. That is what I would be looking out for now.