Many thanks to everyone who posted their cracked dash fixes. I thought I'd post my experience as I hadn't seen anyone fix theirs using contact cement and vinyl. I know that some of you found that Contact Cement was too quick drying to use, however I found that it's ability to dry quickly makes it easy to stretch the fabric so it's nice a tight over the dash. I think my results were pretty good - definately better than a cracked dash. Note, anyone can do this as it's not rocket science. It's just work and took me a few hours to fix a major eye sore.
Here's what I used for my '83 911.
- 1 yard of stretch vinyl. I used the 2-way stretch vinyl and a hot summer day to help it contour with the dashboard.
- Weldwood professional contact cement - this is the good stuff you buy from a upholstery shop, not the waterbased stuff from Home Depot
- Glue brush and glue pot (optional, however a glue pot is a great tool if you're going to spread a lot of glue).
- 60 grit sand paper
- JB Weld quick drying epoxy
- Rubbing alcohol and clean rags
Steps:
1. Remove windshield and dashboard (search other threads for info)
2. Once dashboard is out of the car, start sanding the entire surface to give it a good key so the glue will bite. This will also help remove the years of "Armor All" and other stuff that will prevent the glue from sticking. Be sure to sand down all of the cracks so there's no raised edges. It's ok to make the cracks bigger at this point as you'll be filling them with JB Weld. Do this a few times and wipe clean with alcohol. Use a liberal amount including in the crack itself. Wipe dry and let the dash sit overnight or outside for a few hours to dry. You'll want the alcohol to dry out of the crack.
3. Once you're happy with the sanding and you have cleaned out the cracks. Double check and make sure that your cracks do not have a raised lip. If it's raised it'll show through the vinyl. Once you're satisfied, mix the JB weld and apply in and over the cracked areas. Be liberal and apply it deep into the crack if possible. You're going to sand it again so don't worrry if you make a mess. Note, the quick drying JB Weld works great. You could use regular JB Weld or another sandable epoxy however you'll save time buying the quick dry stuff. I let mine sit a few hours before I sanded it down again.
4. Once the JB weld is fully cured, sand down the cracked areas flat. You'll be sanding off most of the JB weld so you should only see filled cracks when you're done. Note, I didn't to a great job with that large crack on the left side. I should have sanded off more JB Weld as there's a slight ridge of JB Weld left. The smaller crack in the middle of the dash is perfectly sanded as there's no ridge and it's ready to go.
5. Once the JB Weld is sanded, clean the dash again with the rubbing alcohol. Get rid of any dust and oils from the dash surfaces. Before you start glueing the vinyl, you'll want to create a template so you can mark the vinyl and glue the vinyl in sections. My strategy was the glue the flat areas of the dash first, then stretch the vinyl over the curved sections to ensure a tight fit. I simply took some butcher paper and traced the shape of the top of the dash. I then cut the paper so I had a pattern stencil for the vinyl. Once you have your stencil, trace this on the backside of the vinyl. Make sure you have it oriented correctly with the dash.
