Upgraded Dash Repair: Turning chicken sh** into chiken salad

[ROADKI11]

Hi used to have a username on this website i think about 5 years ago, anyways it doesnt matter.>

What i did is basically took the baking soda and glue method from 240sxtech.com enthusiasts and DIY's and just made a makeshift repair of the vinyl dash of the S13 left hand. I dont know if anyone has posted this, but what the hell you know...





This dash had major cracks in the dry rotted foam mesh adhesive backing for the vinyl. So what i did was mix two part 3500psi rating epoxy that i got from lowe's with baking soda. Couldve and shouldve used talc or baby powder for better sanding capability( feathering better). I want to just say that i believe your actual mechanical & chemical bond might weaken a little bit from mixing both(epoxy and powder) together rather than poured on top of crack fills as they mention in the tech article^; however i have only heard that people say its suitable not professional for a "quickfix". Iv'e even been told to shred fiberglass filler into very tiny pieces and mix it.

After all the sanding and prepping ( wax &grease rem. some laq thinner) I used the Dynapro Rubberized Undercoating on top of the vinyl, thinning it out perfectly is the key to getting it to look just like some immitation vinyl. I just used some medium urethane reducer in it, not enough, I think. Thats basically a max 24hour job- mostly for your epoxy build- and itll look pretty darn close to a dash.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

That's pretty nifty right there!

[Razi]

Looks pretty good.

[Brandon1605]

Can you get a little more detailed with this or post up a link to where you found it? And do you think this would be an effective method to change the interior color of the trim pieces?

[ROADKI11]

yah ive done that before, It looks really good glossing up the trim pieces, not super high gloss to where its blinding you in the cabin but some STYLE. BTW if you have any texture on trim pieces ( such as dash vents) And if you want a good flat paint job they will have to be sanded out and cut with finer grit for the paint to lay on smooth.I have seen people brush glossy paint over some trim pieces with texture, and me personally, I think it looks awkward. Other than that if you just want to lay paint on pieces without a gloss; You can have a flat, matte, or satin finish with a good uv protectant clearcoat. minwax polyurethane at walmart is good.

So ya u can paint plastic piecs in the car, its a b**** tho. Sometimes piecs might brake on you so take them off carefully.


As far as the dash- the most effective way to repair it, is to repspray it with actual vinyl material or dye